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Label Promos
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| woscar |
| Total n00b question here...just wondering, how do you guys get promos from labels? Do you just contact them and say "can I get on your promo list?" |
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| elFreak |
not really.
1. pay to be in a promo pool.
2.make friends with the artists
3.be a dj that has enough popularity to be considered an effective advertising tool. |
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| KiNeTiC ENeRgY |
| quote: | Originally posted by elFreak
not really.
1. pay to be in a promo pool.
2.make friends with the artists
3.be a dj that has enough popularity to be considered an effective advertising tool. |
the first 2 usually just end up giving u god awful music u will never do anything with :wtf: |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by KiNeTiC ENeRgY
the first 2 usually just end up giving u god awful music u will never do anything with :wtf: |
I've had loads of wicked tracks from producers I've got to know.
But yeah, unless you love absolutely every single track that comes out on a particular label, there isn't a lot of point in paying to join their promo pool. Even then - you get it a few weeks early, so what? Unless you have a major gig in that time, it'll get to release date and you're in the same position as everyone else, but you probably paid more for it.
I know it's a bit of a cliche and it comes up again and again, but there is LOADS of really good music out there that hasn't already been cained and thrown away by the big names - music doesn't have to be unreleased to be fresh... in fact it can be quite old - I'm forever discovering tracks up to 4 or 5 years old which I missed at the time which, to my knowledge, haven't been rinsed and sound bang up to date.
People often have this idea that everything that gets released passes through the hands of the big names first - it doesn't at all and of course it couldn't, there aren't enough hours in the day for them to go through all the new music, even with the help of their tune monkeys (as most big name DJs have nowadays). You just need to be a bit more imaginative than only looking at the big labels, because of course they're the ones which DO pass to the big names absolutely everything they turn out. |
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| elFreak |
a lot of the unreleased stuff that does get played by some of the bigger djs is not signed and the producer can use this to his advantage to achieve this as well. This is a blanket statement of course, but i find it to be quite true especially within the tech world. All it takes is a guy like luciano or villalobos to play it, a youtube video of it or live set with lots of interest and bam unsigned becomes signed.
i agree with your statement that you don't need to play unreleased stuff to be good though:) As a music geek though, i have to say it is a nice feeling to get an early pressing of a record only because it will be unique as compared to the official package. |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by elFreak
As a music geek though, i have to say it is a nice feeling to get an early pressing of a record only because it will be unique as compared to the official package. |
That was certainly the case when vinyl was the main DJing format, but now that CDs/MP3s have taken over I think it's lost that edge. Although I can imagine the die-hard vinyl DJs who still stick to vinyl could well find it even more exciting now that less vinyl is being released. |
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| ReclusNdangrmnt |
| You can also review music. |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by ReclusNdangrmnt
You can also review music. |
Yes, good point - if you get yourself a column in a magazine or do reviews regularly for a website or something, it's often quite easy to get on promo lists.
The other thing is radio (tied in with "being considered an effective advertising tool") - labels shower you with tunes when you've got a show on student radio, even more so if it's a more major local FM station or something. You can do ok out of it if you've got a show on a respected internet radio station, but don't assume that just getting a show on any old random online station will guarantee you free music.
Most of the stuff you get sent is utter rubbish though, sounds like a nice idea beforehand but you'll probably only ever play about 1 in 10 of the tracks you get sent at best. Going through a pile of promos will quickly became less of a priority than having a dig through the new releases on a download site. Personally I still buy about 95% of the music I play. |
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| woscar |
Good point Stu, but what I was wondering is more from another angle. Let's say you have a radio show...do you ask for the promos or do labels "shower you with promos" as you said?
Just general wondering here ;) |
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| KiNeTiC ENeRgY |
| quote: | Originally posted by woscar
Good point Stu, but what I was wondering is more from another angle. Let's say you have a radio show...do you ask for the promos or do labels "shower you with promos" as you said?
Just general wondering here ;) |
You're better off buying the tunes u want. Record pools usually always end up as wasted time sifting through garbage and filling out questionnaires for said garbage. |
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| orTofønChiLd |
| another way to get in a promo pool is to make a track and get it signed by the label. they will definitely let you right in (in most cases) |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by woscar
Good point Stu, but what I was wondering is more from another angle. Let's say you have a radio show...do you ask for the promos or do labels "shower you with promos" as you said?
Just general wondering here ;) |
Yeah, if you think your position makes you valuable to labels, just email them and ask if they'd be interesting in sending you some tunes to promo for them, saying what station you're on, how often you play, roughly how many people tune in to each show and, if not entirely obvious, what kind of people listen so what benefit they'd get from it - think of it as a short informal marketing pitch. And remember that while a bit of local club DJing alone might not sway it, it is a contributing factor so mention that as well.
Bear in mind that some labels get 3rd party companies to handle their promo distribution for them, but if that's the case they'll let you know when you get in touch and then you can contact the 3rd party instead. |
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