DemosDespite being of limited use in terms of ‘getting a record deal’, the demo tape (or, increasingly, CD) is the most enduring article in the promotional campaigns of bands in their early stages. Hardly any record companies will respond positively to unsolocited demos. However, they still have lots of uses in the music industry so its still worth knowing what can be done with them and how to make them as effective as possible. What use can a demo be then?Booking Live AppearancesThe main situation where a demo will be asked for is in the acquisition of gigs. CDs are now the main request of venue managers and booking agents when bands ask if they can play. They are small and compact, easily playable, and can convey an image, a sound, and lots of information which will be of use to both the artiste on it and the listener who is using it to assess whether or not to hire the artiste. Seeking a Manager or AgentManagers and agents may also listen to demos for similar reasons ‘shall I manage them’, ‘shall I get them some gigs’, etc. Documenting your own progress as an artisteDemos are also good for the band or artiste in that they are a good documentation of progress and the process of recording a demo and designing the cover is very valuable experience. Again, CDs are probably the favoured option theses days, but a recording may not warrant being put on CD in the first place (ie, mastered) despite being useful for the things already mentioned. Mastering can be expensive if you can’t do it yourself, whereas running off copies of tapes is relatively cheap. What Makes a Good Demo?It should look good.There shouldn’t be any problems making demos look at least presentable. Remember, there will be many of them in the drawer of most venue managers - a good looking one will be easy to find and hopefully distinctive amongst all the others. The visualisation of the recording usually precedes the hearing of it. A good design can be photocopied in your local newsagent (so can a bad one of course!). Black and white can look very distinctive if the design is good - there are numerous examples of great cover designs which have no colour on them whatsoever. It should sound good.Every effort should be made to make the sound quality as good as possible for the listener. Even recordings done with budget equipment, such as 4 track portable recording equipment, can sound great. Most demos are recorded in commercial studios so there is no excuse for them to sound bad. It is important to make sure that the duplicates sound as good as the original. So if using tape try to have copies made from the DAT or CD rather than another cassette - the quality rapidly deteriorates when copying tape to tape. If using tape make sure the leader space is short. Most people listening to the tape will turn it off if there is a long wait at the beginning, especially if it is second-rate sound quality with lots of hiss. It is a good idea to put the music on both sides of the tape so that when it is finished it can be simply turned over, rather than having to be rewound to the beginning. You must remember that the ‘important’ people listening to the tape will probably have loads of others to listen to aswell – don’t give them any excuse to turn it off. It should contain all the vital information necessary.There seems very little point sending a demo to anyone if there are no details about the artiste or the songs included in the package. In the design stage consideration should be given to certain details some of which may not be all that obvious at first. Which details?..............
Artiste name
Song Titles
Contact Information
Marketing and DemosMarketing is not just advertising and publicity. It is also research, awareness and efficiency. Devise a plan which enables you to treat every aspect of what it is you are dealing with in the same respect. This enable you to avoid forgetting certain crucial things. Depending on what you are doing, failure to do this could result in the loss of large amounts of money. In the case of demo tapes the financial loss may be relatively small, so some small risks may be possible. But it is still good to know that certain things are risks rather than just flailing wildly in the dark. Start as you mean to go on. What to find out. Aspects of the music business! 1. Who is doing what? i.e. which label deals with your kind of music? Press and publications such as Kemps or A&R guide. 2. Label gossip, old and new. This might be found in music press articles, etc. 3. About the artistes on that label. Music press articles on the bands. Are they touring? Are they releasing much? Are they selling well? Is the publicity good? 4. If , for some reason, you know anyone who is already signed to that label, (for example, if you are dealing with specialist types of music such as dance or jungle, or hard-core punk, there is a chance you may meet people who are signed in a tight knit music scene) ask them about the label; (a) Is the deal good? (b) Does the label interfere with the band’s creative process? (c) Do they work hard for the band? (d) Do they make the band work too hard/hard enough/just right? 5. Are they taking tapes. Find out the number and phone them up. Once deciding on a label. 1. Find out exactly who to send the tape to - a name, a person. Remember! The tape and package/covering letter need to be right, or as good as you can get them. It is your responsibility to try to sell your art/music to them, not theirs to buy it. The person who opens the package is human, with emotions, tastes and biases, and moods. You need to attract their attention, but not bore or confuse them. 2. The Tape. Does it contain all the relevant visual and aural information? You need to say visually and aurally what they will be hearing. Track listing. Tracks on both sides. Cassette rewound to the start. Tape cut to length. Contacts; name, address, telephone number, fax number, Email number, etc. 3. The package. Does it contain a biog? Does it contain a gig list? Does it contain positive reviews/press cuttings? 4. Does it contain any means of feedback? Put in a yes/no questionnaire and a SAE for return mail. Compile a table of information to monitor the tapes sent. Something like this;
Writing letters to accompany your demo tapes.Letters should be to the point an concise, saying what you've been doing and what your intentions are. People will be more attracted to artistes who seem to know roughly what they're doing. Even though the emotions and events which give you the motivation to create your music are perfectly clear to you, they could be totally unknown to the listener. Unless your signals are clear your creativity can be overlooked by a listener who at the time may well be preoccupied with other things. This can shadow any retention they may have of your music. The A&R person opening your package is overtaken by events and emotions just as much as you are. He or she is involved in music 24 hours of the day, from demo tapes, master tapes, live gigs, in-car entertainment, production schedules, various music contracts, lack of sleep, the morning after, etc, etc. Yet your music must break through these barriers if you are to have any chance of impressing the target listener. |
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