Contacting record labels

[MonoTeksist]

Is it a bad idea to do this when your tracks aren't 100% finished yet?

This week I sent 12 emails to hard techno labels. I got 1 reply and when I told them the songs aren't fully finished yet they too went silent.
I even told them I'm Creative Commons and they can make money from it without having to pay me a dime!
It's like the old saying: some people can never be pleased ... or they're so impatient they want to make money from you NOW.

So, what to do with "The Unpleasables"?

[MonoTeksist]

[UPDATE]
I've just checked out the music of 4 labels I contacted (and whom all ignored me) to hear if they're still stuck in the "Boom-Ts-Boom-Ts"-techno that's been going on since the (mid?) nineties. This may sound harsh but it's the truth, some people (or record label owners) seem to be afraid of innovation.
I'll call this style "boomts" for short and indicate the songs as such when appropriate.
I did this to try and get to know and understand why they dislike my brand of techno.

Another thing: I did NOT search for songs from these labels to prove my point. I took random samples from their music on their SoundCloud pages.
I'm only putting the song names here to not have to spend too much time.
And the result are not good at all ...

• Hardwandler Records
  * "Claw Maschine" - boomtss
  * "Braindead" - boomtss
  * "Toxic Swamp" - boomtss

• Future Techno Records
  * "Magnetism" - boomts
  * "Cephadrome" - boomts
  * "Fragment X" - boomts

• Dolma Rec
  * "Camorra" - boomts
  * "Alone" - boomts
  * "Ghost From The Past" - boomts

• Volume Berlin Records
  * "Destroy" - boomts
  * "Infinity" - boomts
  * "3001" - boomts

So as you can see, ALL 12 songs are of the same, almost retro style.
The next time I contact another label I'll have a listen to find out if they're up for expanding the techno genre.

A loooong time ago, Liam "Prodigy" Howlett used to say: "Techno is boring.", a statement I got pretty angry about.
But now, more than 20 years later I realize he was 100% right ... this style is old-hat, boring and it should be replaced asap.

[Ben Kohonays]

Is it a bad idea to do this when your tracks aren't 100% finished yet?

Depends on what you mean by 'unfinished'? If they're still being written or arranged then I would say you're jumping the gun, but if they only need mastering then I think it would be fine - some labels like their releases to be mastered in house anyway.

This week I sent 12 emails to hard techno labels. I got 1 reply and when I told them the songs aren't fully finished yet they too went silent.

This may be because they think you're at the 'messing around with loops' stage, if you don't clarify what you mean by unfinished they are likely to dismiss your tracks out of hand.

[Barfunkel]

I would never send unfinished demos to labels, unless they were like personal friends and I was just looking for advice. I wouldn't necessarily get them mastered by a professional, that's the label's job. But other than that demos should be completely finished pieces of work IMO.

Also, if the label releases techno that doesn't match your style, why send demos to them? Find labels specializing in the music of music you do instead.

Agree that there's a lot of boring techno about, but with the ease of modern tools it's the same with all genres of music nowadays, especially electronic. That said, I do find tons of brilliant music as well, too, it just takes tons of time to unearth it because there's like 50 000 new tracks released evert day.

[Lost to the Void]

You can`t blame labels for rejecting your stuff and then start assigning blame to Boom tiss, 90`s whatever, that to me makes it seem like you simply cannot take rejection.
If you want to really be a musician then being able to take rejection should be one of your priorities, and it may take some work on yourself to get there.
I still get rejections, my hit rate is pretty high, as I have gotten better at finding the right places, but rejection still happens and it`s water off of a ducks back, I don`t even blink now. Same with dead replies.

Just take the L and move on, labels will either like your stuff or not like your stuff, it`s that simple.

If you want to succeed with label submissions

1: Don't cold call, unsolicited emails are usually binned. Contact the label, tell them why you want to release your music with them, ask them if they are interested in receiving a submission. That way you develop dialog and they are then prepared to receive a demo. A label isn`t just a place to dump your music, it works best when you have a relationship with them. Research, find a place where you fit, just spamming labels will unlikely ever lead to a decent working relationship.
I went through this recently, I`ve stopped making techno and am now doing experimental drum and bass (and under a different name, industrial-techno), it took me a while to research where I thought I would fit. Eventually I found a place, did my research and contacted them, they were interested and accepted a demo which got release and some critical acclaim/fuss. This led to another release and we now have a good working relationship which in turn has led to other contacts and lined up future releases with other labels. I went in to this not really knowing anyone, and knowing that I was entering a scene where no one knew who the fuck I was. So essentially it has been starting from ground zero. I have experienced plenty of dead replies and rejections, but I`m now pretty much on target to hit the goals I set, ahead of the schedule I set myself.
One of the things I realised is I needed to really step up my production another level as the standards in drum and bass are a little higher than techno.
So I had to go back to the drawing board and reassess my production method, and really drill down on my methodology, and also learn some new shit.
This is an ongoing process but I'm getting there.
You have to be smart, temper your expectations, check your ego, and be honest about the quality of your work.

