So You Want a Record Deal Part II
By Stephen Wrench Pres Lou-Do Music
In the last issue we enumerated the exhausting task getting discovered. Since you bought all those instruments, and amps and drums and paid thousands for that 10 son CD, why waste it, you want the world to hear your music. If you have bought the equipment, paid for the recording and are being paid to play out then you are a business. Why not take the next step. You can search the web for management firms and record labels why not search it for record distributors. There are hundreds of them out there. Some large, some small, and many of them want your business and will take as few as 500 CD’s. To start.
You will need to make public aware that your music is out there for sale. This can be done by being well known in your area or by airplay. There have been many articles in this magazine how to obtain airplay. Again, if you have the bucks search the web email radio promoters. Ask them what markets they cover, how many stations do they service? How much do they want and for how long, look at the track record and pick the best one.
I recently came across a group that did just that. They found a guy on the web, whom they had no knowledge of. They sent him a CD, be called back and said he loved it and could get them airplay. They now are at #41 in the new music weekly charts and #107 on Billboard. The group is Manjo Potts, the radio promoter is Larry Weir brother of Bob member of the Grateful Dead. To get a a deal with a label, charting that well on a major chart almost guarantees that you can get some kind of a record deal.
The better distributors can place your product in all local Wal-Marts, K-Marts, Circuit Cities, Best Buys, etc. Most of these guys want radio charting and min of 10,000 to distribute. You have spent thousands on equipment and recording why not spend a few thousand on a good radio promoter and see if you really have what it takes to make it. If you find a good promoter who believes in the record, you can place well on the charts and get the major deal. That is the first step a label takes after there. A&R dept likes your record is they take it to their radio promo dept and get the top dogs opinion, “Can we get good airplay with this”, if the answer is no any chance of getting a deal is dead, but if its yes you are on your way. By charting yourself you have taken away the record labels risk by showing them you can get airplay. If you can do it on your own the label knows they can achieve 100 plus times what you did. Like anything else in life you just have to be smart about it and pretend its really not your first rodeo. Billboard, Midwest Music Directory and many others put out publications listing records distributors and radio promoters.
A good distribution deal will pay you from 6 to 9 dollars a CD. Most importantly find out what outlets the distributor can place your CD in. You don’t want one that can only get you into 3 stooges music store. Find one that also uses target-marketing, meaning that the distributor only puts your CD in locations where you have exposure to the public area, whether it be by playing local clubs or by airplay. That way you are not putting product in stores no one will buy and that you will end up paying for the store to return it to the distributor. If you have a good CD and want distribution contact us we may be able to help if it is really good.
By Stephen Wrench Pres Lou-Do Music
