Making a demo

[Sk8Guy]

My band is making a demo with like six songs on it to send into a record company. Should I wait and do quite a few gigs first and then send it in or what?

[dondottcomm]

If you are worried about showcaseing then maybe you should develope a little while longer..You have to be confident about what you are doing{never let them see you sweat..LOL}and if you do have it together ..You should send it in ...if you can get it in to the right hands ..why not?If you are sending in 6 songs they are more than likely going to want to hear more material anyway {they always do}if you get a bite...Good luck..Oh ya do you ever play Orlando?

[Professa Plum]

Hmmm, well I'd say that you probably don't need to put six songs on a demo, thats most likely a waste of time...standard demo tapes are 3 songs, put your best one first. Send it with your press kit (photo, bio, reviews) and don't send it unsolicited (talk to someone at the label, tell them you have a demo that you'd like to show to them) otherwise it'll probably get tossed (another good reason to not do six songs). try to put it on CD if you can, more and more bands are doing this. It doesnt have to be professional studio quality, but now that everyone and their momma has a digital 8-track, it would be a good idea to make a nice recording. You probably don't have to do gigs first, but if you have reviews (see above) it helps. Good luck and keep trying.

[Rev E]

Prof,

The likelihood of a band getting a review without a recording to sell/promote OR a gig to plug is slim to none.

Rev E

[S]

and remember,

put your best material first. if it don't grab their attention in 15 seconds it gets tossed , WITHOUT them even listenin to the rest of the demo.