Guide to Submitting Your Demo CD to Independent Record Labels
This guide evolved from a short article I wrote to help out bands with the main problems I noticed with demo submissions I was receiving whilst running an independent record label. Every time something else came up I’d add it and now I’d say this is a pretty comprehensive list of a lot of the common mistakes bands tend to be making time and time again when submitting their demos. If you read this through before you submit to any independent record label, you will avoid common mistakes which will cost you money or stop your demo even getting listened to.
Type of Music
First things first. What sort of music do you play? What independent record labels put out records of that type? It’s really worth spending some time visiting label websites and checking out what music a label deals with. Most independent record labels tend to be quite specialised in the genres they deal with. So, to save wasting your time and theirs, before you even think about submitting your CD, make sure it’s appropriate for the record label(s) you are targeting. It’s no good sending a CD of rock music to a label that just deals with country music or vice versa. And you'd be surprised how many people do just that.
Recording Quality
Is your recording of a good quality? Yes, at the end of day if the songs are poor, that won’t change however good the sound quality is. But don’t be mistaken by thinking that “the songs will shine through”. If the only recording you have was taped on a dictaphone in your rehearsal room, then probably best to keep it to yourselves. A lot of independent record labels (particularly the smaller ones) these days prefer recordings that are ready to go, opting to initially licence an existing recording rather than paying recording costs as well. Spending a bit of money on some decent studio time once you feel your material is up to scratch will definitely be worthwhile before submitting to record labels.
Another thing worth pointing out when it comes to recording is performance. It’s no good having the best recording quality in the world if the members of the band can’t play the songs well. Remember although a totally perfect performance is impossible that’s what you should be striving for. You should be your own worst critic. Practice hard and sort any problems out before you enter the studio or you’ll end up wasting money and your demo will suffer.
I’ve read articles written by studio engineers claiming that you MUST record with a click track. That EVERY record is recorded with a click track and labels won’t release anything not recorded with a click track. This is absolute rubbish! Sure, for some types of music it is preferable or may be necessary if you’re incorporating sequenced parts with live recorded parts and it can make digital editing easier if editing is required. But it’s far from essential. Many BIG major label records have been recorded without a click track. As long as the performance is solid and you’re good timekeepers (which you should be) then no-ones going to know or care if you used a click track or not.
Planning Your Demo
Another thing worth thinking about is what tracks to put on the CD, how many and the track order. When I'm listening to a demo I'll usually make my mind up if I like it or not within the first 30 seconds of the first track. Now this is worth bearing in mind. You're not planning a track listing for a release, you're trying to grab a label's attention straight away. So it’s probably best to keep your 10 minute epic that takes 3 minutes to build up and kick in off the CD, or at least save it for one of the last tracks so if they get that far they can get a better idea of what you’re about. It's not worth putting more than 3 tracks on a demo. Even then the second track will only get listened to if the first one grabs them. First impressions really do count so take some time to think about your most instantly memorable song and make sure it goes at the beginning.
CD Pressing and Fancy Packaging
Fancy artwork and professional looking manufactured CDs might look nice, but save your cash. When we listen to demos we do just that. A glass mastered CD, with full colour booklet and fancy artwork is no more likely to catch the attention of an independent record label than a CDR with the band name, demo title and track listing written on clearly in permanent pen. The latter obviously being a LOT cheaper. Its what’s on the CD that counts, if we like it good, but if we don’t then we don’t regardless of how its presented. Plus if you ditch the jewel case and just put your CDR in a clear plastic sleeve before you send it out to record labels you'll save on the postage as well.
One thing we've seen quite a lot of recently is people thinking they can make their own CD label. Our advice is to either buy the real thing or do without. Put it this way, how happy would you be if you tried to listen to someones demo in your car CD player and the CD got jammed in because of a dodgy homemade label? (This actually happened, and the CD went straight in the bin after I had finally extracted it).
Check Your CDs
Before you send your CDs off to independent record labels, make sure you check them all on at least 2 different CD players. If your CD doesn’t work its going straight in the bin. It’s also a good idea to use silver/silver CDRs because they tend to work best on audio CD players.
Postage
One way to guarantee your demo never gets listened to is to make the independent record label you're submitting your demo to pay to hear your CD. This may sound like a stupidly obvious statement, but you'd be surprised how many people do just that! If you don't check you're paying the correct postage to send your demo then the independent record label is going to be landed with a surcharge for the extra postage to receive it. Now the question is are they going to pay it, or are they going to tell the postman to return it to sender? (That’s even if there's a return address on it, otherwise it’s getting thrown in the bin).
Basically the point is you're putting together your promo packs to submit to say 20 relevant independent record labels. You put them all in envelopes and blindly stick a first class stamp on each then post them. You haven't bothered to check the postage and in fact you are short on each package. Every single one of those independent record labels is going to be expected to pay the difference on the postage to get your demo and I'd say if 1 or 2 out of 20 do that then you're VERY lucky!
MP3s
Firstly NEVER attach MP3 files to emails. We've got to a point where if someone attaches an MP3, it goes in the trashcan immediately. There's nothing worse than someone you don’t know clogging up your email account so emails you are waiting for bounce back to the sender. Guaranteed to annoy people. Better to email a link to the file where they can download it.
Unsolicited Demos
Contact a record label first to check if they accept unsolicited demos. Most independent record labels do but if there is no information on their website it's always best to check first instead of wasting your time and money sending a CD that won't even get listened to.
Contact Info
Always make sure you include some contact info with your demo. Preferably also written on the actual CD. The record label might love your CD, but if they don't know how to get in touch, they won't.
Live Performance
This isn’t really related to the submitting of your demo, but is VERY important if you get past that first hurdle and the label are interested in your demo.
You MUST be able to recreate what’s on the CD live! If you’re lucky enough to get a label representative to go see one of your shows (and they will want to before offering you anything), make sure you don’t suck! It happens and you’ve blown it!
It also goes without saying that for most styles of music you need to play live on a regular basis (and I’m not talking once a month in your local pub) to get any label interest. Work on building up a following (not just in your local area) before submitting anything.
This guide was written by Simon Walklate, a musician who has played in various bands in the UK and owner of independent record label Fulmination Records.