With the music industry changing faster than ever, record labels are being more particular about the artists they offer deals.
Last week, the Haulix team traveled to Los Angeles for a series of meetings with some of our favorite labels and industry professionals. We met with Hopeless Records, Pure Noise Records, Metal Blade Records, Prosthetic Records, and more. We covered a number of topics related to the music business, but there was one question we asked everyone:
What does it take to get a record deal in 2019?
We expected different answers from different labels, as they each have a specific niche of music they cater to, but the responses were mostly universal. Everyone agrees that you need talent above all else, but they believe talent alone is not enough. In the age of the internet, writing good songs and getting people to listen to them is the bare minimum an artist should be able to accomplish on their own. That kind of work ethic will start to create a conversation around your music, but again, that alone is not enough to get signed.
So, what does it take?
The music business is changing, and so is the type of artists who get signed. Labels are no longer able to take risks on everyone who creates a viral hit or knows how to write catchy songs. To stand out from the competition today, musicians need more than talent. Much more, in fact, and in this episode of Music Biz 101, host James Shotwell reveals what the biggest labels in music are looking for in the musicians they sign.
Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for finding a little bit of time in your day to spend with us discussing the current state of the music industry. We have been trying to up the amount of content we share with all of you, and to accomplish we have turned to our friends in the industry to help provide additional features. The one you’re about to enjoy was written by Seth Werkheiser for the Novelty And Nonsense email newsletter. If you enjoy what you read, click here to sign up for all future Novelty And Nonsense messages.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Q. Should you tell people in your email newsletters to follow you on Twitter, Facebook, etc.?
A. I say “no.” Here’s why:
If a person has opened your email, you deserve a gold star. A medal. A plaque of radness.
To get anyone to do anything on the internet is a damn miracle.
And now you want to send them away with your brightly colored social media buttons? No!
Hand them over to a third party, board-member driven website? No! You have them there (like you, reading this)! They’re reading your words. They saw your email in their inbox, read your subject line, and decided, “I am going to read this.”
You’re a genius!
However, if you’re only giving “BUY / LISTEN / WATCH / ORDER / RSVP” – things that usually take place outside of the email – you’re hoping that the people reading want to “BUY / LISTEN / WATCH / ORDER / RSVP” at that moment.
Ponder for 0.232 seconds that not everyone who opens your email is in a position to do the thing you want.
This ain’t about you!
They’re in a meeting. Standing in line at the bank. Checking email quick before their boss catches them.
Yes, it’s tempting to shout with glee about your new song, your new video, your new product; some people just might not be ready to click buy.
Then might not want to click play because they might be listening to something else.
They don’t want to watch your video because they’re watching ‘The Daily Show.’
So don’t make your whole email an all or nothing proposition. Avoid “DO THIS THING I WANT” or “CLOSE THE EMAIL.”
For everyone not ready to click, what can you give them?
Promoting a song? A photo of the recording process, along with a paragraph of what the song is about.
Got a new sale? Photo of a person with your product, and the story about where the design came from.
Big event coming up? Give a photo from the last time you did the event, and the story you always tell.
Tell stories, and don’t lead with offers. Radiohead giving away an album is a story, but you’re not Radiohead. And you’re not McDonalds giving away free coffee.
Social media has its place, but in the very moment that someone opens your email, it’s not about Twitter or Pinterest. An opened email is a miracle in the 24/7, animated GIF, Top 35 listicle world we live in.
Don’t blow it.
This post was written by Seth Werkheiser, a seasoned music industry veteran with years of experience helping bands better understand the world of self-promotion. He founded Buzzgrinder in 2001, and Noise Creep for AOL music in 2009. Since 2011 I’ve been writing metal trivia and nightly newsletters for Skull Toaster. Follow him on Twitter.
Hello and welcome to the beginning of an all-new week of music industry insight here on the official blog of Haulix. We’re turning the tables just a bit this afternoon and kicking things off with a brand new Advice column that aims to put one digital debate to rest for good. If you or someone you know has an idea for a future installment of this column, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your suggestion.
Like it or not, there is definitely something to be said for artists who have the ability to amass a large online following without the help of a record label or top 40 single. Labels and managers love this kind of artist because it paints the perception of a successful, or at least well-liked artist even though everyone knows Facebook likes and Twitter followers do not correlate in any way to sales or actual financial success. Still, in a business where image means a lot there are those who are willing to do anything to raise the numbers associated with their so-called digital ‘supporters,’ and all too often that means turning to companies that offer guaranteed likes/follows for a price. These businesses may seem legit, but today we’re going to look at 4 reasons why going this route almost always ends badly for the artist.
1. Engagement means more than your like or follower count ever will.
You know that saying about how you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force it to drink? The same goes for gaming your social media stats. You can make it seem like 25,000 people love your one-man band from the middle of nowhere, but you cannot force their nonexistent bodies to show up at your next gig. Likewise, unless you go all-in and decide to buy followers as well as social engagement (plays on Youtube, streams on Facebook, etc. – it’s all possible for a price) it will not take long for the actual, living people who view your profile to notice a severe discrepancy between followers and people interacting with your account.
2. You increase the risk of spamming actual fans.
The idea of giving some unknown entity twenty dollars in exchange for 10,000 followers seems relatively catch-free, but anyone digging into the agreement users make when signing up for these companies will notice they more often than not require clients to allow the company to post on their behalf. That mean that at some point down the line, likely when you expect it the least, messaging will be blasted from your account to everyone connected with your group. If you’re on Twitter, this often means mass private messaging, which most people will report as spam. When that happens enough the fine folks at Twitter HQ will shutdown your account, and upon review of your activity it’s likely your recent ‘social boost’ will come to light. That will result in the loss of your account, and at that point you’ll be even worse off than when you began.
3. No one wants to work with someone who is trying to game the music industry.
No one holding a position in music that can help your career is stupid. That should go without saying, but click around the social media accounts of unsigned artists long enough and you’re bound to find dozens boasting followings that in no way reflect their actual status as performers. These people brag endlessly about their hype ‘on the streets,’ and for awhile this tactic may work, but there are a growing number of tools that industry professionals are using to unmask those hiding behind fake followers. People who are caught or discovered to be engaging in this practice of gaming social stranding are often blacklisted from many press outlets, and we’ve even heard from multiple PR reps who claim they have refused to work with artists in the past because they suspected them of boosting their stats.
4. You will get caught.
Music is hard for everyone, and that includes both professionals and artists. Those who make a career in this industry have worked extremely hard to get that far and they do not take kindly to people who try to cheat the system. Do the work. Post interesting content whenever you’re able, engage with the people who are already following your efforts, and over time you will begin to organically develop an online following. Anyone promising you a massive social media change over night is either lying to you or withholding key details that will eventually come back to haunt you.
