I produce, DJ and own a record label.
As a result, strangers send me their (unsolicited) music.
The way more and more of them have been going about it makes me want to bang my head against a wall, then bang that wall into a moving truck.
It doesn’t have to be this way!
Let’s go back to 1989… the summer of Batman!
When Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith would pull a well-loved copy of “Riding High” off the shelf and create the song that gives this post a title.
EPMD rapped about coming from Long Island into Gotham City to play their tape for execs. They get dissed again and again but persevere, eventually reaching the welcoming ears at Sleeping Bag / Fresh Records.
The lyrics are a pretty straightforward summary of signing to a label — dreaming, driving, getting paperwork from a guy named Ron.
Several decades later, there are still guys named Ron (and Nick, and A-Trak, lol).
There’s also Soundcloud, YouTube, Distrokid, and numerous other outlets to directly release and monetize your music, without any kind of partner whatsoever.
And that is what a record deal is supposed to be — a partnership, where everyone works in tandem to get the most out of their respective efforts. When it connects, label / artist / manager / booking agent / PR / everyone else Voltron into something greater than the sum of their individual parts.
Success does not occur in a vacuum, and anyone taking sole credit for it is lying to you. (They might also appear to be doing it big. Funny how that works!)
But I’m not Donald Passman over here. There’s many conversations we can have about the pros and cons of record deals in 2024. In all of them, signing is the start of the race, not the finish line.
So why do people lose their minds just trying to get on the track?
This isn’t meant to discourage up-and-comers. In many ways, I’m still one myself; no matter how established you may get, the process of knocking on doors never stops.
There will always be more “no”s than “yes”s.
In my experience, most signings and collaborations stem from organic real world sparks / interactions, sensing motion and following up on it. Still, there’s nothing wrong with pushing demos. It clearly worked for EPMD!
But I guarantee those two weren’t total punishers.
Deep liking countless Instagram posts before comment bombing “CHECK DM!!!” Multi-paragraph emails with mad attachments. Relentlessly thirsty, off-putting vibes… VOICE NOTES?!?!
Please don’t!
What up! I’m NAME, from PLACE. I love LABEL/ARTIST/RELEASE and wanted to send you some unreleased music. Here’s a PRIVATE SOUNDCLOUD LINK, hit me up if you like it. You can check my other stuff on YOUTUBE/INSTAGRAM/TIKTOK. Thanks for listening.
That’s more like it — a direct, pleasant interaction, with no follow up required.
(No preface needed either — “can I ask you a question” is still a question!)
At the very least, I’m left with the sense that “this person’s OK.”
Compare that to the impression created by tagging me in every single reel of yours for months at a time…
Honestly, I’d be thrilled to stumble upon an unreleased track from an unknown, upstart artist that gives me the brain-exploder emoji, then help share it with the world or collaborate on something new. It’s happened before!
It’s why I still needle drop everything that comes my way. (And in all fairness, there are still many folks who treat their correspondence with an appropriate amount of chill. Thank you for your service!)
If I’m inspired to give feedback / actually want to link and build further, I’m psyched to let the sender know. But there aren’t enough hours in the day to personally respond to everyone who hits me up — especially if the material doesn’t generate that type of reaction.
Please respect my time and taste.
I’d say it’s nothing personal but… it’s absolutely personal! I’m a human being with my own preferences. If I’m going to engage further, I need to like it.
Totally fine if your stuff is not for me. It might be perfect for someone else. Perform. Share. Get fans. Get more. Grow with them. Build something.
If you can’t do that, how is my attention alone going to make a difference?
Back to Erick and Parrish Making Dollars…
They started by making music.
This seems obvious, but I still encounter enough folks hustling backwards to realize it bears repeating. EPMD put real time and effort into their studio creations, steadily improving until someone else took notice.
Too many artists start with the notice part now, as if good songs are something that can be reverse engineered after the fact.
In a way, I get it; the music business is not renowned for its meritocratic tendencies. Many argue that the system is designed to search not for talent, but “a certain look and a willingness to cooperate,” as Joni Mitchell put it.
These may seem like concepts at cross purposes… not unlike “art” and “commerce.”
That’s showbiz, baby!
If you’re meant to figure it out, you’ll figure it out. Doesn’t matter if there’s someone to help; everyone must get it out the mud at one point or another.
I wish you nothing but the best.
And if you’re not a pest, I’m happy to listen.