As much as we wished we could just say that all you need to do to get signed by an amazing label is be an astonishing songwriter/musician, we can’t because it’s simply not true. There are thousands of incredible artists out there who the world deserves to hear but were never in the right place, at the right time, playing the right song. Just to further rub in the reality check, there are also thousands of amazing artists signed to great labels whose careers still never get off the ground. There is simply no justice in this world and on that note, lets explore the question.

In a nutshell the most important thing still is to be awesomely good, we’re not just talking about ‘all my mates love my songs’ – we’re talking about having people walking out of your gigs with their jaws on the floor and their hearts racing muttering about how their lives have been changed by your astounding set! Be honest with yourself and if your not there then pull your finger out and start working harder. In a fairytale world a record company A&R guy will happen to walk into one of your gigs, love what he/she hears and offer you the perfect contract the next day. In reality it takes sweat and hard toil to get noticed by the right people and then patience and wisdom to wait for the right deal to come along.

The first step obviously is to record some kick ass demos, see the ‘recording the record’ section for some more tips on that. The next step we’d recommend is just to get them out there into the world anyway you possibly can. If you’ve recorded an EP then try and sell a couple of tracks through a website or itunes but give the rest away free. Try to encourage people to send them to their friends if they like them or post them on blog sites. Try and play as many shows (especially as part of a large bill where you get a chance to play to other band’s audiences) as possible and just try and generate a buzz about you and your music. You can try inviting A&R guys to shows but they are notorious for promising the world but then never turning up. In our experience, a lot of A&R guys now get a lot of their leads from online blogs and music websites, the logic being that if everybody else is talking about this great new unsigned artist or band then maybe they should also take a look because they could make some money off it.

The answer short is no secret formula for getting yourself noticed by a record label but there are some good tips to make signing you a more attractive proposition if they do come sniffing around. Most of these to be honest are simple business common sense. Bear in mind that any label at the moment is feeling the squeeze of falling sales and an unstable industry so think about what you can do to make signing you seem less risky. For example make sure that at every gig you do and on your website you have ways that people can sign up for a mailing list. In a similar vein, make sure you work on creating a strong presence on sites like Myspace and Facebook with lots of ‘friends’ signed up who love your music. The idea is to be able to show an interested label that you have an established loyal fan base all of whom are desperate to buy your album once it’s made, or to put it in cold business terms – you’ve already found the customers, you just need to make the product.

Strong sales of any previous releases, radio play and especially a busy gig diary can also help demonstrate that you’re an established artist who is capable of recouping their investment quickly. If a label is into your music AND you can make it look like a sure thing they’ll make money signing you then you at least have a chance of a deal being proposed. The big question really is – do you need a label at all?

Do you really need a label? –>