Virgill
  Artist
Topics: 18
Replies: 254
Registered: 11.Feb.03 |
I´ll never get signed cause I don´t want to. Just too much stress and producing should be relaxing 
It´s going to be a very big hit!
Virgill |
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MatthijsB
Artist
Topics: 40
Replies: 2038
Registered: 10.Feb.03 |
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nait08 wrote on 20 Feb. (16:43) :
MatthijsB wrote on 20 Feb. (15:54) :
I wouldn't do the mastering if i were you.. if you make a song which is label material but it sounds a bit dull, you'd better brighten it up with some EQ-ing and such... and just send it anyway..
songs released on vinyl need different mastering than cd material, and most of the time vinyl releases will be mastered anyway to make sure everything is ok. So if you send out a demo and the will release your music you get the mastering for free much better than paying a lot right?
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right, but I have to say that I don't do any kind of dance music, it's more some rock-triphop-d&b-stuff with guitar and vocals', I'm sure proper mastering could do a hell of a difference |
It could but on the other hand, if you take some time to look into what they do you could give it a try yourself, it will never by as good as when it's done by the professional... but a certain level can be reached to a point where the normal music listener (not a producer) wil not even hear the difference.
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Kevin Zhan
Artist
Topics: 85
Replies: 2680
Registered: 09.Feb.03 |
lol im definatley not signed  |
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HomesickAlien
 Member
Topics: 16
Replies: 391
Registered: 17.Apr.03 |
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Put together a standard three song demo CD. Place your strongest song first and make sure that the "hook" comes in within the first 30 seconds because if it doesn't... chances are the rest of the song won't be heard. A&R people are busy and you want to get their ear immediately. (This may not hold true for some electronic genres - but I think that it would still make sense to have a "radio edit" of your best song come first so that the listener isn't bored by "mixing time" to start out with.)
My best advice is to read about the labels that you are looking to send your demos to. See whether they accept demos first of all (generally it's listed on either an FAQ or Contact page.)
Remember that they are in it to make money! If they don't have a constant supply of new music to put out they can't run their business. So, unless a label is fairly large they generally WANT to hear your music. Make sure that they are putting out music that is similar to yours but not exactly the same. Labels don't want conflicting interests insofar as promoting their artists goes (unless they are large enough that it doesn't matter) and they don't want extremely different acts.
Being a home producer puts you at a great advantage. Instead of having to lay out thousands of dollars for the recording of the album, the record company can just sit back and wait for you to send them something they think is worth mastering and promoting. There's much less risk.
Another route to consider might be taxi.com although that is geared towards people looking to break onto the billboard charts more than anything else.
What else... oh - make sure you have a decent entertainment and/or copyright attourney because the record company will try to screw you. Some lawyers will even take on a more managerial role and send your demo out to industry contacts that they might have.
Make sure that you sign up with ASCAP or BMI (ASCAP here) if you are in the US. Make sure that your demo has contact information / a concise and clear bio and that the demo CDR you send in is not flawed (unless you are trying to get signed for glitch electronica in which case that might help.)
I guess that's about it. I'm in the thick of all of this myself so hopefully that helps you guys out! But some of my information may not hold true for different genres as I've been researching the rock and roll end of things. |
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nait08
Member
Topics: 16
Replies: 1035
Registered: 17.Oct.03 |
| homesick alien: what do you think about the sound quality of demo songs? is it worth paying professionals to master your songs before sending them out? |
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MatthijsB
Artist
Topics: 40
Replies: 2038
Registered: 10.Feb.03 |
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nait08 wrote on 20 Feb. (22:07) :
homesick alien: what do you think about the sound quality of demo songs? is it worth paying professionals to master your songs before sending them out? |
I know you diddn't ask for my opinion as I've been obvious so I'll just hope for you homesickalien will also reply on this...
if your demo has descent sound quality, no clipping or other strange side-effects there is just a light advantage when your tracks are already mastered, nevertheless if they want to sign te material, chances are the guys themselves wil master your music again.... So the money spent could just as easily be used for anything else, paying for the masters yourself shouldn't be necessary at all.
you don't have to be so insecure about that ... just make sure the hats are crispy and every instrument has a clear spot in the overal mix (and off course sounds clear) and you should really be good to go for sending demo's!
again I'd like to see Homesickaliens reply on this to make you feel better;)
Another thing, there are some tools which allow you to do a partially master yourself, again it won't be as good as a professional master as in most cases but it could surely get very close to it...
options are
#1 to use some compression and equalising yourself... they way I like it to be honest...