2: Unmastered is fine, unfinished is not.
3: There is no money to be made from techno. Remove this thought from your mind, techno labels do not make money, quite the opposite, most lose money, they are passion/vanity projects. Gigs make money.


It seems to me your attitude is all wrong, if you approach labels with this attitude "if they're up for expanding the techno genre." then you have lost already. That is both supremely arrogant and also, you aren`t offering anything particularly innovative or new, that`s not to say it is good or bad, but it isn't some new innovative sound breaking any moulds.
Industrial/broken/experimental techno has been a thing since the mid-late 90`s. Just be honest about the music you make, and labels will either like it, or not, if not then just move on, find another label that fits your aesthetic or who you like and think will fit in with.

[MonoTeksist]

Some interesting replies, thanks. I'll re-read them and comment later, otherwise these stupid little things called emotions get in the way and turn this thread into a mud-throwing contest which is silly. Non-Monty Python silly, more like stupid and pointless.

как дела!
(sorry for nooby Russian, I'm learning. And Korean is even harder).




PS: about to download Fasttracker, I still have some ... unfinished tracks there.

[timc3]

One of the things I realised is I needed to really step up my production another level as the standards in drum and bass are a little higher than techno.
So I had to go back to the drawing board and reassess my production method, and really drill down on my methodology, and also learn some new shit.
This is an ongoing process but I'm getting there.

Bit of topic but I would love to know how the production is better in drum and bass (though I always thought that this might be the case) and how it differs.. Perhaps a question for a different thread?

[Lost to the Void]

One of the things I realised is I needed to really step up my production another level as the standards in drum and bass are a little higher than techno.
So I had to go back to the drawing board and reassess my production method, and really drill down on my methodology, and also learn some new shit.
This is an ongoing process but I'm getting there.

Bit of topic but I would love to know how the production is better in drum and bass (though I always thought that this might be the case) and how it differs.. Perhaps a question for a different thread?

Well, drum and bass had what techno is having now, but in the 90`s. ie massively commercial and money behind it.
So whilst techno has traditionally been made in bedroom studios, drum and bass had producers making BIG bucks in the 90`s, and that led to big studios, commercial engineers etc etc Metalheadz studio, Roni Size studio etc etc
They were mixing shit in proper rooms with proper speakers whilst techno people were still in makeshift rooms with absolute 2`s.
This pushed everyone to step up to meet these professional standards, which have remained in the scene, whereas techno only really started raising it`s bar when the mnml thing happened.
Techno has mostly avoided the low end problem by not having basslines. Throw a big fucking bassline in to your mix, and you`ll soon find out whether or not you can cut the mustard, production wise.
In my path to infiltrating drum and bass, I`ve always known the standards where higher, just by listening, but actively getting in to making it has really pressed my skills. The shit I can get away with in techno, just can`t in drum and bass.
You need to be able to have strong bottom end, but with strong transients in the lows, you need very defined transients in the mids for the drums, but also they need to be right in your face, then you need to fit your other shit around that, and get it to a ridiculous final level and still have it sound good.
Techno is so kick reliant, your mids don`t need the same amount of work (unless you do a lot of percussion).
All of these factors whilst also combining my own fuck with everything experimentalism with sound design is really making me slow down and drill into details.
I`ve been working with some established guys, doing some collabs, and it`s given me more insight into things. The ability to have such loud fucking mixes but yet clean, punchy and in your face. It really requires maximum skill.
I thought I was at a pretty decent standard, but I`ve basically spent the last 12 months having to rehone my skillset, because I wasn`t meeting the standard I wanted it. I would say I`m close to that now, but I`ve really had to learn a whole load of shit, and just pay much more attention to detail.


Also my rejections have changed. Usually in techno it has been, "production is boss, but the music isn`t what we like"
to "these tunes are beast, but the production needs work"

A good example is the tune below in my profile.

This is an old mix/master. I`ve improved it now, but listen to all those breakbeats, the transients are inconsistent between them all. I mean that`s expected, they are different breakbeats. But that`s not good enough for DnB, at least the standards I am aiming for.
I had to go back and reprocess all those breaks so the dynamics and transients AND EQ bias is more homogenous, so the changes sound more fluid.
There`s all kinds of other stuff I had to fix, like cleaning up the transients and punch of the lows so they aren`t mashed by that bassline, and having that bassline not kill the mix bus compression. The version in my profile is so shitty to me now... I need to take it down soon.

[Evert]

I would like to listen to both versions now to compare the before and after.

[timc3]

Thanks for the interesting insight, and a I second Evert's request

I have always liked some of the clarity I have heard in some DnB and I of course remember back in the day all the press shots of artists in proper studios, but didn't realise the effect it had on the artists producing today.