How to know when youre ready/getting your stuff out there

[Capture pt]

Yo


basically, its got to the point where (i think) i would like to start getting my tunes out there a bit more, except I have no idea how to do this other than going to nights and forcing a CD upon some poor DJ and hoping that he will listen to it.

So, whats the 2010 method of getting your stuff at least heard by a few people, and getting it OUT THERE GOOD AN PROPER.

I mean, myspace is over isn't it? I never really got into soundcloud as much - i always saw it as a platform to host music and then link to rather than a social network in itself... but is that where its at now?

I guess the other half is just me wanting to find a good place to get feedback on tunes - the feedback thread in the house section here is slow at best, and I dont make any dubstep to bother posting in the thread in this forum.

Also, when do you know "youre ready" to start contacting labels? I don't want to be one of the many people who send sub-par tunes to labels and just become another junk email sender... is it best to wait for a label to contact you? Does sending out friendly emails work anymore?


cheers

[deadly_habit]

do a proper studio mix, and blag your tunes to some djs for honest reactions
sounds like you need to build up a network of people who will be blunt and brutally honest who have actually accomplished things/in the know

[skanky beats]

Yo


basically, its got to the point where (i think) i would like to start getting my tunes out there a bit more, except I have no idea how to do this other than going to nights and forcing a CD upon some poor DJ and hoping that he will listen to it.

So, whats the 2010 method of getting your stuff at least heard by a few people, and getting it OUT THERE GOOD AN PROPER.

I mean, myspace is over isn't it? I never really got into soundcloud as much - i always saw it as a platform to host music and then link to rather than a social network in itself... but is that where its at now?

I guess the other half is just me wanting to find a good place to get feedback on tunes - the feedback thread in the house section here is slow at best, and I dont make any dubstep to bother posting in the thread in this forum.

Also, when do you know "youre ready" to start contacting labels? I don't want to be one of the many people who send sub-par tunes to labels and just become another junk email sender... is it best to wait for a label to contact you? Does sending out friendly emails work anymore?


cheers

different frut and untitled 2 are serious tunes!

[skanky beats]

Yo


basically, its got to the point where (i think) i would like to start getting my tunes out there a bit more, except I have no idea how to do this other than going to nights and forcing a CD upon some poor DJ and hoping that he will listen to it.

So, whats the 2010 method of getting your stuff at least heard by a few people, and getting it OUT THERE GOOD AN PROPER.

I mean, myspace is over isn't it? I never really got into soundcloud as much - i always saw it as a platform to host music and then link to rather than a social network in itself... but is that where its at now?

I guess the other half is just me wanting to find a good place to get feedback on tunes - the feedback thread in the house section here is slow at best, and I dont make any dubstep to bother posting in the thread in this forum.

Also, when do you know "youre ready" to start contacting labels? I don't want to be one of the many people who send sub-par tunes to labels and just become another junk email sender... is it best to wait for a label to contact you? Does sending out friendly emails work anymore?


cheers

and also, i think wait for the label to contact you, that way your music will find a more suitable home!

[lightshapers]

send some pm's on soundcloud to artists and labels you like making/releasing similar stuff. just be honest, tell them your just messaging people whos music your into/look up to/respect yada yada looking for some honest feedback. used this via myspace/soundcloud/even pm's on forums and it has worked for me.

if they get back to you ask them if they use aim or msn (sign up if you havnt) and can you send them stuff.

if your lucky and they start leaving comments then other people will start to take notice as well. you might get no replies from the messages or it might take a month or two for some people to get back to you so dont get pissy or be put off by it. the more you put out there the better your chances, just dont be disheartened if someone says they arent feeling it, you might even get some production tips/ideas/suggestions to improve it, even if you dont agree it doesnt hurt to get a different perspective from another set of ears. also if someone doesnt reply about one tune, doesnt mean they wont about another, so dont not contact them again, they might just not have seen the message, obviously dont harass them lol

some people will argue to not push yourself and people will find you in a kevin costner 'build it and they will come' way, tbh i think its bollocks these days because its a saturated market, if you dont ask you dont get.

be sensible about who you approach, no point in sending a metal label a country and western tune, if you get my drift.

[deadly_habit]

targeted marketing and contacts, adhere to labels and artists submission rules
honestly if you're just posting tunes up and linking them with little follow through don't expect to be picked up
you have to do networking and walk the fine line from saturation/spam to properly done

a handful of back channel and private conversations and connections are worth a lot more than 10,000 facebook/soundcloud/youtube fans/plays from random people

edit: oh yeah and common courtesy is maybe to introduce yourself and ask someone if it's cool to send tunes over via aim etc when first approaching them
nothing irks me more then when i'm on aim, available and not away or have the demo/send me tune msgs up and i just get some random person just start sending me files without even a hello or knowing who they are or what type of music etc it is

[Capture pt]

do a proper studio mix, and blag your tunes to some djs for honest reactions
sounds like you need to build up a network of people who will be blunt and brutally honest who have actually accomplished things/in the know

ya know i was thinking of doing another studio mix - my last one went down real well with friends etc, but i struggled to get listeners outside of people i know personally (IE: the internet, soundcloud/DSF). Im going to do another one regardless as I love DJing anyway, and recording is generally mad fun.

