This week, the top searches leading people to this site mostly had to do with labels that accept unsolicited demos, record companies that take demo submissions, and so on. As I mentioned in a previous article, Unsolicited Music Demos: How to Get in the Door of a Record Label, the reality is that no one is soliciting these demos.
Here’s a bit of reality: If you are looking for a list of record labels that accept unsolicited demos, then you probably don’t record label material. The ironic twist is that you are most appealing to record labels when you don’t need them.
Think about this in terms of dating.
Sending an unsolicited press kit and CD to a record label is like asking for a marriage proposal when the prospect has no idea who you are. While that kind of thing might work in certain situations (mail-order brides, etc.), most reasonable people would not give you the time of day.
Getting a dream record contract is like getting your soul mate: it usually happens because you know a bit about each other first, you have mutual friends who introduce you, you’ve worked on something together, or you have some kind of light introduction first.
Some other things to consider:
- People can smell desperation miles away.
- No one likes a cocky jerk who is obnoxiously annoying
- It’s always better to let the other person do the talking rather than waste their time with your bragging
- Your reputation often proceeds you; if they know nothing about you, walls automatically come up
How would you apply these concepts to getting a record label? For that matter, you could apply these concepts to anyone in the music industry: publicists, booking agents, a manager, promoter, etc.