Want a Major Record Deal?....WHY??!!

February 12, 2003

The REAL Key To Getting A Major Deal

Sources: Execs - MCA, Universal Def Jam, 312 Ent.

Are you still beating down doors and recording demo tapes with the hopes and dreams of becoming a major label super star? Stop It! We're so sick of this fraud. Find out They KEY on how to get a Major Label asking YOU for a deal.

There are several ways that artists get signed to major record labels. Here are the two most common and neither one is easy.

1) An artist gets picked up by shopping a demo via self or lawyer.
2) An artist manager or Indie gets a phone call from an A&R rep asking if they would like to sign.

With the 1st way, (which happens to every 1 out of one million artists) the rest of the process usually goes like this:

1) Artist #1 busts their but getting A&R to listen to their demo and when someone finally does they'll get a backwards low-end recording deal with very little advance.

2) Artist #1 is then tied into a low-profit contract for the next 4 to 6 albums which can end up equaling about the next 30 years of their life.

3) After that, they are put in a studio recorded, promoted and toured AT THEIR EXPENSE which they are contracted to pay off from record sales of which they are probably getting about .80 cents per CD. IF not Less...That is, if their CD even makes it off the recording shelf.

4) If they're REALLY REALLY lucky, Artist #1 will have a hit song. They'll make the label approximately 5 to 6 dollars / per CD while they make only .80 cents and they will continue to pay back the millions of expenses they've acquired (with that measly .80 cents per cd) until they eventually go bankrupt or end up in court like our friends: TLC, Backstreet Boys or NSync. - And you've only heard these cases because they actually had MORE THAN ONE hit song. The other hundred artists were sent packin, back home as one hit wonders or with years of work on their shoulders and nothing to show for it.

Is this the horrendous fault of the big bad record label? Not really, but that's another article.

Look at what happens with Artist # 2:

1) Artist #2 saves up enough money - usually 10 to 15K (less than the cost of a car) to record, promote and distribute their own full length CD
2) They start grass roots promotions, book some shows, get some local college radio, have fun, get some home-jam spins by commercial radio and create a nice local buzz
3) They’re song becomes a SMALL TINY hit, they get requests on radio and they're little local superstars
4) But the next thing you know, A label calls them, asks them if they would like a P&D deal (Promotion and Distribution Deal) and boom, they're national superstars with a GREAT contract and millions in their pocket.

WHAT'S SO DIFFERENT WITH ARTIST #2 IS THIS:

1) Artist #2 is making close to 5 to 10 dollars when they sell their CD's. They can sell 2,000 CD's and make $20,000 (In comparison to a major super star who can sell 1 million CDs at .80 cents / per CD and make about $800,000.00 dollars MINUS the 1 million they OWE the label for promotions and are still in the hole-$200,000.00

2) Artist #2 got sold albums on their own and next thing they know, every label from here to L.A. is calling them to give them a distribution deal.

So, what's the point? What's the KEY to getting the record deal you dream of without the nightmare most artists face? SELL YOUR OWN UNITS.

1) I can't stress this enough, so I'll say it one more time SELL YOUR OWN UNITS.

2) You don’t necessarily want a recording deal; you want a P & D Deal.

3) With Free Internet Music Killing Major Label Profits, Labels are cutting back, laying off and CANNOT AFFORD TO TAKE A CHANCE ON YOU. Even less now than before.

4) How many artists have you seen featured in Vibe as the Next big thing and never heard from again? Most of you’re here-today-gone-tomorrow signed artists have entered into a contract with no proof that a label can make money off of them. They are a huge risk that labels don't want to take. And labels loose millions of dollars every year from bad investments. They end up counting on their Eminems, Janet Jacksons and Britneys to cover up all of their losses in which if you're a nobody, they won't push your product so hard. It's quicksand.

5) Stop worrying about chasing down a label to tell them how good you are. They have RESEARCH TEAMS for that. If you really have what it takes to be a star, they’ll find you. Haven't you seen enough examples? Ludacris, Shawna, Jill Scott, Nelly, Master P. TRUST ME.

6) What if you can't sell units on your own? Well, as hard as this may be to swallow; you probably would have never lasted with a label. If you can't get average people to buy your music, how will a major label see value in signing you as an act? At least this way you still have your dignity, your pride and you only lost a car.

The reality is: Getting signed by a record label is not determined by how talented you are. It's not even determined by how good your music is. It’s determined by how much money you can make. If Majors see you already making a dent in record sales, they’ll be grateful to get a piece of the pie. and it’s no risk to them, because you’ve already proven that you can make money. Think about it. If you release your own album, you’ll have less expenses, more control, the ability to weigh your options, deciding between labels and making more money on your own than you would if you had signed to a Major first anyway. You can’t loose.

So the next time someone who's never sold a CD comes up to you with the I’m-a-big-shot-now-line: “I’ve just been signed to a major recording deal.” Be happy for them, pat them on the back and wish them the best of luck…. They’re really going to need it.
 

AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE, IT IS TIME TO CONCENTRATE ON YOUR BUSINESS AND MARKETING SKILLS MORE SO THEN YOUR TALENT SKILLS AND GET TO WORK TO START GENERATING YOUR OWN HYPE!!  YOU NEED TO START NETWORKING WITH PEOPLE! IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS AND LEARN FROM THIS ARTICLE. IF YOUTHINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL WE ARE LOOKING FOR SERIOUS, DEDICATED AND HARD WORKING ARTISTS FOR OUR FORTHCOMING MIDWEST FUNK 4 COMPILATION ALBUM!! CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE!!!!!