#2 use T-racks, which i myself find rather simple and retarded and unusefull
#3 Ozone, absolutely great mastering tool, offers a lot such as multiband compression, multiband harmonic exciters, stereo expanders.... which could all improve your mix if you use all these properly... I found ozone pretty easy to use and the results were pretty darn good, so this is a good one to try, really! - I'm just really ignorant sometimes so I rather try to get nice quality without these utils 
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nait08
Member
Topics: 16
Replies: 1035
Registered: 17.Oct.03 |
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MatthijsB wrote on 20 Feb. (22:50) :
nait08 wrote on 20 Feb. (22:07) :
homesick alien: what do you think about the sound quality of demo songs? is it worth paying professionals to master your songs before sending them out? |
I know you diddn't ask for my opinion as I've been obvious so I'll just hope for you homesickalien will also reply on this...
if your demo has descent sound quality, no clipping or other strange side-effects there is just a light advantage when your tracks are already mastered, nevertheless if they want to sign te material, chances are the guys themselves wil master your music again.... So the money spent could just as easily be used for anything else, paying for the masters yourself shouldn't be necessary at all.
you don't have to be so insecure about that ... just make sure the hats are crispy and every instrument has a clear spot in the overal mix (and off course sounds clear) and you should really be good to go for sending demo's!
again I'd like to see Homesickaliens reply on this to make you feel better;)
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I appreciate any advice Thanks 
I just would like to hear homesick aliens advice aswell, because I think his music style is closer to mine than yours, so he might have a different point of view
I have spent the whole month with mixing my old songs again, and it's just difficult to stay objective if you listen to them over and over again. |
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nait08
Member
Topics: 16
Replies: 1035
Registered: 17.Oct.03 |
Dj Traxxlover wrote on 20 Feb. (0:15) :
well...i had only one commerical release so far
my remix of 99th Floor Elevators - I'll be there
will release with the original and mixes in US soon... |
That's pretty cool, how did that happen?  |
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Dj Traxxlover
Member
Topics: 6
Replies: 70
Registered: 17.Feb.04 |
nait08...u may not believe this(I couldn't at first)
but I got email from them saying that
they liked my traxx at www.garageband.com
and wanted me to do a remix for their track with my style
in return they'll give me $200
I'm really happy about it..
coz the release has mixes by Tony De Vit too
and will be played at Dave Pearce Radio 1
anyway I think it's a good start because my profile will be passed on
and hopefully i'll be contacted by more djs and get signed soon
it's not a bad idea to put yr tracks online after all
because u may get lucky like me someday
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HomesickAlien
Member
Topics: 16
Replies: 391
Registered: 17.Apr.03 |
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nait08 wrote on 20 Feb. (22:07) :
homesick alien: what do you think about the sound quality of demo songs? is it worth paying professionals to master your songs before sending them out? |
It really all depends on your budget. Personally, I'm fairly limited in budget so I would rather spend my money purchasing recording equipment and such than to send off my songs to the hit factory or masterdisk. Heck, I'd rather front the $300 to taxi.com to make use of their opportunities than to pay for a mastering job. Really, I think it's just a matter of priorities.
From what I've read, sound quality is not a top issue. All tracks will be mastered by someone else anyway. That said, it doesn't hurt to have the quality there.
So I guess my answer is this: if you cannot use the money for anything else that would help your music along then you should send it out - but your money might be better placed in making the music itself better.
I'd recommend doing the best job that you can with what you have while saving all source files. This way, if you over-compress, over-reverb, etc. then the mastering house has access to the files before you've messed them up. Remember, you can always add effects to a track - but you can't always take them away.
I read an article from some A&R guy from columbia (I believe) the other day who said that if he had the choice between signing a band who had a totally polished demo that sounded wonderful and that he liked a lot, and a band who had a demo recorded on a 4-track at home that he liked a lot he would sign the 4-track guys. Why? Because if he likes it when it's a rough copy as much as the polished copy, which one is he going to like more when both are polished? |
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