I agree with most of what has been in response to
the original post. I founded a band in Chicago back in 2000, in which I sang lead; played rhythm guitar; wrote/co-wrote all the tunes; was responsible for most of the promotion; produced the recordings; etc., and while we never signed to a label, we did have some decent distribution, but the companies we worked with have all gone under since the massive increase in online sales/distribution/marketing/promotion/etc.
After that group disbanded, I immediately helped start another band with a few guys who had been in very well-known Chicago band that signed to Elektra (or Epic, I can't remember which) in the late 90's, so the new band took off quickly: we sold out our first 12 shows, and because of that along with a good amount of plays on MySpace & Facebook & ReverbNation as well as our super-dynamic live shows, we signed to Virgin Records about 20 months after our first show. While it was a great learning experience, I wouldn't sign with another major label again unless the contract & terms were EXACTLY what I wanted. In all blunt honesty, most labels these days are nothing more than banks who force you to borrow & spend more money than you wanted, and they even go so far as to tell you exactly how to spend it. You'd have better luck taking out a business loan on your own; the only major difference is the label can't come after you personally if you don't recoup (AKA pay back) the money they spent on you. A bank will own you until you pay them back in full.
A few people here have said that no label will be interested in your project unless you already have some sort of fanbase, and this is pretty much true. 99% of the time. There *might* be a few small
boutique labels that will give you the distribution you're looking for, but they won't give you much else: no money for recording or promotion; very little support (if any) for
touring; and you will make far less money selling your materials through them than you would if you just managed it all yourself. I've seen a few people recommend using CDBaby, and I couldn't agree more, especially now that they've launched their online advertising program, which is SICK. So seriously: go check out CDBaby. Their services are worth every penny.
Last thing: I can't think of a single label (major, boutique, or otherwise) that will accept unsolicited submissions, which is exactly what you're talking about doing. If you send a package to a label, they will most likely just throw it away without even opening it, mainly to avoid any legal issues. For example, if you send a label a package, and then six months later they release a song via one of their bands that sounds a lot like one you sent them, they can say that they never open unsolicited materials and therefore could not have possibly ripped off your song. So the only way to submit material to a label is by ensuring it was solicited, meaning that you have someone (a lawyer, a manager, etc.) working for you that has a relationship with the label; then they can say to the label, "Hey check out this band I'm working with," and because the label knows your lawyer or manager, the label considers this solicited material (as opposed to unsolicited). Another way to accomplish this is by building a solid fanbase, either through live shows or online promotion/marketing, such that it attracts the attention of a label and they request materials from you. Otherwise, it's a waste of your time, materials, and postage.
In all honesty, if all you want is distribution and never intend to play live, I *highly* recommend you do it all yourself. Look into starting your own label and use CDBaby for distribution and whatnot. You'll have more
control and you'll make more money per disc or download sold, and ultimately be much happier with your situation.
I'm happy. I'm sharing my music.