These days a recording contract is nothing more than a big advance of money to be recouped by the recording company through sales of your product. If it doesn’t sell to expectation you still have to pay the money back somehow. Music companies are a business and they are there to make money not lose it. It is no different than going to a bank and getting a loan to market your music your self, except the recording companies have the methods to make the product sell, get airplay and distribute the product throughout the country or even the world. Recording companies loan you the money to make the music and get their money back by distributing it. Typically artists make a small fraction on CDs- most of the money comes through merchandise and tours.

If you can get a recording company to get behind your music, that’s good. But beware of recording companies who try to influence and change your sound, often to the point of rewriting your songs and even changing members of your band or, worse still forcing you to record songs made by other peoples.

Here are some difficulties that can happen to musicians who get signed and think they are on their way to fill stadiums around the world.

Getting shelved!
A band gets signed, gets some cash advanced for recording. The songs are recorded and completed but the record company ‘shelves’ your act and you never sees the light of day but you can’t take your product anywhere else because you are already signed. Often you can’t even play live gigs without giving a % of your performance fee to the record company. This happened to Billy Joel who waited his five year contract out playing in piano bars.

The song gets changed.
Often you will be all ready to record your songs and the record company will bring in a co-writer or producer who alters your compositions beyond all recognition to “fit in with label’s style.” You started to make a hard rock album and you end up with a rap album with all your instruments removed and samples replacing them. You thought you were Metallica only to end up like Jack Johnson. Then you have to go and promote something you really hate and your product is no longer recognizable.

Where did all the money go?
Beware the big advance of money, to make and promote your music. If it doesn’t sell you will have to pay the money back, with interest, just like the banks. How do you pay it back? Live gigs, touring, radio shows, shopping centers for the next ten years. How do all those artists who make millions of dollars end up bankrupt? All the bills they didn’t know they had to pay. They had so much fun, they never watched where the money was going. Read the fine print so you don’t end up like MC Hammer.

Where did my band go?
Quite often musical differences between band members and record companies are solved by the company getting rid of and replacing any member of the band who doesn’t agree with them. They are always trying to get work for their own players and artists who have already been signed. Quite often you will find all your guitar player’s work re-recorded by the studio guy or producer to fit in with the label’s sound or smooth over tensions within the band.

I thought I was a musician not a pop star.
Increasingly recording companies are trying to “cross media” any act in anyway they can. They will market you anyway they can, and they will get you to do things to increase your and their exposure any way they can. You may end up on dog food commercial, on big brother or, god forbid, on Australian Idol. Many recording companies are just offshoots of the big media groups who control TV, radio, music, and the print media, and they will market you anyway they see fit to re-coup their investment in you. Most musicians have a short shelf life so companies want to maximize their profit now before the public listens to the next big thing. (We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump!)

Remember that the music business is 95% business and 5% music. Try to go independent if you can, promote yourself on the web at sites like Axebay and build your own presence in the world. The more successful you are in the beginning the more bargaining power you have with the recording companies. If you do get an offer, get a good lawyer. You don’t want to waste five years in piano bars.

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For a record company, how much money they see themselves making off of you is ultimately the deciding factor. Your music, your performance, your lyrics and your talent are crucial as well but they have to be able to sell you in addition to your music.

On the quest to getting the ultimate record deal you may find that you have to somewhat reinvent yourself. Now, don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to change who you are as a person but you may need to sit back and take a look at how you present yourself or your band. Do you have charisma, a star quality, sex appeal, uniqueness—all of the above? What are the defining characteristics of your style? What sets you apart from the thousands of others out there trying to get signed by a record company?

Do you look and act the part? This is what it all boils down to! You have to be confident, experienced, dedicated, professional and original. Originality is key! The music industry doesn’t need another Brittany Spears or 50 Cent. The music gurus want new, fresh people that are going to rake in the dough!

If you are serious about working on how to get a record deal then you need to get creative. Add to your list of things that you have to offer the music industry. See a stylist, write more songs, network, take music lessons, get a website, prepare a demo package, market yourself because no one else is going to do it for you!

If you are having a blockage of ideas of how to be creative and original then take a look around you. Who are the top selling bands/musicians out there today? What makes them marketable and unique? Different genres will have different answers but doing this may give you some clues. Don’t go and copy people because this defeats the purpose of the exercise. But explore ideas of what is out there. If you desire a record deal then look at those who have one and figure out why they got one!

