Three Reasons Record Labels Won’t Talk To You
~Bacon's Blog~
Photograph by Randy J Byrd
This is a question I get asked all the time: why aren’t record labels paying attention to me? And quite frankly, it is a question that I am tired of answering because the answer has always seemed fairly obvious to me. We’re going to delve into it and then talk about ways to sustainably get in touch with labels in this article.
When it comes down to it, labels don’t want to check you out because they know you aren’t going to make financial sense to sign, so they see you’re not doing the work. But on top of that, you’re not engaged enough in your community to find the right labels and thus you haven’t managed to build a real relationship with the labels. This is especially the case with getting signed to tastemaker labels.
3. Most Of The Time, Signing A Band Doesn’t Make Financial Sense
If you want a label to put out your record on vinyl, it’s going to be quite the financial investment on their end. Outside of the price of pressing LPs, they also have to pay for PR, ads, distributors, and all that noise. It’s a pretty heavy load per release. If you can’t make that money back then the label is probably screwed.
On top of this, if the band doesn’t have a lot of clear sales history behind them and a clear drive, it becomes hard to justify a signing. That is to say, so often we see bands where it’s like they want to get signed but don’t post regularly on socials, have ever toured, and don’t have any other reason that people would buy their record. If there’s no reason that you can come up with that you’ll sell, odds are the label can’t find one, either.
2. You’re Not Engaging With The Community Enough
This is a huge one that I think is limiting more bands than realize it. Hell, I think that I’m not engaging with the community enough and this is my full time job! The thing is, if you are deep in the community then you are going to much more easily figure out what labels are relevant to you and what bands make sense for you to play with. If you’re not, then people just won’t take you seriously. Think about it: how many bands do you connect with who reach out to you via cold call vs. from a mutual friend? Yeah, I thought so.
Relationships are everything and every band out there needs to be investing time in making sure that they are building up those relationships as much as possible. I think a lot of people undervalue these relationships, but let me assure you they are the most important thing. They let you know what is relevant in your scene and where you should be headed.
1. By Not Engaging, You’re Not Developing The Relationships You Need
This is kind of an outgrowth of the previous point, but it is essential. If you aren’t engaged and people don’t know who you are, then no one is going to want to connect with you. I always talk about the importance of the industry reaching out to you, rather than you reaching out to the industry and I think that’s just as true in a label situation.
Furthermore, when I go to sign a band -- and I know this is true of other folks who work at labels -- I will ask other bands in that artists scene to make sure they are cool guys and not annoying or difficult to work with. I don’t want to sign a band who are just going to give me a headache, after all -- no one does. If you don’t have the relationships to prove you are a real motherfucker...then you’re screwed.
Concluding Thoughts
In short, it’s really that easy. Getting a cool label is just a matter of showing that you are motivated, disciplined, and have good relationships with people who are willing to vouch for you. If you can develop that and then show people you have that, it’s going to be a much easier road. I wish you the best of luck!
Matt Bacon (IG: mattbacon666) with Dropout Media is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. You can read other articles in the series by clicking the "Bacon's Blog" hashtag below. Matt can also be heard on the Dumb & Dumbest podcast, which he co-hosts with Curtis Dewar of Dewar PR.
