How to Get Signed to a Record Label (Even if you have NO followers!)

Let’s talk about how to get signed to a record label. I’m going to show you how you can get signed to the label of your choice with no track record, no contact and no audience.

I recently released a record on Ed X’s label, Syrup Music, and I had no contacts there.

And a lot of you guys asked me how I did it. I’m going to share with you the steps that I took, and that I recommend you take too.

Now if you’ve got any questions, drop me a comment in the comments below.

And without further ado, let’s get it done.

First, a warning. If you’re wanting to get on to the bigger labels, like Spin or Armada, or Anjuna, don’t just send your demos direct to the demo moments because these guys get a lot of demos every day.

And the chances are that you are not even going to be listened to.

So we need to be a bit more clever about how we approach this.

So step one is to choose the label that you want to focus on.

And this means not shotgunning around your demo to 50 different labels, it means choosing one, two, or three of the labels that you most want to get on.

So you might have your first choice, which could be something like spinning or matte Armada.

And you might have a second choice, which might be something like syrup, or and then you might have a third choice, but no more than two or three choices, really, because you want to focus on your intentions.

And that is the way that you’re going to get results.

So the second step is to make great music that fits the style of that label.

If you are making music that just isn’t good enough, or just doesn’t fit the style of that label, then they aren’t gon na sign you. It doesn’t matter how much you want it.

So there are a few ways that you can go about this.

And there’s there’s kind of a checklist on how to check if the music is right for it.

So one references loads of music on that label.

So some labels have different genres of music.

So spin him, for example, will have future bass, it will have future house and, you know, maybe five or six different sub genres.

So you want to kind of reference your music to other music in a similar genre on that label.

And things that you want to look out for is to make sure that your drop is kind of hitting similar sounds, similar energy. You know, it’s not a million miles away.

The same with the brakes and the breakdowns.

For instance, you might have a really dramatic breakdown if you’re producing for a trance label.

And then you might have a really filthy, like a single beat drop, if you’re producing for someone like, I don’t know, protocol.

So the answer to that question will depend on the label that you’re going for, and the kind of music that you enjoy making.

The other thing you want to look out for is the arrangement.

So if you’re producing music for spinning, and most of their tracks are about three and a half or four minutes, though, don’t send them an eight-minute side trance track, because it’s just not going to fit in with what they want.

And you’re basically trying to serve them and give them a product that they’re going to be able to sell to their market.

I know it sounds a bit business-like, but you know, that’s the brass tacks of it.

The next step is to kind of add a unique twist to your music.

So you might have it sound similar to that label and have it fit into that particular mold.

But you want to have something that helps you stand out.

So it doesn’t have to be massively different. You know, it could just be a distinctive sample that you use, that could end up being part of your signature sound, or a little flourish, or a little way to do something that’s different from everyone else on the label.

And of course, you’ve got to have a bang-up mix and master.

And again, you can check out one of my other videos about how to do a good mix and master, but you want to reference it.

So it sounds like it’s going to fit into that kind of DJ set for that record label.

So it’s not sounding a million miles away in terms of the frequencies, it’s hitting the lufs values of the loudness.

I know that sounds a bit complex, but check out the other video.

And yeah, basically referencing the hallway to make sure that your music kind of sounds like it should be coming from that label.

And how do you know if your music is good enough?

If you listen to a tune that you like, on that label, and then yours, you think I don’t like mine, it doesn’t sound good enough.

Basically, if you’re listening to it, and you mix your track into it, and you’re like, yeah, that’s, that’s a similar energy.

That’s, that’s got some continuity, and it is probably good enough.

Now you can get feedback from people. Of course, don’t send it to those big labels for feedback.

They just don’t have time for that.

So make sure you are sending them the best products that you can to get feedback from people on Facebook groups in the EDM tips community, basically places where there are like-minded producers who know what to listen for.

So basically, not your mom, not your granddad, anyone like that.

Okay, so that is the easy bit.

Once you’ve got your music sounding good, believe it or not, now we have to be a bit covert.

So we’re going to go kind of out the back door.

I know that sounds dodgy, but that’s kind of what we’re going to do.

So step three, if you’ve got the label that you want, after you’ve made your music good enough for that label.

Step three is to make sure that you’ve got a decent looking SoundCloud profile and Facebook page.

You don’t have to have loads of followers that just look like you’re professional and that you are here to make a go of this career.

For ideas on that,

Just check out some of the profiles of your favorite artists.

Get some tips on headshots.

And lighting and branding and stuff like that.

And you can go on Fiverr and get help with branding.

Yeah, fiverr.

com.

Okay, step number four. Go to that label’s website and start doing a bit of research on the other artists that produce music in a similar genre to yours.

So in the example I gave, you could go to spinning website, check out their artist roster, have a listen to some of their music, and then pick, you know, six, seven, or eight people that make a similar genre of music. You write a list of their names down. The chances are, if you like that label, you’ve already got an idea of who some of these artists are.

And number five, at once, you’ve got that list of DJs and producers, and usually the producers will also DJ. Check out their social media profiles.

And you want to identify the people who have got anywhere up to about 40,000 fans, 30 or 40,000 fans. If you know anyone more than that, with more fans than that, they’re going to be hard to get in touch with, they’re going to be quite busy and they might not reply.

So your hard well, your Martin Garrix, forget about it, because they get so many people hitting them up all the time.