Not every musician will have their fame handed to them on a silver platter. If you are not related to someone in the industry or don’t already have an in then you are going to have to work to get that record deal. Remember, image is everything in the music biz so get one that is memorable and most importantly marketable.

Reason Number 1 – Sending Unsolicited Recordings

Sending Unsolicited Recordings before you send out any demo packages you must always call, email, mail or fax the record label and ask permission to send in your demo package, cause most record companies do not accept demos just sent out of no where, just for the simple fact that you can send them your demo, and then a month later an artist comes out with a song similar to yours, and then you would be able to sue cause you could say that they got the idea from the demo that you send in, so for the record companies protection they keep track of whos demo CDs that they listen to, just to protect them from a lawsuit (note that all unsolicited demos will be returned without being opened) so dont waste your money on mailing the CD.

Reason Number 2 – The packaging

The next reason has to do with demo packaging cause 50% of all the demos sent out to record labels, look cheap with tape all over the envelope, or some messy hand writing with graffiti of their Rap group on the front and back, and the envelope without a return address are some of the main symptoms of poor packaging, but an overall poor quality in the packaging of the demo and the package will not be opened regardless of the music, cause they feel that if the package is of poor quality then the music and the artist are also of that same type of quality.

Reason Number 3 – Your press kit is weak

This one has to do with the contents of the package, as far the press kit it self cause this is what they look at first, before playing your demo. The press kit must include a biography, an 8×10 photo of the artist or group, and a demo cd, the first parts of the press kit are the most crucial to getting your song played, and the first of the two which is the picture and this needs to be of a good quality as far as the look of the picture and the quality of the paper.

(Please do not use a picture printed from your computer, Which may cause automatic rejection)

And the other part is the bio and after glancing at your picture and only if the picture is acceptable they will then begin to look at your bio and this should be a good look into the people behind the music, including where they came from, how they started in music, what they have done, in music and where they plan on going with their music.

(Please do not hand write your bio, For which may cause automatic rejection)

A failure to make a quality press kit will definitely hurt your chances of getting your cd played, and that is only half the battle, so it would be advised that you duplicate a good cd with printed labels.
(Please no handwriting on the cd)

Reason Number 4 – No Contact Information

No Contact Information on any thing. All material sent out must include the same contact information as far as your name, address, email, and phone number on the bottom of your bio, place this information on the bottom of the picture and on the demo CD, plus try to include a business card as well. Basically saying that, if the record labels do not know how to reach you, then they wont reach you. So it would just be a waste to even listen to the CD if they cant call you back.

Reason Number 5 – Your demo is wack

Now that we have gotten the A&Rs attention it now boils down to the demo CD, and first of all if your demo is wack then thats just it you are totally wack dont get mad or complain just accept it and move on to a new career, but if you are not wack and just misunderstood then the next few reasons should help you out of a slump.

Reason Number 6 – Poorly Recorded Material

Number 6 is a reason that sometimes is beyond an artists control, and it has to do with the quality of the recording of the CD, and its due to the fact that the recording industry is like the car industry, where the more you pay for a car then the better the car functions, but all cars not matter how much you pay do the same thing, Drive! And thats the same in music with studios where the expensive ones function better than the garage studios, but they basically do the same job.

So the main ways to record good music no matter where you record, is to first remember sound levels, please do not record your vocals or the beat to loud into your computer and do not burn the CD with the songs very loud, cause it would be better to turn up the volume on a low volume song than it is to turn down a song where the sound is to distorted from being burn on the CD to loud, and another sure fire way get a good sound is to find a good engineer to mix down your music. Plus it is always a plus to consider some digital mastering which would in turn make your CD ready for radio or video play.

Next in this section I want to talk about the format of the songs and how the vocals were recorded. Like 3-4 double and ad-lib tracks covering the main vocals of the song so the listener can barely understand, another bad thing is to have to long of an intro into the song where the beat is just playing or the artist is just talking for more than 8 bars. Then you need to cut that out of all your songs (demo wise) and get straight to the point weather you put a hook first or you start with a verse, do not let the intro go on for more than 4 bars.

Reason Number 7 – Picking the wrong type of songs

Reason number 7 has to do with you picking the Wrong type of songs to put on your demo CD, and the worst type of song off the top is a slow song. Unless you are vocalist and your main focus is to sing slow songs or ballads for the market that your are trying to sell records in, then it is best to be avoided especially if you plan on entering the mainstream market of record sales, cause in this business of music a majority of the time, it is accustomed to record singles for radio play, cause lots of radio play equals a high number of record sales for that album, and if an A&R cannot envision your music on the radio or playing in the club.

