how to present your band to a....
- Thread starter xconnyx
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-Gavin-
Gavornator
Gustavo_Loureiro
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- May 27, 2006
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Just remembered Lamb Of God guys speaking on the Headbangers Journey Documentary about their growing up environments and how it affected their music "on saturday nights, you could hear guns.. you just hear them". Following that thought Brazil should be one of the most extreme metal country!!! 
Deus.exe
BBQ!!!
Just remembered Lamb Of God guys speaking on the Headbangers Journey Documentary about their growing up environments and how it affected their music "on saturday nights, you could hear guns.. you just hear them". Following that thought Brazil should be one of the most extreme metal country!!!
Krisiun anyone?
-Gavin-
Gavornator
The truth is there is no set way to get signed?
Some bands work for years building up a followig, doing shitty gigs and paying a lot of money, or some, lik us, email one sentence to a record company for a joke...
It depends on your music, the label and your attitude.
Some bands work for years building up a followig, doing shitty gigs and paying a lot of money, or some, lik us, email one sentence to a record company for a joke...
It depends on your music, the label and your attitude.
fabz
www.respawn-inc.com
With R:I, we recorded our album, took pictures, wrote a bio, made a promo-cover, sent it out to about 60 lables and finally got signed. So far so good.
The funny part is that we got signed by a label we did not sent any promostuff to! They signed us because of the songs of our Myspace site. The Band was founded in 2005.
So i guess the internet is the future... somehow...
But I'm still lookin' for a label with my other band...
, we recorded our album, took pictures, wrote a bio, made a promo-cover, sent it out to about 60 lables and finally got signed. So far so good.The funny part is that we got signed by a label we did not sent any promostuff to! They signed us because of the songs of our Myspace site. The Band was founded in 2005.
So i guess the internet is the future... somehow...
But I'm still lookin' for a label with my other band...
EdSOE
Absolution of Humanity
Round 2 anybody? I just read the whole thing and seems like almost 2 years after, we can come with new ideas.
Having members from "well known" bands doing a review of your album or doing quotes might help or not ?
Cheers
Having members from "well known" bands doing a review of your album or doing quotes might help or not ?
Cheers
Black neon bob
Member
- Jun 2, 2005
- 2,865
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The Unavoidable
jättebög
Just remembered Lamb Of God guys speaking on the Headbangers Journey Documentary about their growing up environments and how it affected their music "on saturday nights, you could hear guns.. you just hear them". Following that thought Brazil should be one of the most extreme metal country!!!
Hah, yeah I saw that too. What the hell, if growing up among criminals and in bad neighbourhoods is what made you metal, then why the hell is Sweden one of the top (if not THE) metal countries in the world?
John_C
formerly Skeksis268
Pedro Teixeira
Member
Sacha
Throbbing Member
I can tell you how we did it, and other bands I know::
1. Record an album that is ready to go on shelves yourself
2. Tour and market and build yourself a following
Everyone knows the music business is fucked up, it revolts me in a lot of ways, but at the same time helped bring a lot of great experiences.
I don't want to be broke and live in a van for the next 10 years so i'm not sure how long i'll last hah...it seems that is expected somehow if you 'love the music enough'. While I have to love myself a bit too so fuck that shit!
1. Record an album that is ready to go on shelves yourself
2. Tour and market and build yourself a following
Everyone knows the music business is fucked up, it revolts me in a lot of ways, but at the same time helped bring a lot of great experiences.
I don't want to be broke and live in a van for the next 10 years so i'm not sure how long i'll last hah...it seems that is expected somehow if you 'love the music enough'. While I have to love myself a bit too so fuck that shit!
Not sure the name will mean much to anyone outside the UK, but some friends of mine in a trashy rock band (think The Darkness but more punk) ran into Rolf Harris at a Guilfest a few years ago. They got him to sign a copy of their demo and took a photo of him with the band holding the singed CD - then they pretty much just used that as their press kit, with randomly made up quotes from Rolf like "they're so fucking rock, their CD made my knob explode". It was clearly bollocks, but they did get responses from almost everyone they sent the press pack too 
One of my old bands got signed the old fashioned way - we got scouted at a gig and the A&R guy pretty much signed us up on the spot. That was a tiny label though (though the guy who saw us had arranged gigs for Nirvana and the Manic Street Preachers).
