Getting a track signed...

thinking · Post by **thinking** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:20 pm

[quote="thesynthesist"][/quote]

mate if you've got nothing to add to this discussion other than the puerile posting of pictures, toddle off to the Off-Topic forum.

dirty · Post by **dirty** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 1:38 pm

ThinKing wrote:
thesynthesist wrote:
mate if you've got nothing to add to this discussion other than the puerile posting of pictures, toddle off to the Off-Topic forum.

I'll second that, shit like this is well annoying!

thump rat · Post by **thump rat** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 2:41 pm

thesynthesist you quite clearly have a jaded outview on getting stuff out, let me assure you, its not as hard as you think. Dubstep is probably one of the most receptive scenes for new music and it really isn't that hard to get stuff signed.

thesynthesist · Post by **thesynthesist** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 4:06 pm

Who are you trying to convince exactly?

Someone's is getting all bunched up.

thump rat · Post by **thump rat** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 4:20 pm

I have a release out and have various tunes signed kthxbye.

thinking · Post by **thinking** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 4:21 pm

thesynthesist wrote:Who are you trying to convince exactly?

Someone's is getting all bunched up.

this isn't a discussion on the state of the scene or anything like that, it's advice for those not in the know on the various ways to go about getting tunes signed. If you don't have anything useful to add in this respect, don't post in the thread.

If you want to chat breeze, score points or post silly pics, knock yourself out:

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewforum.php?f=7

thinking · Post by **thinking** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:01 pm

seeing as there's peeps in here doing their best to be unhelpful, let me get involved...

first off don't bother sending your tunes to ANYONE for consideration (i.e. labels etc) unless they are genuinely good enough. You have to be brutally honest with yourself at this point - have a mix with your tunes and some existing releases which you think are really good, and see how they sound together/when compared.

It would be ideal if you can have some DJs playing your track(s) already, on radio & in the clubs - send some stuff around and see what peeps think. Then at least you can be sure that your music appeals to more people than just yourself.

You'd be surprised how many people will get back to you if they either like the track, or can see potential in your production for the future. I can say that I get sent a fair bit of stuff, and that I will always get back to people if I like/play their tunes, or if I think that I could offer some constructive criticism which (imo of course) would improve their sound.

Don't get offended/pissy of people never reply to you. Most peeps that you've thought to send stuff to are bombarded with unsigned music, the majority of which isn't good enough to release. There just isn't the time in the day to tell everyone exactly why their music isn't up to par.

Things I think DON'T help:

- relying for feedback from forums on unfinished tunes - if you don't know what to do with a half-finished piece, why on earth would you listen to relative strangers for advice? What does this say about yout conviction in your own sound? I genuinely hate to see "What does my track need??" threads, unless it's just trying to get an EQ right or something else minor.

- giving away your music to all & sundry unless it is genuinely gathering dust on your HD. Yes it's tempting so that 100 internet radio DJs can add it to their ever growing list of "320s" and play it to a 100 people online, but with the exception of one or two producers (TRG and Obeah off the top of me head) noone I can think of has had any tunes signed in this way, at least not to be released on vinyl. I think you devalue your music and your name massively by entering into this kind of thing.

- trying to rush things. By hammering out CDs before you've given yourself a chance to develop a sound and a good bunch of tunes, you can switch people off to giving you a fair chance in the future. Sit tight and continue to improve yourself.

- not tagging your MP3s properly!!! The number of times I've seen DJs/label owners trying to track someone down just by the name of a tune they were sent is ridiculous. Get busy with ID tags!

There's plenty more to add here, but I hope some of that is helpful.

thesynthesist · Post by **thesynthesist** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 5:08 pm

ThinKing wrote:
thesynthesist wrote:Who are you trying to convince exactly?

Someone's is getting all bunched up.
this isn't a discussion on the state of the scene or anything like that, it's advice for those not in the know on the various ways to go about getting tunes signed. If you don't have anything useful to add in this respect, don't post in the thread.

If you want to chat breeze, score points or post silly pics, knock yourself out:

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewforum.php?f=7

Perhaps if you look back, you'll see where this thread went "off track" so to speak.

osk · Post by **osk** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:33 pm

ThinKing man, that post was unbelievably spot on.

So true what you say about devaluing your name by hosting 320s.

grooki · Post by **grooki** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 5:23 am

Thanks for that ThinKing, that was very very useful...

So, say you think your tracks are good enough, how do you then go about it? Stick them up on Myspace where people can listen but not take? Approach people then? Let people come to you (after, presumabley, they heard your track on Myspace/whatever hosting site)?

gravious · Post by **gravious** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:57 pm

grooki wrote:Thanks for that ThinKing, that was very very useful...

So, say you think your tracks are good enough, how do you then go about it? Stick them up on Myspace where people can listen but not take? Approach people then? Let people come to you (after, presumabley, they heard your track on Myspace/whatever hosting site)?

Sticking them on Myspace, Virb etc is always a good start, but I'd suggest a proactive approach to promoting your stuff.

Get the quality control sorted, and then send stuff out to labels/DJs. (see start of this thread for more...)

There is always a chance that someone froma label will hear your stuff on myspace (especially if you add them as a friend!) and contact you, but realistically you have a much higher chance if you have some DJs playing your stuff and have sent out some promo bits.

grooki · Post by **grooki** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 11:37 pm

this thread has been most helpful

socool · Post by **socool** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:09 pm

ThinKing wrote: Things I think DON'T help:

- giving away your music to all & sundry unless it is genuinely gathering dust on your HD. Yes it's tempting so that 100 internet radio DJs can add it to their ever growing list of "320s" and play it to a 100 people online, but with the exception of one or two producers (TRG and Obeah off the top of me head) noone I can think of has had any tunes signed in this way, at least not to be released on vinyl. I think you devalue your music and your name massively by entering into this kind of thing.

I found this very interesting. I always feel compelled to make my music available at good quality for free as soon as I feel it's ready to be heard. My motivation for making music isn't to have it be picked up by a label and sold though. Of course, it's easy to say you're not in it for the money when no one's offering you any!

downngoing · Post by **downngoing** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 8:23 am

Very nice read... indeed

Getting a track signed...

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