They would not be able to see you as an artist that can sell records. Now just try to think about how many slow songs are big on the radio right now. Not to many huh? Another thing to consider when choosing the songs for your demo is to eliminate to explicit lyrics from the music cause it kills all chances of it being played on the radio. I even remember an instance where a certain well know A&R took a demo he received to a club the same night he got it and had the Dj play the song to watch the crowd react to the music, and the response was so good that he signed the artist to a major label deal two days later. So you need to be ready.

Reason Number 8 – To many songs

Now we are at number 8, and it is to have too much material, just remember that a demo CD is not an album, so you do not need to put any skits on your demo or long shot outs to your crew and then do not put To much material on your demo, just because you and your friends think that all the songs are equally good, please dont fool your self, cause when you put to many songs, you start to test the patience of the A&R and it first shows a lack of professionalism and more of a desire to have your music heard than it is a desire to sell records.

Believe me that there is a big difference between the two. So try to understand that record companies are working hard to sell records and they are not here to share the art of music with the world. So just try to limit it to 3 or 4 songs and nothing over 5 minutes long.

Reason Number 9 – Sending The Wrong Music To The Wrong Label

Now we have reason number 9 and this one happens quite a lot and its when an artist sends their demo to any record labels and it has to do with reason number 1 where you need to call the labels and find out if they produce your type of music. Cause wouldnt it be a waste of time for a country singer to send her demo to def jam records. Where there will be a very high chance that she will be rejected due to the fact that this certain record company might not produce or even know how to market and sell that certain type of music. But then again the major labels can handle pretty much anything.

Still it is advised that you do your research by going on the companies websites and check the rosters of artist that have already signed to the labels and see if your style of music fits in or if there is any room for you being a new artist. Where you might see 7 rappers out of 8 artists on a certain label, then that company may not be looking to sign any rappers at the moment until they can release the artist they already have. But then again if you are that good then other artist will not stand in your way, where the label might release your album first. You can never tell.

Reason Number 10 – You are just not what they want

You must remember that this industry is ran by people and not a machine that always makes the right choice, and you can actually have a all the bases covered and came with a damn near perfect demo package and still the A&R wasnt feeling it. Then dont be discouraged cause the person you gave your demo to could have been having problems at home, or about to be fired from that company or thinking about leaving, and they just couldnt hear that good marketable music, or they had already signed enough artist for the year.

And a few major reasons is a lack of development in the image, sound, and star quality of the artist, no experience in live performances or ever selling records as well as a lack of team players like a manager, agent and entertainment lawyer, cause it is always a major plus for a record company to see other professionals believing in your project as much as you do, to where it helps the record company believe in you as much.

It is the dream of every budding musician or singer to be able to say “I just got a record deal”. With a real record company, too. With a record deal come fame and fortune, credibility and validation. It is a hallmark of success when a company comes to you and says “We like your music enough to invest our money in you”. With a record deal you can find your songs in stores and hear them on the radio. You can be invited to perform on late night television, or get your videos on MTV. With a signed record deal in hand the world is your oyster and there are no longer any limitations on how far your craft can take you.

A record deal is your invitation to the big leagues, where you get to play with the big boys and girls, where you get to dress up and go to the Music Awards shows, and maybe actually be in the running. They are elusive pieces of paper from mysterious organizations, so hard to obtain, yet so many are awarded. And they will change your life. For better or worse? That’s up to you and how you go about it.

Do I Deserve a Record Deal?

You really need to look inwards and be realistic before you make this jump head on. Do you believe, truly, that you can do this? Do you have people (besides your mother) that love your music, who pay money to see you? Even a cover charge counts.

This is an art form for you. You love to create, to express yourself through your music, to write songs that either touch hearts, or get those toes tapping and hearts beating. All of that is great, and is an absolutely necessary component of success. But take a step back for a moment. A record company does not create music, get the fans jumping out of their seats only to run down to the music store and buy your cd. That’s on you to have the musical content that will excite the fans. The record company exists on the sales of your creations.

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The Music Demo:

The first step towards landing a record deal is often the “music demo” or “demo tape”. The music demo is a representation of who you are and what you can do, what makes you special and why the record companies need to sign you to a record deal and invest millions of dollars. The music demo is your product. When approaching record companies, management companies, music producers and talent agencies, your music demo will be the first thing that they ask for. If it’s good enough, they will consider working with you in some capacity or will at least keep their door open for future consideration. If your music demo sounds like crap, you can bet that their door will close to you and remain closed to you.