If you go for those guys that have got 30,000 followers, they’re more likely to reply to what I’m going to suggest in the next stage six is to provide value to those people.

Now there are a few ways that you can do that.

You can go and comment on their tracks on Soundcloud or wherever they are. You can share them on social media, making sure that you tag them. You can buy their tracks. You can go on their websites.

And this is a good trick.

If you click around on our website, sometimes there might be a broken link, something like that, because there are all these different social media platforms coming out all the time.

And the chances are with these kinds of small or medium-level artists, sometimes something will slip through the cracks.

There’ll be a broken link when you click on it on the website.

And this is great because you can just send them an email saying there is a broken link on your website.

And you just say, Hey, whoever your name is, I was checking out your website.

I love your tunes.

By the way, I couldn’t help notice.

But there’s a broken link.

This is where the broken link is.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

See you later, something like that. You know, you’re not asking for anything, you’re just helping.

And I pretty much guarantee that they will then email you back and say thanks, man, I really appreciate that.

And then you’ve got a dialogue going.

And this is what I did with the producer’s pink panda on the spinning.

So I messaged him and said, Oh, hey, guys, you’ve got a broken link on your website. There’s a bit of a dialogue.

So you can say, look, I love this track that you did. It’s right up my street.

And then be specific about what you love about that track.

So it might be the piano, it might be the breakdown, it might be the beats, whatever it is, make sure it’s genuine.

Don’t go blowing smoke up people’s asses, you know, be genuine.

If you don’t like the music, they’re the wrong people to contact.

And if you do like it, give them a genuine compliment.

And then in that same email, you can say, hey, look, I’ve written a track.

I’m a producer as well.

I think that it’s going to be right up your street. It might fit well into your set.

Do you mind if I send it over to you to have a listen?

Cheers.

We’ll have whatever your name is.

Obviously, if your name is Allison, don’t sign off.

Well, that would be weird.

Allison, what do you think?

Come on Jesus Christ.

Where are we getting to last step eight?

If they say yes, then send the track over as in the email before when we said do you want to have a listen to the track?

You are not and I repeat not sending them the link to that track?

in that email.

Sorry, you are waiting for them to say yeah, man, send it over.

I’d like to have a listen.

And then you send them the link to your track, which is usually a private SoundCloud link, something like that.

Now the chances are they will get back to you and let you know what they think.

Because you said at the end of your email, here’s the track.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for your time, we’ll call Allison.

And then Step nine.

If they like it, they say it is awesome.

Thanks for having listened, though.

I’m trying to get it released under the name of whichever label they’re on.

Do you think it would fit in with the label?

And is there anyone you could pass it on to at the label?

Now the chances are they will either say yes, or they will do that.

Or they will say no.

And then they will help you.

Like more times than not, they will say, but I do think that he could work on this label.

Or I’ve got another DJ or producer friend who I think might like this.

So I’ll send it through to them.

Now you don’t know what’s going to happen at this point.

But if your music is good, if your music is on point, then something is going to happen.

Number 10.

If they don’t like it, and this does happen, if they don’t like it, ask for some feedback.

Say thank you for having listened. I appreciate it.

Would you mind just letting me know what you think could be stronger? Something like that, something that’s going to invite them to give honest feedback, because it’s scary for people to be honest sometimes.

So anything you can make them feel more comfortable with in terms of giving honest feedback, that’s a good thing.

But if they don’t like it, and you still think you’re still committed, it’s a good track to try out with a few more people on the list.

And if three of those people come back and say now it’s not for me, the chances are your music is not quite there yet.

So you know, take the feedback on board, go back to the drawing board, have a tweak and then try again.

But don’t get disheartened by number 11. This is where you can then start adding to the snowball effect.

So if you do get signed to the label of your choice at this point, this is where you don’t want to slack off.

Okay, so you’ve got your foot in the door.

And this is where you want to shine.

So you can send this DJ or this producer one or two tracks a month tops. You know, don’t spam them and only send them your best stuff.

They may well ask if you want to do a collaboration, which has happened to me a few times, or they might ask you to do a remix. All of this is good stuff. This is your opportunity to prove to the other producers on that label, the other DJs, and to the label itself, that you are a guy that can be depended on or a girl that can be depended on by Allison, and then you can start building your reputation.

But don’t take your foot off the gas.

Now this is where you have to really start working on number 12.

It’s kind of like number 11, I guess, which is basically, Yeah, don’t blow it.

And another thing worth mentioning is: don’t be greedy.

So this is something I was guilty of when I started. When I first signed the label, no, no, it was a manager actually.

And he came back and said, Oh, you know, I want 20% to manage you and I, and then I started negotiating and I said I’d be more comfortable with 15% and all of that, and, you know, just don’t be greedy. The idea is to provide value.

Now prove it to yourself.

Don’t worry about the money that will come later.

Just once you get in the door, you start getting paid for those remixes. You know, it could be a couple of $100 at first, it could be four or $500 soon after. Just start building and try to give more than you get because you love this.

You want to basically help people succeed, and if you do that, then you, in turn, will succeed. In a nutshell, you will be a legend.

Okay guys, those were my 12 steps to getting signed to a label, even if you’ve got no following, no background, you know, no track record.

So I hope you enjoyed it.

If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel.

And until next time, cheers and happy producing.

How to get signed to a record label

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