I wrote about sending best practices for sending music to labels a few week back, but forgot to ask about something very specific… This group is awesome because people here are more professional and helpful than Reddit or Facebook groups.
I’m familiar with writing a cover letter when job hunting but not sure what to write when submitting music to a label. What info should I put there? How long should the letter / email be? What if I don’t have a big following or social media presence and haven’t toured the world, and have only self-released so far? Lastly, what kinda things should I NOT put in the email / letter? Any tips, do’s and don’ts would be greatly appreciated!
In some cases, I’d send a brief introductory email, and, if the demo process isn’t anywhere obvious, I’d ask them what their demo policy is and ask the label directly what they are looking for in a demo pack. Could help to break the ice, introduce you to them, and then when you send something more formally they might remember you. I’m pretty sure most worthwhile labels receive up to hundreds of demos per day.
But in general I would say, write from your heart. Be humble and don’t brain dump or be too overbearing. And ask yourself why this label? What can you offer them? If they do offer guidelines, follow them stringently, and when you do submit something I would do so pre-mastered, with a full press-release ready to go, sample artwork, and everything as if it was ready to be shipped.
I have an entire 13 track album ready, professionally mastered and with professional artwork done. It sounds and looks fantastic, but then again, I’m biased af lol.
Thank you! My main challenges are that so far I’ve only self released on my own digital only label which only has 80 or so Instagram followers and single digit listens on Spotify and I don’t know people in the electronic music scene despite being into this music and working on it for a long time. People might say they’re introverted, but I’m extreme. I literally get worn out if I have to talk to someone for more than a minute or so. Not because I’m snooty but I literally can’t handle talking to people in a social setting. One on one I’m usually okay though. So it’s a long shot for me to send to reputable labels - the ones many of you have heard of, but I’ll try.
It’s a numbers game. Like when you’re trying to find a partner. You shoot for some hoops and most of the times you’ll miss. You’ll probably end up with not the girl/boy of your dreams, but maybe someone else. Or finding a job. I remember trying to get a job once, I kept sending resumes. No dice. Eventually I just walked out to some industrial zone and knocked on the door of every place I could find. Eventually a dude gave me a go. Unbeknownst to me at the time, his company was the bottom of the barrel for that industry. But I slowly worked my way up.
I know being an introvert can be tough and I don’t know where u live. But giving a little goes a long way to getting something back. What do u hope to gain from being on a label? I know in the towns I’ve lived, there’s always the guy who knows records. It can’t hurt to say hi, buy some stuff from their shop. The guys at the local DJ shop are probably signed in some form. Buy some stuff from them. A lot of it is interconnected and if u start giving more than you take, eventually it will just be a weird mistake that you happen to be talking to the lady who’s going to sign u.
I guess I’m just weaving words, but just being in general encouraging. Be prepared to hear nothing. But maybe don’t worry about it. For every knock back give something back somewhere else. Above the music people in general love good character in people, it’s probably more important. It could be by the time u actually do get a release on a label, it will seem incidental to you.
I’m in the U.S. and live in the middle of nowhere. I used to live in the 2 biggest cities in the US and 2 other biggest cities in Asia, but that was a while ago and I can’t deal with city or suburban life anymore. I moved far away from people and all the rat race busy-ness and noise.
That being said, I often hear people say to target 2-3 labels but you’re telling me it’s a numbers game so send out to 100 if need be? What do I hope to gain from being on a label? Basically a lot exposure and more people listening to my music - and in an ideal world gigs to play in Europe and Asia. Doing it on my own label so far hasn’t quite panned out as I don’t have the resources, contacts and networking chops.
Thank you for the info. I have my entire album on my personal label SoundCloud with a private link. I don’t think others can see how many plays it has received. I looked at the link from another account of mine and cousins see the number of plays. I suppose maybe if I make it downloadable but I never considered making my SC tracks downloadable. I’d imagine it’s easier for someone to just listen to it from there rather than download and play later. No? Also aren’t you concerned about your unreleased album bruh downloaded by. Several people?
Btw one of the only friends I have did forward my album to someone quite famous (especially in the 90s) in the electronic music world that he knows on a one on one basis. It’s been a week since this person has received it but no word yet. I don’t want to wait around and want to go hit up some others in case it doesn’t pan out.
On a serious note, what you want to do is provide the whole package to the labels you want to get released under. That includes the art, the mastering, the marketing write up, everything that is needed so that when someone decides to release it, they just simply upload what you’ve sent. You mentioned cover letter, and the importance of those is to separate yourself from the pack and make the interviewer confident that you will bring money to the organization. You’re an investment and want to make yourself appear as a profitable investment. It’s also worth noting, and may be common sense, but research the label, and include their philosophy into your little write up. Dont send them anything that doesnt fit their style, as they’ll immediately trash your email even if the other songs are on point. You’ve got to remember that label head recieved hundreds of tracks every week, if not day, and it will be glaringly obvious if you didnt put the time and effort into your package. Try to network, and make yourself a recognized face. Stick with the same avatar for your social media, and interact and comment on other peoples work. It’s all about exposure and make yourself recognizable. If you ever Dj’ed locally, you’ll know how much of a rat race getting a gig is, now multiply that exponentially and on a worldwide scale. It’s weird because the internet has made it easier than ever to get your work out there, but it’s also true for everyone else. If you can, get your package into the hands of individuals when they come to town. Again, make sure it stands out. Dont just give them a usb drive and say here. I imagine a lot of people do that, and I’d venture to say that 7 out of 10 times, the producers just delete the files and reuse the usb without even listening to it. So make sure it stands out, but remember they also travel, so dont I clued a whole gift basket.
The most important thing is to be ready to accept failure over and over and over again, but never give up.
