This was originally posted on 2/20/2014 I have no idea if the links on this page still work
I have been a songwriter playing in a band for many years. One thing that I am always in search of is a place to send my demo. Finding a record company that you can send your demo to can be very time consuming and frustrating because most of the record companies out there are not willing to accept demo submissions from unknown bands. Luckily some record companies will accept demo submissions and here are 5 record that companies will.
- Alligator Records: Alligator Records is a blues record label. If you believe that you have what it takes to stand with the giants of blues then you can mail Alligator Records your CD.
- Bar None: Bar None makes the process of submitting your demo pretty easy. Bar None asks that you listen to the music that is on their website and if you feel that your music would be a good fit then all you need to do is email them a link to your ReverbNation, Soundcloud, or whatever you are using to promote your music.
- Cutting Records: Cutting Records deals primarily with dance music. If you create dance music you can email them your demo submission.
- Epitaph Records: Epitaph Records takes a different approach to demo submission. At the Epitaph website you can upload a song to a place called DEMO-LITION where Epitaph claims it will be listened to, and possibly voted on, by “fans and staff”.
- Rough Trade Records: Rough Trade Records will allow you to submit your demo through snail mail or through Soundcloud.
Remember to always be polite and courteous when talking or sending an email to someone from a record company. Do your homework and learn about what kind of music the record company you want to submit your demo to deals with and do not submit your demo to a record label that does not deal with the type of music that you create. Always put your best song first and only send a few songs, a record label will not listen to more than 3 or 4 songs IF YOU ARE VERY LUCKY! Be patient! Sometimes it can take a very long time to hear a response. I am not talking days here, but weeks or months even. The record companies that will allow demo submissions probably get quite a few submissions and it can take time to get through them all. I myself have waited so long for a reply that I had actually forgotten that I had submitted the demo when I got the reply. The worst thing you could do if you do not hear a reply as fast as you like is to keep calling or sending messages to try to speed things up. If you find yourself submitting a lot of demos and not getting any positive news do not let it get you down. Every demo submission is a chance that you otherwise would not have and you can also learn quite a bit about what the record companies expect from you even from negative responses. History is full of examples of people that were rejected hundreds of times before becoming a huge hit. Keep sending them and Good Luck!
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Please check out my website getmysongreviewed.com a website for songwriters to get free reviews of their songs.
