Endorsement question

[drunkard]

Hey just a quickie.Well I see many many bands being endorsed.How s that works?I mean even some "unkown"bands have endorsements.I mean you can send a cd to a company and if they like you they endorse you?Anyone with such experience?
Thanks in advance

 

[felipe-x]

yes if they like your music you will be able to start some kind of deal , the first time they always make you a big discount on the instrument or amp you want, well not everyone do that , but if you are lucky bastard , maybe you will have some free guitars or amp, depends on what company

 

[Where She Wept]

i know a band thats endorsed by ESP and they get 1 guitar free a year.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

i know a band thats endorsed by ESP and they get 1 guitar free a year.

Ditto only the band I am referring to gets 2. They have a madison endorsement as well.

There are fees somewhere though, nobody gets nothing for free in the small leagues.

 

[broken81]

yep most companies Ive spoke with its usually a discount or at cost. Nothing free.

 

[deanbailey]

My guess is that the company is more likely to endorse an artist if they know the artist can sell the product.

Thats why scene bands like "Through the Eyes of the Dead" "As Blood Runs Black" "Job For a Cowboy" have one MOTHER of a list of endorsements.
The companies see their success and they impact on their fans, and think:
"Hmm..that guitarist/drummer plays so well and people really love them, maybe if i put my product in his hands they'll think it has something to do with his skills, OR it allows him to play the things he does etc" (Yes people really fall for it) thats obviously not the only reason but it's one that comes to mind.

I used to be in a Band that was endorsed by DR strings, we told them that being from South Africa their marketing isn't as strong here as it is in the States and Europe... I'm sure you can guess the next line lol i don't want to say it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention it wasn't a full sponsorship, I think it was a B level endorsement.

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

When I receive a request for an endorsement Im afraid the last thing I do is actually listen to it. Wether I like it or not doesnt come into it at all.

Its all about wether or not endorsing the band will be worth our while in terms of who will see our brand.
I cannot endorse bands who are not signed to a recognised record company as we dont want to sell directly to our target market as this generally isnt popular with our dealers.

Most bands will qualify for an artist price on any equipment they require. The policy being if they just get everything for free it wont be respected and we have in the past seen bands with the attitude of 'well it doesnt matter Ill just get another for free anyway'

Obviously gear does go out free of charge but only to internationally recognised artists. We also offer a loan system. Basically if you have already bought gear at an artist price then we have loan stock available in various countries around the world.

We have a lot of bands from the states who fly to Germany to start European tours and pick up all their backline for the tour when they get here. All they have to pay is flight case hire charges

 

[jesterroot4]

well my bands just been endorsed by Peavey and Trace Elliot... and were getting some really really good deals... i wont mention them, just in case there not happy with it. but we were told to write of shopping list of what we would like from the companies, and then they would reply with what deals they can do on what products. some dirt cheap, some free.. depends what it is

 

[hoehlentroll]

I always thought you have to be on a bigger label to get endorsements. Maybe I should start sending some CDs to some firms. What do you think are 16-18 gigs a year, one debut album (2007) and two demos (2004 and 2005) enough? What is the criteria to be considered as "benefit" for a brand?

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

well my bands just been endorsed by Peavey and Trace Elliot... and were getting some really really good deals... i wont mention them, just in case there not happy with it. but we were told to write of shopping list of what we would like from the companies, and then they would reply with what deals they can do on what products. some dirt cheap, some free.. depends what it is

Um no you havent... As I said to your manager I cannot endorse an unsigned band.

 

[drunkard]

Thanks for the replies.My band Drunkard will do the next album at Hertz studio in Poland (vader ,decapitated,virgin snatch etc).I believe it will be really good.Maybe I should send it to some companies

 

[Razorjack]

I always thought you have to be on a bigger label to get endorsements. Maybe I should start sending some CDs to some firms. What do you think are 16-18 gigs a year, one debut album (2007) and two demos (2004 and 2005) enough? What is the criteria to be considered as "benefit" for a brand?

You have to really bring something to the table for a company to look at endorsement deals. If you are playing 18 shows a year to 500-1000 people a time then you will have something to offer a company, but if you are only playing to 50-60 people at the Dog & Duck what does that offer them?

Most companies (Peavey for example, as noted above) can't even look at offering a band a deal unless they are signed, even then the label has to be recognised. You can't just be signed to "back-bedroom-records-number-4" and expect to get free Schecter's and 6505 halfstacks.

 

[JeffTD]

Um no you havent... As I said to your manager I cannot endorse an unsigned band.

Pahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


Finally... jesus christ Jester - shut the fuck up already!

 

[Razorjack]

Pahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


Finally... jesus christ Jester - shut the fuck up already!

I tried not to comment on that but I just can't help it now....

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

I always thought you have to be on a bigger label to get endorsements. Maybe I should start sending some CDs to some firms. What do you think are 16-18 gigs a year, one debut album (2007) and two demos (2004 and 2005) enough? What is the criteria to be considered as "benefit" for a brand?

Different companies do it differently but as long as your on something bigger than mymates bedroom records should should be considered by most companies for at least an artist price

 

[AdamWathan]

Back when I was playing for Woods of Ypres I e-mailed Peavey asking about what sort of package they would require from me to be considered for an endorsement and Dave Ellefson (yeah, from Megadeth, he's the Artist Relations guy at Peavey now, or at least was a couple of years ago when I sent this email) e-mailed me back and told me he could sell me any Peavey stuff directly from Peavey USA at 50% off list price, which I'm guessing is their artist price or whatever. I thought it was pretty fuckin' cool that Dave Ellefson offered me a gear discount

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

Pahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


Finally... jesus christ Jester - shut the fuck up already!

To be fair to him his band were refered to me by Chris Tsangrides so as Chris is a mate I sat up and took notice. Problem is regardless of who refers them I cant just endorse people based on kind words.. I wont disclose the details of the conversation cos that would be unfair but at the end of the day I cant endorse an unsigned band unless they have something very special or high profile on the table. In this day and age with people talking about record companies becoming redundant we sometime have to judge this by other criteria btu being signed is usually a good point of reference..




Oh and David Ellefson still handles Peavey / Trace Elliot artist relations in the USA but 50% discounts isnt a fair indication of artist prices in the UK and Europe.


Oh and Jester, I really dont want to embarass you like that but I really couldnt let that pass not in a public forum.. Mate you might want to play your cards a bit closer to your chest until final decisions and been reached.

 

[jesterroot4]

Oh and Jester, I really dont want to embarass you like that but I really couldnt let that pass not in a public forum.. Mate you might want to play your cards a bit closer to your chest until final decisions and been reached.

ahh mate its kewl! i was told this by my vocalist on the fone the other day, and was very sketchy about it myself! along with all my mates, and i didnt believe it. so i went to my managers house last night and ask him everything about what is going on, as i'd only been told by my vocalist. and he told me straight out that what my vocalist said wasn't right at all. which sucks but it realy does make more sence to me

cheers tho man! i didnt quite understand it, but was told several times that that was the deal.

i shall be having words with him lol

 

[Exocaster]

I know a drummer with drum and cymbal endorsements. He gets drums and hardware at 50% off list, a handful of free cymbals a year and a discount- I don't recall how much- after that.

 

[migreeni]

We got a Schecter and Skull Strings-endorsement by going to a local dealer who cut us the deal. And the Krank endorsement came when I just simply emailed Catero from Krank Amps and asked.

E: Oh and our drummer gets a really nice discount on Sabian cymbals as well. That's also set up by a local dealer.