But yeh, a network of people who actually know music from both listeners and production point of views who can give criticism is EXACTLY the nail i'm furiously trying to twat on the head.

different frut and untitled 2 are serious tunes!

Cheers bro! Getting cheeky feedback was never the point of this thread, but i'm stoked you took the time to listen and you actually liked somthing, cheers man!

and also, i think wait for the label to contact you, that way your music will find a more suitable home!

Yeh - this was another thing I wanted to avoid - nothing knows the sound more than the label itself, right? Would be awfully embarrassing to be told "tunes are decent but not our thing" - but then of course this puts us back at square 1, trying to get labels to hear the product in the first place!

send some pm's on soundcloud to artists and labels you like making/releasing similar stuff. just be honest, tell them your just messaging people whos music your into/look up to/respect yada yada looking for some honest feedback. used this via myspace/soundcloud/even pm's on forums and it has worked for me.

if they get back to you ask them if they use aim or msn (sign up if you havnt) and can you send them stuff.

if your lucky and they start leaving comments then other people will start to take notice as well. you might get no replies from the messages or it might take a month or two for some people to get back to you so dont get pissy or be put off by it. the more you put out there the better your chances, just dont be disheartened if someone says they arent feeling it, you might even get some production tips/ideas/suggestions to improve it, even if you dont agree it doesnt hurt to get a different perspective from another set of ears. also if someone doesnt reply about one tune, doesnt mean they wont about another, so dont not contact them again, they might just not have seen the message, obviously dont harass them lol

some people will argue to not push yourself and people will find you in a kevin costner 'build it and they will come' way, tbh i think its bollocks these days because its a saturated market, if you dont ask you dont get.

be sensible about who you approach, no point in sending a metal label a country and western tune, if you get my drift.

yeh some good advice here, perhaps ill try some light feelers to some artists im feeling now and things - im mainly looking for feedback rather than the "SIGN MY TUNES" thing so figure this approach my work wonders in this circumstance. Nice one.

targeted marketing and contacts, adhere to labels and artists submission rules
honestly if you're just posting tunes up and linking them with little follow through don't expect to be picked up
you have to do networking and walk the fine line from saturation/spam to properly done

a handful of back channel and private conversations and connections are worth a lot more than 10,000 facebook/soundcloud/youtube fans/plays from random people

edit: oh yeah and common courtesy is maybe to introduce yourself and ask someone if it's cool to send tunes over via aim etc when first approaching them
nothing irks me more then when i'm on aim, available and not away or have the demo/send me tune msgs up and i just get some random person just start sending me files without even a hello or knowing who they are or what type of music etc it is

yeh man, nothing annoys me more than "private track shared between you and 781 other people". trust im never going down the spammer/lack of etiquette root for sure....


nice one guys, gonna start getting on this a bit more hey....
Cheers!

[legend4ry]

You'd be supprised at what burning 100 CDs and going to nights and handing them out to DJs can get you - ive had numerous DJs hit me up after ive gave them a CD at a night..

Contact those who play your sound, again - you'd be supprised how approachable people are in the music world. As DJs, most of the time we're looking for something huge what no one else has so contact semi-established DJs and work your way up if they're battering it.

Once you have DJ support at least a couple of radio shows a week and know people are playing your tunes out. Send a email to some labels, state a biography, whos playing your tunes and the concept you have for your proposed release - send no more than 3 tracks, 2 tracks what 100% work together and a third whats a bit different but what still works.

Be patient, don't settle at the first label who says yes and most of all. Enjoy yourself.

[logic pro]

You'd be supprised at what burning 100 CDs and going to nights and handing them out to DJs can get you - ive had numerous DJs hit me up after ive gave them a CD at a night..

Contact those who play your sound, again - you'd be supprised how approachable people are in the music world. As DJs, most of the time we're looking for something huge what no one else has so contact semi-established DJs and work your way up if they're battering it.

Once you have DJ support at least a couple of radio shows a week and know people are playing your tunes out. Send a email to some labels, state a biography, whos playing your tunes and the concept you have for your proposed release - send no more than 3 tracks, 2 tracks what 100% work together and a third whats a bit different but what still works.

Be patient, don't settle at the first label who says yes and most of all. Enjoy yourself.

spot on. good tips in the othe posts too.

[Sharmaji]

and also, i think wait for the label to contact you, that way your music will find a more suitable home!

that's pretty much guaranteed failure right there.

[Capture pt]

You'd be supprised at what burning 100 CDs and going to nights and handing them out to DJs can get you - ive had numerous DJs hit me up after ive gave them a CD at a night..

Contact those who play your sound, again - you'd be supprised how approachable people are in the music world. As DJs, most of the time we're looking for something huge what no one else has so contact semi-established DJs and work your way up if they're battering it.