Knowing people does help though, as does previous reputation. I know a guy called Mid who used to be in Deviated Instinct (one of the pioneers of Crust Punk) - he also does artwork for a lot of bands, including Napalm Death. He was regularly doing art for bands on In At The Deep End Records, so when his band Bait got their demo together he sent it to the label along with the artwork he'd been doing - so he pretty much knew that their CD would get listened to pretty quickly, and all three members of the band were known from hard-working, frequently gigging bands (the bassist was also in Deviated Instinct and the drummer used to be in Subvert) so they were fairly safe options.
Steve
One of my old bands got signed the old fashioned way - we got scouted at a gig and the A&R guy pretty much signed us up on the spot. That was a tiny label though (though the guy who saw us had arranged gigs for Nirvana and the Manic Street Preachers).
Knowing people does help though, as does previous reputation. I know a guy called Mid who used to be in Deviated Instinct (one of the pioneers of Crust Punk) - he also does artwork for a lot of bands, including Napalm Death. He was regularly doing art for bands on In At The Deep End Records, so when his band Bait got their demo together he sent it to the label along with the artwork he'd been doing - so he pretty much knew that their CD would get listened to pretty quickly, and all three members of the band were known from hard-working, frequently gigging bands (the bassist was also in Deviated Instinct and the drummer used to be in Subvert) so they were fairly safe options.
Steve
EdSOE
Absolution of Humanity
absolutely awesome if you are from Germany or can speak German is this:
http://www.bandologie.com
Everything you´ll ever need to know.
http://www.bandologie.com
Everything you´ll ever need to know.
Moonlight_Seeker
Member
I just want to say that in the Canada category Strapping Young Lad and Devin Townsend have not been mentionned. And for big metal bands from the Netherlands there is Epica, After Forever and Within Temptation. /offtopic
I have never been closed to signing a deal but I always kinda perceived big record companies to be a bit like banks for small businesses. And small businesses don't get loans if they did nothing. So I think proving you are hard working, have good songs aka a decent full length recording, managed to play in various cities on your own, etc, then you might be in a better spot to be signed.
And for big metal bands from the Netherlands there is Epica, After Forever and Within Temptation. /offtopicI have never been closed to signing a deal but I always kinda perceived big record companies to be a bit like banks for small businesses. And small businesses don't get loans if they did nothing. So I think proving you are hard working, have good songs aka a decent full length recording, managed to play in various cities on your own, etc, then you might be in a better spot to be signed.
pifos_2
des scoubidoubidous wha !
I hear you. Try in Belgium dude! We're dying in here ahaha
Everything was already said but to resume :
write good music
record it on a demo (preferably a self-financed album, so you own the master, the label just released it)
set up a great live show
get a lot of gigs
do some merch
make a nice presskit with photos
start to contact some label people/get to meet some influential people/move your ass
To me contacting the label is the last thing you do when everything is ready. A label won't (most likely) sign you if you're not touring and showing that you band is or will be successful.
DaveBlack
Member
- Apr 7, 2009
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MOST IMPORTANTLY (especially when dealing with an indie label) - Make it known that you're able to tour...
A year or so ago, I emailed Tony Brummel from Victory about our band, just on a whim, and two hours later got an email back saying something to the affect of "I loved it, I'll have some people contact you in the next couple of days."
We were broke as hell, all had our own apartments and we tried so hard to get them to release our album first because I knew we were the type of band who had the potential to generate word of mouth on the music alone. But they werent having it. With that, we missed out. But now I'm kind glad it didn't work out.
I'm much happier working at a studio being the behind the scenes guy.
A year or so ago, I emailed Tony Brummel from Victory about our band, just on a whim, and two hours later got an email back saying something to the affect of "I loved it, I'll have some people contact you in the next couple of days."
We were broke as hell, all had our own apartments and we tried so hard to get them to release our album first because I knew we were the type of band who had the potential to generate word of mouth on the music alone. But they werent having it. With that, we missed out. But now I'm kind glad it didn't work out.
I'm much happier working at a studio being the behind the scenes guy.
