Shopping your tracks

[sona]

I'm curious. When you guys get a few finished tracks together that you're ready to shop around, what is your process? Do you submit to every label that you think your music will suit, or do you submit to a few, wait for a reply and then move on to another few if rejected/no response?

Also, since alot of labels are currently accepting digital submissions, do you send them high quality mp3's(256-320) or mid quality(160-192)?

[steffenb]

i just send to a few labels and i always send best possible quality,
that means 320 kbps .mp3 or a .wav file

seems pretty stupid but i think you just can get only a impression of a track
with lower quality files ....

[sona]

i just send to a few labels and i always send best possible quality,
that means 320 kbps .mp3 or a .wav file

seems pretty stupid but i think you just can get only a impression of a track
with lower quality files ....

I was thinking the same, but someone I know made an interesting point about only sending mid quality files so that the label "can't bootleg" or put out the track without your permission.

Does that happen often?

[steffenb]

i personally never heard about that something like this happend ,
i know a lot of people doing music and no one ever told me that
he got bootleged or that tracks where released without permission ...
could be that we are all doing such bad music that nobody wants to bootleg or steal

[Disco2go]

i personally never heard about that something like this happend ,
i know a lot of people doing music and no one ever told me that
he got bootleged or that tracks where released without permission ...
could be that we are all doing such bad music that nobody wants to bootleg or steal

my advice would be to watermark your tracks with vocal drops every minute or so, and to only send out snippets instead of complete tracks. That's what we do...

[hairyarmbutcher]

I'm curious. When you guys get a few finished tracks together that you're ready to shop around, what is your process? Do you submit to every label that you think your music will suit, or do you submit to a few, wait for a reply and then move on to another few if rejected/no response?

Also, since alot of labels are currently accepting digital submissions, do you send them high quality mp3's(256-320) or mid quality(160-192)?

Used to be that most big labels wouldnt be that intersted in you unless your 'dance track' had some kind of marketableness other than it was a good track. It was more likly that a DJ would bootleg a track that majors didnt know/have a clue about. If you sit on your music nothing will happen - people who make money from music are known to be w------s anyways, haha.

Its a little different now - musics kind of free to most thank to t'internet - people may d/l your track for money if they think you deserve payment for your hard work in a studio.

Everyone makes or can make music these days,, few have somthing special to offer above it being a good track.


Send your stuff out or try market it yourself, good luck.


ps I let a few people on here DL my track for free - for promotion. I have a little deal and its now on beatport - I'm not fussed about the money(but it would be nice, haha), I would have made that for myself anyways, haha.

[socratez]

i make my money doing live shows, never released a record in my life. But i know that 2 live gigs earns more money than 1 release.

I would love to smell the vinyl with my track on it though, but somehow it doesnt happen,, but live gigs are cool to.

[sona]

I agree. You don't really make much money on tracks that you sign, but I figure its more important about who you sign it to. Signing a track to say, Strictly Rhythm or Plastic City would be great help when touring simply because you have the name behind you. Even if its only digital dist.

Thanks for the tips guys!