Finding it near impossible to release a track

[SLASH]

go out tonight and paint LECTRIC on the biggest public building you can find

THIs is a good start
just give as many tracks away for free to as many people as possible and when a label approaches you then I'm sure you'll have a newer and better track that would be good for them to sign. As for the track you have posted, it lacks anything special or above average. Even for a stripped down ambient beat there isn't enough variation (IMO). someone said to contact youtube channels, that is where I have had the most success. But the BEST promotion is one guy telling another guy "daaaayyummm you gotta hear this sh!t right here!" ....Just enjoy the road and the joy of making music.

[hans blix]

Re: track ... I would maybe layer another snare underneath, and those djembes I would saturate and have them abit louder in the mix. The pads I would make phatter sounding, and I really like that fx sound on the 2nd drop (maybe some delay on it?)

I guess the key thing to ask yourself is ... Is this track better than what's already out there?

[Mad_EP]

I think that if you are already getting frustrated after sending to only 10 labels, that you are in for some serious disappointment.

Even once a musician is at the top of their game, these things take time - and they take luck. Before I released my first records, I probably sent out hundreds of CDs over the course of 3 or 4 years. It wasn't that my tunes were weak or that I was taking stabs in the dark... I almost got signed to a couple of really big labels. However, it is all very tricky - timing is a large part of it.. and if a "right place at the right time" moment presents itself, you have to be ready. And even if you are ready, it doesn't always work out.

Once all that is overcome and you get some releases, you'll find that the whole goal was over-romanticized anyway. I don't know of a single artist (even the big ones on big labels) who haven't had to go through the whole shopping demos process over and over again...no matter how many releases they had under their belt. It is a constant part of the game.


I'm not trying to paint a grim picture... but rather to say that the only way not to get burnt out with frustration is to play a long game, cos in the short term it is almost always brick walls and re-tries.

[Mersikil]

I'd do as the others have suggested, put together a five track EP, up it to Bandcamp or something and promote the hell out of it online. Hit up the blogs, forums, anywhere you can to get exposure, get some hardcopies pressed (50 C-DRs is cheap as chips, a handful of dubplates is also a viable option) and do mailouts to any radio shows/DJ's who may play your stuff. Take the initiative yourself, and if your music is good, good things will happen to you.

Be very selective with what you release, and think very carefully about how you market yourself. Get a friend who's a graphic designer to help out with artwork, logos, webdesign. Go the whole hog, it might cost you a little bit, but it shows potential labels/distributors/promoters that you are serious about your work.

Don't be one of those people who spams facebook with every half arsed beat they make, I know a bunch of people that just bomb the absolute fuck out of their friend's newsfeeds. You know who cares about their music? Nobody.

Make contacts, act and present yourself in a professional manner, be polite, keep plugging away at and releasing tunes, be humble.

It's not an easy industry to crack, and success really comes down to a mixture of knowing the right people and luck. Be consistent in what you release and how you present it and people will take note.

[Sharmaji]

really it's all about finding the right home for your tunes. If you want to release a tune to have a laugh and have folks know your name for a minute, there's labels who'll do that... if you think your tune(s) have the ability to be licensed to x, y, and z markets, play into your PR campaign for the year, and could work to form a focal point around shows you've already got booked, and serve to grow both yours and the label's fanbase, there's labels on that level, etc. absolutely no point in getting into a bad relationship as far as artist, tune, and label are concerned.

w/ that said-- 10 isn't a lot. getting responses from 50% of your unsolicited submissions IS. so good on that. If you don't feel like you're making the connections you want to, then chances are the songs your sumbitting aren't right. could be for any of the reasons listed. whatevs-- take it for what it is, get back in the lab and write more music.

[grooki]

At the OP, realistically getting a release is not all that it's cracked up to be. A lot of releases on digi labels do not make much money, even if a lot of effort has gone into promotion. And to actually get a release on a digi label requires quite a lot of networking, which can be time consuming (and annoying, depending on the type of person you are!). The idea that people will come to you if you're music is good has some merit but there is a lot more to it. Honestly compare some tracks from "top" producers with a whole lot of unreleased stuff on soundcloud - it's all about the hype (as someone mentioned), often not about the music!

I guess it's a point of disillusion, when you realise that it is not simply about making good music. I think people who say this are being romantic.