Submitting Your Demo 

There is nothing more frustrating than working incredibly hard on your demo and it being thrown straight to into the bin once received by the recipient.  You know you are a fantastic talent but need to realise that getting noticed is far more than a simple task of mailing your demo to a representative of a music industry organisation; it’s a formal application to getting the opportunity that so many other artists are competing for at the same time.  So learn to set yourself apart from the competition.  This article will give you the strategic smarts to do get your demo heard. 

·              Send copies of your demos.  Don’t expect the recipient to kindly return your master demo tape/CD with their best compliments.  The last thing they need is more work to do and the last thing you need is to give them a reason to reject your work. 

·               If you are sending a demo tape (as opposed to a CD), demonstrate you understand and respect their time is valuable by ensuring it is set to begin playing your first song.  Although this is mostly common sense, you’ll be amazed at the number of industry reps I’ve spoken to about their annoyance at those artists who fail to do this. 

Clearly, this would not be an issue with a CD submission but still mark the disc with the names of the tracks you would like to get heard where it contains more than four songs. 

·               Your songs are your creations and therefore your property in legal terms.  To make this clear to the recipient, display a copyright notice on all materials (demo CD label, lyric sheet…).  For example, ‘© [your name] 2007.  All Rights Reserved.’  This prevents copying of your protected works. 

In the UK there is no requirement for a work to be registered as a prerequisite to copyright protection.  Once it has been created and recorded in a tangible form (and of course must not be copied) copyright in that creation subsists.

·               The rule of thumb is that three is the magic number.  Imagine you are the recipient and have a ceiling high pile of demos to get through.  How much time would you devote to listening to a 14 track demo?  You probably wouldn’t give it much attention at all and may decide to send it on its way to the worst possible destination for an artist, Bins Ville. 

Recipients don’t care how much blood, money, sweat and tears you have expended to put together your album.  They are not in the mood to play ‘lucky dip’ by randomly picking out tracks.  You need them more than they need you, so be specific.  After all, they would like to sample three of your most valued masterpieces so show that you believe in your work by cherry picking your best.

         However, if you are insistent on sending more than three or four songs then do so by submitting a demo CD.  The trick is to mention in your covering letter the track names and numbers of the three songs you would like the recipient to listen to and if they like what they hear, the others may also get listened to.

·               Make life less of a hassle and remove the shrink-wrap before sending it.  Okay, it will look pretty and well-packaged but there is nothing more irritating than having to struggle with the removal of shrink-wrap.  Trust me it’s not worth their time because they have a stack of demos to sift through before the end of their day.  So make your demo easily accessible and remember that it is your talent on the demo they want to be impressed by; not how well you can gift wrap it.

·               Be a strategist and understand that logically it is more likely than not that the recipient will listen to your demo in order, particularly if you’re sending a tape.  So make your first track highly commercial and up-tempo to excite the listener’s interests and impress them to listen to more of your songs.

·               As well as the covering letter and demo, ensure to enclose a well presented word-processed lyric sheet.  Use a business-style letterhead for effect with high quality paper and ink.  Make it more visually structured by paying close attention to layout using appropriate headings such as Verse, Chorus and Bridge.  Bold headings and align them to the left side of the page.  Do not attempt to cram the various sections together.  Presentation is vital.  The same principle applies to the covering letter.

·             Your covering letter is not an opportunity for you to generate a buzz by talking about how much of cash cow you will be for the recipient or to desperately beg for a chance.  It is a professional document purpose-built to convince the reader to listen to your demo.  So look like you have made a serious attempt to get noticed by finding out the name of the person to whom you should be sending your materials. 

         State your reason for submitting the demo and what aspect of your songs would you like the recipient to focus their attention on (vocal ability, the strength of the song, production talent…).  If you have won any awards in your area of discipline, regularly enter talent contests, actively seek opportunities to play live then make sure you include this in your covering letter.  Companies are interested in working with proactive, not inactive artists.  Carefully word your covering letter to focus on your positive characteristics, what your goals are and what drives you to be the best.   

Provide a full list of the tracks on the demo and mention the names of the songwriter(s) in order.  Print your name and contact information on all parts of your promotional materials (letterheads for covering letters and lyric sheets, labels for CDs).  It is very likely that your promotional kit will get separated and so to ensure that the recipient knows it’s yours, mention your address, contact number, e-mail address and web site (if you actually have one). 

Submitting sound files (MP3 mostly favoured) as attachments to emails via the Internet is fast becoming a convenient option.  It’s quick and very cost-effective.  The importance of maintaining high-speed online access is well recognised by industry bodies who receive electronic demos frequently.  Why not invite these people to visit your hype-centre of a web site as a way of selling your profile to them by providing a direct link and letting them view your pictures and listen to your work?  A&R people value this effort by artists and it makes it more interesting for them to learn about you than having to sit in a room and plough through packages of demos piled sky high.  So impress them by demonstrating your initiative and creativity.

For more specialist advice...visit www.madc.uk.com