The life of a professional musician has all the allure of millions of dollars and a one-way ticket to being famous. But the only way to become a rock star is to land a record deal. Whether you're aiming for a mainstream or an indie share of the pie, you need that label to get heard. It's tough to get signed to a label, but there is still no better way to make money as a musician than by having an established record label market your music.
A mechanic would never attempt to fix a car's engine without the right set of tools. Similarly, musicians who feel they are ready to approach a record label in the interest of getting signed had better be prepared. With literally thousands of unsigned bands looking for love, the competition is fierce, so there are some basic requirements.
First, you must have good music. This may seem pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised how many bands never get signed and don't understand that this is the reason. And you don't need to be "good" as in taste, but "good" in the sense of talent and experience.
You also must look "signable." No one will want to sign you unless you're going to make them money. As such, you and your band must be confident, experienced, dedicated and have it together. Unless you're the next Beatles, there are a thousand other bands like you--so make yourself stand out from the rest by being professional from the beginning.
A professional-looking demo package is also a must. In the music industry, image and first impressions are the name of the game. For an unsigned band, a demo package is the first impression a record label will have of its music. As a result, it should be as attractive, informative and to-the-point as possible. For a good tutorial on how to make an effective and attractive demo package (also referred to as a "press kit" when sending it to press or radio accounts), buy a copy of the book "The Billboard Guide to Music Publicity" by Jim Pettigrew, Jr.
A good demo package should have a cover letter, demo CD, band biography, band photograph and press clippings. With all of these things, how do you make it attractive? Keep it simple, because your demo package is likely at the bottom of a very large pile, and after a few hours of going over them, an A&R rep wants to spend no more than a few seconds deciding if your package should go in the trash or the "will-review-later" pile. If you keep it simple and elegant, the A&R rep should be able to get a good feeling of what your band is like in a few seconds.
Also, use a CD instead of a cassette for a demo. With the ubiquitous nature of CD players these days--the higher sound quality, the lower price to manufacture, and the fact that sending a nicely packaged CD looks impressive--CDs are the best way to go. Keep the band biography to no more than one page, and if the reader can't figure out within the first few sentences who you are, what your band is up to and why she should care, you need to rewrite your biography. The standard band photograph is an 8-by-10 inch black and white picture, but a smaller or color picture can be sent. Either way, it should demonstrate your band's visual image, but there is no need to spend a lot of money on a professional photographer--as long as it looks good, no one cares.
Keep in mind that most record labels are only interested in your music insofar as whether or not they can sell it. Your band may very well be brilliant. However, to the average record label, your CD is just another product. This does not mean that record labels are out to give you the raw end of the deal. More often than not, record executives have an honest and true love for music and passion for working with bands. However, by understanding that selling music is above all else a business, you can put yourself in a much better position to get signed, so read as much as possible about the music industry and how it works.