Give them what they want:

So what do record companies look for when evaluating a music demo? While the details may vary from person to person, one thing that they all have in common is that the music needs to move them emotionally. They have to “feel it”. But with hundreds of music demos coming across their desk, they don’t have the time to wait until the second chorus to see if they like it or not. About 95% or more of the music demos received by management companies, music production companies, music producers and record companies, are of such poor quality that often the music demo will be rejected within the first 10 seconds simply on that basis. It’s often the job of the assistant to weed through the piles of music demos and separate the quality ones from the poorly produced, poorly recorded ones.

You have to be heard within the right context:

If the sonic quality of your music demo or demo tape is acceptable, then the person you’re trying to impress may now be willing to listen to at least a verse and chorus. But you must sound legit.
If you’re an R&B singer, but you’re singing against a music track that’s country, your singing won’t be heard against the proper backdrop and most likely will be rejected before they reach the chorus. Another example might be a female Pop/R&B singer trying to sing against a big, loud hard rock band, or a country artist trying to sing against a dance track. While the singers might be good in each case, they will sound “wrong” to whomever might be listening. The music MUST complement the vocals. The subtleties of each style of singing must be enhanced by the appropriate musical arrangement and production. That is often the job of the music producer or record producer.

What about the song?

The song is as important as ever in today’s modern music. A song can make or break an artist, as is demonstrated every day on the radio. How many times do you hear a hit song on the radio with an average singer? Every day many top recording stars may struggle with their careers trying in vain to find another hit song. As in the case of Michael Jackson’s last record, they spent about $50 million recording and promoting the record. But there were no hit songs and sales were way off their projected numbers. They lost big money on that one.

So what makes a hit song? No one can say with absolute certainty. But here’s what music mogul Clive Davis had to say about Diane Warren, one of the most successful songwriters in history: “Diane is able to combine tremendous feel for melody with lyrics that deal with genuine emotions, and she is able to do it time after time”. With over 50 Top 10 songs to her name, I’d say that’s a reasonable formula!

Hit songs are rare. Do your best to record a quality song that you feel has hit potential. Don’t record a bad song just because you happened to write it. Many singers may have exceptional voices but their songwriting skills haven’t caught up yet. If necessary , seek out songs from an established published songwriter or music producer.

Self Produced Demos:

Many music demos are self produced these days in home studios. With the technology more affordable, it’s possible for a talented, technically oriented musician to make an acceptable music demo in their home. But all too often the home technology exceeds the skills of the operator and the music demo sounds flat and homemade, with too much reverb on the vocals, no punch in the bass and no clarity in the hi end. The talent of the musician may not translate into talent as a music producer or recording engineer, and so the entire music demo suffers, even though the singer and the song may have been outstanding. That’s where the skills of a talented music producer first come into play. The music producers experience in the recording studio can save countless costly mistakes and deliver to you a product that sounds professional and polished, which will increase your chances of getting that record deal.

The Music Producer:

The role of the music producer varies, based on the style of music. For most styles, the music producer makes the technical decisions in the recording studio, helps choose songs and works to get the most out of the artist, showing off the strong points and burying the weak points. It’s the role of the music producer or record producer to help create the vision for the artist and to make it into a reality.

For live rock bands, a music producers role can sometimes be more one of guidance and direction. With a good recording studio and engineer, bands can often achieve decent results on their own and may not need a music producer in the earlier stages, such as recording the music demo. Though for the recording of an entire album, it’s recommended.

For Pop, R&B and dance however, the music producers role is essential. Often, the music producer will help write the music, play some or all of the instruments and be responsible for every aspect of the musical production, from the sonic quality of the recording to keeping things within budget. This allows the singer to focus and concentrate on giving their best vocal performance and doing what they do best-sing! A good music producer should make you and your music demo sound polished, explosive and exciting. It should be appropriate for the style of music you’re singing and should sound close to a finished record. If your music demo doesn’t sound professional, don’t send it out yet. You only get one chance to make a first impression, so you want it to be good.

Making Your Music Demo:

The first thing that needs to be established before heading off to do your music demo, is why you are doing it. Bands often need a recording to give to a club before being able to play there. What’s required in that situation is much different than what’s required for a Pop or R&B singer looking to get a record deal.