Once you have DJ support at least a couple of radio shows a week and know people are playing your tunes out. Send a email to some labels, state a biography, whos playing your tunes and the concept you have for your proposed release - send no more than 3 tracks, 2 tracks what 100% work together and a third whats a bit different but what still works.

Be patient, don't settle at the first label who says yes and most of all. Enjoy yourself.

yeh man, sounds like a battle plan right there. last line is the money maker for sure...!

[paravrais]

I always find the 'send tunes to labels that have a similar style to you' thing really hard, I don't know what my style is, I think I have two DnB tunes that are quite similar and maybe 2 similar dubstep ones but everything else i've made in the last few months has all been totally different from each other so I never know who the hell to send tracks to or which tracks to send together :s normally just end up not sending anything out

[legend4ry]

I always find the 'send tunes to labels that have a similar style to you' thing really hard, I don't know what my style is, I think I have two DnB tunes that are quite similar and maybe 2 similar dubstep ones but everything else i've made in the last few months has all been totally different from each other so I never know who the hell to send tracks to or which tracks to send together :s normally just end up not sending anything out

By "a similar style" it basically means, send your music to labels who would suit your music. .If your music is hard to pigeon hole - send it to a label who is pushing a range of styles what you're feeling.

After all - getting signed isn't like getting a job, you have the choice who has your music to commercially distribute so pick a label you'd feel proud to be on, not because the pay is good - so to say!

[deadly_habit]

what pay?

[legend4ry]

Exactly, so you might as well be on a label who you want to be on haha.

[Capture pt]

phaha, excellent. well we'll see what comes of this conversation in a few month hey... hopefully ill get round to networking out a bit tomorrow hey!

[paravrais]

To be honest I would just be so thrilled that someone liked my tunes enough to want to sign something I would go with pretty much anyone :\ although I only send off to labels that I like previous releases from so I guess I'm doing it right.

[cloak and dagger]

A studio mix is a really bad idea; honestly, almost no label is going to have the time to listen to it unless they are STARVING for artists, in which case sending tunes is still a better option.

Handing out CDs is a great way, actually. I have had some minor successes this way.


A quick story regarding both of these points: I gave a CD to a really big name in the dubstep / electronic music scene when he came to town, expecting nothing. I ended up getting an email from him saying that he was really into what he heard, and he Cc'd the email to another big name in the dubstep / electronic scene, saying I should send him some tunes and he should hear them. I sent the guy an email, and he was basically like "not looking for artists right now," and that was it. There is no way that guy would have listened to a studio mix, even if I had the blessing of someone well-respected.


Basically, be confident, send 2-4 tunes at a time (if it's a CD you can always fill it up, and they'll stop listening when they want), and send it to someone you think will actually like and play it. I kinda regret sending some tunes to Blunted Robots, since the next couple of releases that came out after are 100x better than anything I've ever done


About choosing labels...well don't send every tune you make to the same label. I also make a huge variety of sounds, and I know not every label is going to feel it, so I only send that tune to the ones that wouldn't feel like they wasted their time by listening to it. Basically all you want is for the label to listen to the next track you send; don't worry about getting signed, if they keep listening, it means they're interested and you're doing something right.

[Basic A]

If you do a quick look around here and your email/AIM connects (which you should have been building) you can evaluate whos djing, what styles, ect.

Pick a few people, send your dubs off. Try to aim for people you know frequently RECORD mixes vs. just play live, because really, whens the last time you asked a DJ who was spinning live for a track ID? Also, aim for DJs who will have some listeners, and preferably, other producers or djs in there listener selection, who might hear your stuff and get a good impression. Go for people you know your cool with, best way to get DJ support is to chat with DJs. Put say, your best 2-4 tunes that youd like to see played into a rar, making sure they are very well labeled, and send em off. At that point, all you can do is hope they let you know what comes of it.

Also, youd be surprised where youll turn up if you give a few tracks out on soundcloud. Some of my most faithful support comes from that.

With me personally, I play daaammmn near everything I get sent, I burn everything to CD to listen anyway, so pick n' mixin, Im bound to play it all at least once, but if Im recording something Im a little bit more selective. Send em over if you want man, what sorta vibe you have?

Oh, and an EDIT for parting words... Vinyl dubplates are relatively cheap. Make some peoples Christmas's merry. You cant help but play it, if youve got it one off on Vinyllik.

[Kes-Es]

I find my biggest issue is deciding whether my tunes are actually good enough to send out or not, I hear a lot of good things but never really from anyone who knows any different.

I've been sending out stuff Via soundcloud and doing the PM thing with some bigger cats around here but I'm not really sure how to do that either.

I pretty much drop all my tracks for free just because, and I seem to get a fair few downloads but it hasn't really built a fanbase or anyfing.

I think though, that because production is a loner's trade, that you don't often run in to people from labels/ other producers who give a shit what your personality is like, it's pretty much all about keeping up with whoever you're in contact with, also. I don't know if it's anyone else's deal, but don't submit your tracks to dnb scene for review, if you're not sure, you need to be able to take criticism, not an ass pounding ego rape.