Become a part of the TranceAddict community!Frequently Asked Questions - Please read this if you haven'tSearch the forums
TranceAddict Forums > DJing / Production / Promotion > Production Studio > The "getting signed" concept - I need insight
  Last Thread   Next Thread
Share
Author
Thread    Post A Reply
Low Profile
Supreme tranceaddict



Registered: Oct 2003
Location: Akureyri
The "getting signed" concept - I need insight

Well, it's finally that time for me when I'm starting to think if my music could actually bring in a dollar or two. Me and a friend of mine are working on some tracks (his track, actually, I'm doing a remix of it) and the plan is to send it out to a couple of places for some feedback, and hopefully someone will like the tracks

The thing is, I have no clue what I'm getting into. I don't know how the whole process works, so I was hoping that you guys could share YOUR experience.

Mastering - something that we need to take care of, or something that the record label should manage?

Contracts - am I selling a track or am I selling my soul? Is it normal for labels to put you under contract, such as "you now belong to this label and are not allowed to publish your work anywhere else" ?

Foreign labels - I'm from Iceland and my friend is from Spain, not many trance labels in these countries, so we're looking towards germany, U.K., Holland, etc. for labels. Is this something that could complicate things alot, payment- contract-vise, and legally?

any and all insight would be very helpful, whether they be horror stories or stories of fame and success (and also, note that we have not yet sent the tracks out, they are still work in progress)

Old Post Mar-13-2007 16:50  Iceland
Click Here to See the Profile for Low Profile Click here to Send Low Profile a Private Message Add Low Profile to your buddy list Report this Post Reply w/Quote Edit/Delete Message
Subtle
Subreme tranceaddict



Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Urban Shakedown

First of all. Dont get too excited if you just made a big leap in production and thinking you have made the leetest tune.

When you progress to another level you can be fooled into thinking your tune is better than it actually is.

Im only speaking of personal experience, and it could very well be you are making an excellent tune.

Then you should look for labels that are releasing about the same stuff as you have made.. try avoiding small digital labels, they might release anything they get their hands on.

You shouldnt be concerned with mastering, a fully mastered track and a track just bounced from the sequencer shouldnt sound very different. The most important part is the actuall mixing of the track.

Being resident in a foregin country of the targeted label is no problem at all, all happens over net these days.

I have no clue how your track sounds, but i advice you to send samples to alot of your friends and see what they think.. if most of them think the bassline is way off, that is most likely to be true.

Anything else is beyond my experience, as im not signed to any label. And wont be for a long time.


___________________


http://soundcloud.com/subtara

Old Post Mar-13-2007 17:04  Norway
Click Here to See the Profile for Subtle Click here to Send Subtle a Private Message Visit Subtle's homepage! Add Subtle to your buddy list Report this Post Reply w/Quote Edit/Delete Message
Low Profile
Supreme tranceaddict



Registered: Oct 2003
Location: Akureyri

thanks for your insight.
About the quality of my track - I do think it's my best work so far, and after 5 years of producing trance, I must be getting "somewhere"
I think that I'm my own worst critic, but besides that, my friend and I have decided to have a brutal-honesty relationship... but even so, it's up to the label to decide; we think it's good work, if they disagree there is nothing we can do about that other than doing better next time

Old Post Mar-13-2007 17:09  Iceland
Click Here to See the Profile for Low Profile Click here to Send Low Profile a Private Message Add Low Profile to your buddy list Report this Post Reply w/Quote Edit/Delete Message
Subtle
Subreme tranceaddict



Registered: Nov 2002
Location: Urban Shakedown

From what you say, and your experience, you probably made a track worth sending, atleast you should try.

Almost every big trance label has either upload form, or some sort of demo submission on their site. You should try sending it to a couple of labels.. Although, the bigger the label, the less chance for a reply, you should send to more labels, simply because you dont wanna wait weeks and month for a reply you might not get.

Sending to atleast 5 different labels should guarantee you a reply (maybe) if your track is not total scrap.

But i repeat, send it to friends, ask them what they think, preferably someone who produces or DJs, its hard to have an objective opinion on something you have made.


___________________


http://soundcloud.com/subtara

Old Post Mar-13-2007 17:17  Norway
Click Here to See the Profile for Subtle Click here to Send Subtle a Private Message Visit Subtle's homepage! Add Subtle to your buddy list Report this Post Reply w/Quote Edit/Delete Message
Pjotr G
Mindcrawler



Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Netherlands

have your contracts checked out by someone who's at least slightly into music contracts. The first version of a contract a label gives you has a 90% chance of having bullshit clauses in them. Don't be afraid to ask to have them removed, cause removing them is normal.


___________________
All rhythm evolves around a kick...

Old Post Mar-13-2007 17:21  Netherlands
Click Here to See the Profile for Pjotr G Click here to Send Pjotr G a Private Message Visit Pjotr G's homepage! Add Pjotr G to your buddy list Report this Post Reply w/Quote Edit/Delete Message
thoughtlessjex
Yakkity Yak



Registered: May 2004
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Don't worry about mastering. Label people know good music, and a bad mastering job can make a good track sound bad. Best to leave your music at its best, and if the label likes the track, they can find someone to master it for you. I've also heard that some labels will even get people to work with the mix if they like the tune well enough, but that's less common.

If you're really serious about getting into a record contract, you might want to look into getting a lawyer, too. Thankfully, I can't speak from experience, but there are industry horror stories about kids that jumped head first into record deals where had to cut records at a blistering pace, and still couldn't recoup, and when they finally got out of these contracts, they didn't even have the rights to the sound that they had created, because they had sold them in the record contract. If you don't get a lawyer, at least make sure you read and understand your contract fully before signing it, and if you see something suspicious, ask people who've been in the industry for a while.


___________________

www.jexmusic.com - My website

Old Post Mar-13-2007 21:05  United States
Click Here to See the Profile for thoughtlessjex Click here to Send thoughtlessjex a Private Message Add thoughtlessjex to your buddy list Report this Post Reply w/Quote Edit/Delete Message

TranceAddict Forums > DJing / Production / Promotion > Production Studio > The "getting signed" concept - I need insight
Post New Thread    Post A Reply

 
Last Thread   Next Thread
Click here to listen to the sample!Pause playbackTrack played by Above and Beyond [2005] [1]

Click here to listen to the sample!Pause playbackFlutlicht - The Fall (Dumonde Remix) [2002]

Show Printable Version | Subscribe to this Thread
Forum Jump:

All times are GMT. The time now is 17:12.

Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
[IMG] code is ON
 
Search this Thread:

 
Contact Us - return to tranceaddict

Powered by: Trance Music & vBulletin Forums
Copyright ©2000-2026, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Privacy Statement / DMCA
Support TA!