Many artists first thought is to call a recording studio. While this may yield results, most recording studios make their money from selling time. The recording studio provides the space with all the equipment and an assistant and/or engineer to run it all. They charge a set fee by the hour and you’re free to do whatever you like during that time. If you’re a band, this may be precisely what you need. But if you’re a singer and don’t have any music production skills, this kind of setup will be useless to you. You first need the music before you can record your vocals. Again, this is where the services of a experienced music producer are desired.

Making A Master Recording:

So what exactly is the difference between a Master recording and a demo? A master is made for commercial release. You hear masters on the radio and buy them in stores or download them from iTunes. A Master is a finished, full production. The quality is superior to a music “demo”. The “demo” (which is short for “demonstration”) is intended to interest the Record label or publisher in investing the money to record a music master. Traditionally, the music demo was something as simple as a vocal and piano. But with the advances in technology it no longer pays to record a simple “music demo”. A Master quality music production is now affordable for those serious about their careers. Record labels are used to hearing finished music productions and that’s what they expect. With internet distribution, a music master can be sold, placed in radio, licensed, etc. Though “music demo” is still a buzz word, any music productions worth doing should be of Master quality and radio ready.

Choosing a Music Producer:

Like anything, you need to shop around to find the right music producer to produce your music demo. Ask a lot of questions. Precisely what qualifies this individual to call themselves a record producer? Ask about their experience. Do they have any album credits, have they worked with any famous recording artists, won any awards, worked on hit records, etc.? Are they known in the industry and do they have a good reputation? Is this a part time job for them? Are they involved with the style of music you wish to pursue? Some other considerations would be location. What studio will you work at and with what engineer? Meet with them and hear their work. Are you impressed with the quality of their music production? Do you like them and vibe with them? Ask how they would treat your project.

How Much is it?

Finally, ask about cost. A music demo can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars, to record company budgets of tens of thousands of dollars per song. Some producers may charge by the hour. While occasionally this might be appropriate, it has the potential of costing you many times more than you originally planned. Ask about additional costs, such as musicians, studio costs , engineering fees, etc. A set fee for the music production demo is usually the best way to go and the way that most record companies work with music producers. While you don’t want to mortgage your house for your music demo, you must realize that you get what you pay for. The cheapest demo around will sound like the cheapest demo around. This isn’t how you want to portray yourself if you’re serious about pursuing a record deal. You want to go with the highest quality music demo from the best music producer that you can afford.

Choosing a Studio:

Unless you’re technically proficient in the area of recording studio equipment, seeing an equipment list won’t help you much. But you should be interested in the clientele that the recording studio attracts.
If they regularly work with signed recording artists, record companies and publishing companies, chances are they have the necessary equipment and technical skill to give you a professional product. Check out a list of their clients. The music producer will most likely have a recording studio that they’re comfortable working in and that has the necessary equipment to produce your demo. But while home studios may have come a long way in recent years, they still don’t match the environment, acoustics, sound, equipment and personnel of a commercial recording studio.

Alternatives to a Record Deal

So much has been said here about getting a record deal. But that is no longer the only option these days for aspiring artists to get their music to the people and be heard by the masses. No record deal does not mean no career in music. The internet has changed everything, and many artists who have had record deals in the past are now looking towards the internet as a preferred method of selling their music. While an artist may sell 300,000 units, (CD’s) the amount of money spent on their behalf by the record company may exceed the amount brought in by sales. The artist may only receive a small percentage of CD sales and end up owing the record company millions of dollars, which have to be “recouped” before the artist can begin to see any real dough. In contrast, an artist who sells only 15,000 of their own CD’s on the internet and at live shows, can likely clear over $100,000 after expenses. Record companies are usually very interested in them after they hear about that. The major expense for the artist however is hiring a music producer and funding their own recording. But this supports the idea of finding an experienced music producer and doing a great sounding music demo that has the quality of a record. It becomes a viable product that can be sold. The music demo can be released on a per song basis on the internet and more songs can be added as they’re recorded.
A poor sounding music demo is likely to damage your reputation, so keep it in the closet. Better yet, avoid getting stuck with a bad music demo in the first place.

One final note:

It’s important to get a great sounding music demo to help open up some doors and to eventually get a record deal. But be cautious. After searching around the internet for music producers and recording studios to recommend, we came across many sites that appeared to be…less than honest about their intentions. For example, song contests that resulted in the winner having to spend money to get their song recorded by the company having the contest. Home studios where the singer was forced to sing in a closet. Claims by so called producers with no music industry credits to back them up. Producers with no solid music industry contacts offering to shop your music demo. And a few more. Just make sure they’re legit and that you’re comfortable talking and working with them.