Record Labels & Radio Stations

J

jhadden1412

New member
Hey All,

A drummer friend and I started a band called Sunbather. Here is our single Backwards Lovin' off our upcoming CD! It was my first time recording everything myself and mixing everything myself. It was then professionally mastered. Indie Rock? Idk I just call it Rock & Roll. https://soundcloud.com/sunbather-1/backwards-lovin

We have been talking to labels for help with promotion etc.. but I was wondering is a label going to be beneficial for a bands first CD? Or would it be better to just do everything ourselves and try to drum up buzz and what not on our own? Also, we are looking to shoot a couple songs to some local radio stations. Is it totally unprofessional to just shoot them songs via email with a short description of the bands goals and intentions? Can you suggest a better method? We have a few friends at College Radio but really no other leads so we can't just have buddies put in a good word for us.

Thanks!
 
Big market radio stations probably get flooded with CDs/new music, if they're even interested their audience is likely not. A lot of radio stations just re-broadcast programming anyway now. [clear channel, etc] College radio maybe?

Submit your CDs for review at various websites, maybe in half a year they'll get reviewed and no one will read the review. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine with regards to how to get heard over the other million bands out there. There's more music than awaiting ears now.

if you play locally then you may want to focus your attention there, selling CDs at your shows and maybe having a website for fans to interact with you (Facebook would even work). Really, the same things that always worked for success still apply - mostly luck, and a little ass shaking.

A label does a lot of the dirty work (if they're any good), but they should be eating that cost and what they gain is a percentage of the sales from your talent/work. Never pay a label. You pay managers, not labels.
 
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One thing that I've learned recently is that you need to do a lot of the promotion leg work before the CD comes out. Specifically, you want to email a bunch of websites and radio stations to ask if they want a promotional copy a month or so the release date (by which point you should have already ordered your physical copies if not received them already). Review sites, etc. just don't care about music that's more than a few months old.
 
If you have a label that's interested in you, pursue it and find out the fine details. Be certain you know all the facts before getting involved though.
Any label that pushes you isn't one you want to sign with.

Getting airplay is a very very important thing for getting your name out there, being taken seriously, and making money, but it's very difficult without backing from a label/pluggers etc.

Whether you go alone or with backing, be sure to be registered (and have your songs registered) correctly with the appropriate royalty collection agency.
 
Pinky said:
That's good advice. Here in the States it's BMI:

BMI, music royalty, music publishing, music licensing, songwriter, copyright, composer | BMI.com
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There's also ASCAP and SESAC (though I believe the latter is invite-only)

One thing to make sure you're aware of while registering your songs is that you need to set yourself up as both the songwriter and the publisher. With ASCAP at least, this requires multiple accounts: 1 for each songwriter and 1 for the band as publisher.
 
Greg_L said:
Labels and radio stations? Is it 1985 again?
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Evidently.

Radio stations are inundated with CDs every day. Even college stations. The unsolicited stuff goes into a big box in the file room, if they have enough interns, it'll get filed alphabetically. They put a label on the sleeve/jewel box so can notate it when its played.

What's the purpose in trying to get a label or radio airplay? To get gigs? (wrong way to get them) To sell CDs? (dead market, sell some at gigs and be happy wiht it)
 
mjbphotos said:
What's the purpose in trying to get a label or radio airplay? To get gigs? (wrong way to get them) To sell CDs? (dead market, sell some at gigs and be happy wiht it)
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...or to collect royalties and maybe to get some digital sales..also to build your profile and stand a better chance with bigger stations.
 
It's a cruel world out there for us self made artists. I've heard it said that personal contact is the best. Mouth to mouth, hand to hand. Do live shows, (many coffee shops will allow live bands to play). And then give away/charge very little for those few songs you already have out. An internet presence is great. A radio presence is awesome. But nothing can beat face to face interaction. That's how you make real fans. Talk to people. Like you, I'm tryin' to figure this whole thing out myself. My approach has been trying to actually talk to artists who have made it already. But that's really tough. They don't like to be contacted. Lol. Also, it's not what you know, or how good you think you are... It's who you know, and how good THEY think you are. Go meet people.
 
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You can probably do it yourself and keep what money you do make.

There is somebody happy to squeeze the last drop of blood out of you, mate. DIY if you can. Sell fifteen thousand CDs and you'll be on a much better footing with "industry" types.
 
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