Music Record Labels Industry Overview
Forming bonds with contacts at record labels helps you get ahead
Music record labels are the gatekeepers to a music career. It's the job of the music record company to find and sign the next hot act that will send the label to the top of the charts. The trouble is, the talent is beating on the door, but it takes connections to unlock it.Gone are the days that an aspiring artist could get a demo, have companies listen and become famous. The music business has changed, and it takes more than a pretty voice or lyrics to make it. The savvy musician will approach music record labels by making important business connections that lay the groundwork for a long career.
Establish connections with music record companies by thinking about the following:
1. Be heard. Get out there in your community and make music, regardless of whether you're sorting out huge deals from competing country music labels or you just penned your first alternative song.
2. Use your associations to get your name out to A & R staff (artists and repertoire), who locate the talent and stake their reputation on the artist's success.
3. Give it your all, which means the best professionally-made demo recording you can afford.
Understand what the different music record labels have to offer
There are so many different record labels available that it may be overwhelming at first to a new artist, and mergers of record labels are a common occurrence. Conduct a music record labels industry overview to first sort out who might be the best fit for your genre of music.
Try: Columbia Records is a big name in music, handling such diverse acts as Harry Connick Jr., AC/DC and the Dixie Chicks. The Columbia name also is associated with the following music labels: Epic, Sony Classical, Sony Music Nashville and Legacy Recordings. Another top record company is A & M/Interscope, handling such popular acts as Feist, Sheryl Crow, Dr. Dre and Beck.
Find out who the music recording companies trust for advice
Music record label executives rely on relationships they forge to bring in the big acts. They'll listen to the people they trust, including other musicians, music industry lawyers, and A & R folks in the music industry, as well as ASCAP associations.
Try: TAXI is an independent A & R company that researches record labels requests and forwards pre-screened artist submissions on to the label. ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers) is devoted to helping artists protect their work and can be a valuable way for artists to connect to record labels.
Reach music record labels by first playing in the community
Perhaps you're just trying to gain a foothold in the music business, and you'd just like to make some contacts with an indie music label. Forge relationships with those who can help your career, such as the person who booked you for Battle of the Bands or hired you to sing at a wedding, and promote yourself shamelessly.
Try: Hitquarters can tell you who's who at all the major record companies and help artists gain exposure for their work. Record Label Resource helps you find everything you need when starting your own label or working with independent record labels.
- Know what the music record companies are looking for in the next hottest performer: passion, a head for business, reliability and of course, je ne sais quoi -- that intangible star quality.
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