This is a more a personal, editorial blog post about music feedback which I've been wanting to write for a while now. All year – mainly through our community we are building on Facebook – people have been posting their tracks to receive feedback and validation about their work. It can...
I've recently been wondering what will be the future for labels. Are streaming services replacing labels? Or are other communities? I've been running my label Archipel since 2004 and I've never really made money from it, if you discount using it as a business card for gigs and contacts. The...
Recently my Facebook page was flooded in a fantastic way. This thread became overwhelmed with comments I was happy to read because it reminded me of how much music can drive and affect our emotions. We're talking about timeless music. I asked my FB followers to name some music that hadn't...
If your productions are tight and ready to go, and you have been looking for ways to get labels to sign your tracks, the natural next step would be to send out a ton of demos to labels and wait for them to call you back with a deal. It's...
This post is a Q&A with Dj, Producer, and label owner Stan Soul. Stan is based out of Tel Aviv, Israel, and has just put out an impressive 7th vinyl release as of late. In this Q&A we find out where the energy to record 4-5 songs a week comes from, why vinyl is...
Friends and clients of mine who listen to a wide variety of music (often very different genres) have mentioned feeling a real struggle to come up with ideas once starting a new project in their DAW. After putting together a decent beat and melody or two - many of my colleagues...
It's understandable that producers can let their eagerness get the best of them when contacting record labels. They might make one or a few tracks, and then immediately start to hunt for a label to release them. This is not the most effective strategy though, for a few reasons. Try to think of...
Self-releasing an album or EP has become a growing trend for producers who want to get their music out. It's not hard to see why: with the proliferation of producers, finding a label to release your music has become increasingly competitive. Especially if your goal is to release on vinyl, you can...
We all have a bucket list of things we want to accomplish. In a recent music production webinar of mine, I was asked: What does an artist with 20 years of work have on his bucket list? Is there ever an end to new ambitions? I'd say that your bucket list changes a lot...
Searching for music these days has become a real skill. I was in a few music stores recently browsing for new tracks for an upcoming DJ gig, and I realized just how counter-intuitive the experience had become -- not only because music stores are, in general, a huge mess, but also because the noise factor was so...
One of the things I notice most from the artists I hang out with is how obsessed they can be about getting signed to a label. But one of the main reasons people fail is that they're doing it wrong. You probably already know how to send in a demo, but do you know how...
You might have heard of record labels asking for exclusivity, or maybe you've at least heard the term mentioned in one way or another. But what does it entail exactly, and how should you approach the decision if you're ever faced with such an offer? In another post, I shared a personal story of mine where...
I don't always talk about things that happened in my "career." Since this is a blog though, I thought it would be fun and instructive to share some of the different decisions I had to face, and the consequences of each of them. I have a bunch of fun stories going back...
This blog post will focus on one of the anxieties that every new music producer gets in this turbulent and busy world, which is: how to reach a music label aside from sending in demos. Can your music make it to the ears of a label owner? Following one of my most popular posts on how to...
This post will cover some essentials on how to submit a music demo to a label you want to join. How to send a demo to your favourite record label If you're a music producer and have been making a few tracks, perhaps you thought it would be a great idea now to submit a music...
In this article, I discuss the impact that music mastering can have for a label, and how a good sound engineer can help. What is label mastering and how you can benefit from it The term "label mastering" might sound new to you, but it’s something that can make one crew stand out from...
