Maybe the question should be, “How do I get a record label to even notice me?”

Record companies are in the business of making money with music. You want to make money with your music too, and they need artists whose music will make them money. So, what makes a record label want to sign a deal with you?

Show them that you can make them money. Notice that I said, “show them,” not “tell them.” If I had a nickel for every time an artist has told me how much money they can make me, I’d be retired already.

Proving You Can Make Money for the Record Label

Having lots of Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and Youtube views is a good thing, but generally not enough to get you signed to a record deal. If you can get those friends and followers to buy your songs on iTunes and pay to see you play live shows, that will get a record company’s attention!

What Record Labels Are Looking For…

• Artists who write hit songs that (typically) fit in popular radio formats.
• Artists who have a great live show.
• Artists who can sell tickets to shows and generate sales from their independent releases, whether on CD or from digital download sales.
• Artists who show a strong willingness to do the hard work involved in building a loyal fanbase that will spend their money on live and recorded music.

Submit Music

That’s what everybody wants to know! “How do I submit my music to an A&R person at a record label?”

The truth is that most of the record companies you’d like to be signed to don’t accept unsolicited submissions. That means that if they don’t know you, or somebody they know and trust, like a manager, music publisher, or an A&R scout, they don’t want to hear from you, and your music is going to end up in the trash.

Even if you use a music industry or record label directory that gives you a record company’s address or an email addy, it usually won’t help you much unless they accept unsolicited material or you have an “in” with them.

Music Production Matters If…

Even if you write and produce incredibly great music, you still need to know if it’s the right kind of music for the record labels you’d like to submit music to. Don’t submit Rap music to a Country label. Don’t submit Country music to a record company that mostly releases Pop records.

Common sense, right? You’d be surprised how many people will get their hands on a free music industry directory and shotgun out hundreds of CDs or MP3s to record labels that never sign or market the genre of music they submit.

What Record Companies Are Looking For

What’s better than having a list of record company contacts or addresses? How about an updated list of exactly what they’re looking for? How would you like to get FREE updates like this in every genre of music you can think of?

ACOUSTIC-BASED SINGER-SONGWRITERS with a UNIQUE, WELL-DEVELOPED INDIVIDUAL SOUND are needed by the V.P. of A&R of an Indie Label looking to expand its roster. THINK: Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, Iron and Wine, Fleet Foxes, etc. QUOTING THE SOURCE: “We’re looking for Artists that have a sad, worried, and heartbroken acoustic-based sound like the referenced artists but with a distinctive sound all their own.” They’re looking for a FRESH approach to universal themes with personally revealing lyrics that can instantly connect with the listener. Vocal performances should be INTIMATE and COMPELLING. Artists MUST have EXCEPTIONAL musicianship. DOWNTEMPO songs ONLY. MALE vocals ONLY. Be sure to submit songs that show off your talent as performers and songwriters. Broadcast Quality recordings are needed (excellent sounding home recordings are fine.) Please submit two to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics/photo and bio. All submissions must be received no later than Friday, January 11, 2013.

Here’s another example:

PRESIDENT of A&R at a MAJOR RECORD LABEL is looking for POP/ROCK ARTISTS/BANDS in the style of Maroon 5, The Script, OneRepublic, etc., QUOTING THE SOURCE: “Artist/Bands must have star potential with fully developed songs that represent their direction.” They’ll be looking for songs that are COMMERCIALLY COMPETITIVE and are able to hold their own with the referenced artists. Melodies should be captivating and maintain the listeners attention from beginning to the end. Vocals must be STRONG, with SOLID hooks and melodies that scream RADIO! MID-to-UPTEMPO songs will work best here. NO ballads please. CD sales, touring experience, and an Internet presence are big bonuses – be sure to mention this info in your bio! Vocal and instrumental presentation must be top-notch! Please submit two to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics/photo and bio. All submissions must be received no later than Monday, January 7, 2013.

Would you like to see 100 or more of opportunities like those for your music every month?

Grab FREE daily updates of what Record Labels are Looking For by clicking here, and you’ll never have to wonder how to get a record label to sign you again. Write great songs, build your fanbase, and give the record company the kind of music they need!

Major Labels, Indie Labels, Pop Labels, Rap Labels, Christian Labels, and Country Labels are actively looking for new artists every day.

It’s easy to think that songwriters and artists can make it on their own with all the great self-promotional tools and opportunities on the Internet. But looking at this week’s  Billboard Top 100 Chart, I can’t find a single band or artist that has become successful on their own using the Internet as their only form of promotion. Yes, the Internet is a large piece of the music promotion puzzle, but it’s a piece, not a panacea.

Companies that sell music promotion tools and advice are cropping up everywhere you look. Can they help? Certainly some of them can, but as part of an artist’s overall marketing strategy. I have yet to see any music-marketing tool or music promotion plan that’s a magic bullet that by itself will deliver stardom on a silver platter.

Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Breaking Benjamin, Black Eyed Peas, Foo Fighters, Weezer and virtually all of the other artists I just looked at on Billboard.com have found fame and built their careers in the music business doing it the old fashioned way – writing or finding hit songs and signing with record labels.

Sure, it’s possible to have a video that goes viral on YouTube and drives sales on iTunes and other music download sites. But those events are few and far between. If you thought the odds of getting signed by a record label were slim, try and name ten acts that have had Billboard, chart-topping success based on the Internet alone.

The Sick Puppies were exposed to millions of people worldwide when their song, All the Same, was used in the massively popular Free Hugs videos. But they didn’t hit the Billboard charts until they had a veteran artist manager and Virgin Records behind them as their record label. Maybe that’s the magic formula for music promotion and marketing – simply create a video that goes viral on YouTube. That’s easy, right?

But the Sick Puppies are certainly an exception, and far from the rule. Even with millions of people listening to their song every day, exposure on Oprah, and just about every other media outlet worldwide, they still recognized that they needed a record label to take them to the next level.

How long have you been on MySpace? How about iTunes? Twitter? Facebook? How many sites do you have your music or your musical “brand” on altogether? How long have you been working the Internet music promotion thing with no substantial results? Is there a lesson to be learned?

Look again at the artists on the Billboard charts, and I think you’ll agree that there is a huge lesson staring us all in the face. Those artists are all signed to record labels. Illegal downloading may be killing the labels, but it’s been a slow death. More than ten years after Napster sprang up and illegal downloading began, Major Record Labels and top Independent Record Labels still look like a pretty smart option until somebody comes up with that magical silver bullet for artist promotion that millions of bands, artists, and songwriters have been waiting for.

Michael Laskow is the founder and CEO of TAXI, the world’s leading independent A&R company. He is also a multi-platinum engineer, record producer, and lover of great songs and talented artists.

Film and TV Music Licensing Opportunities For Independent Musicians

Running opportunities for Film and TV placements in our Music Industry Listings back in 1992 made me the laughing stock of the music business. It was unheard of for Indie artists and songwriters to get their songs placed in network TV shows or better yet, feature films put out by major Hollywood studios back then.

Nobody seemed to know much about Production Music Libraries (which are Film & TV music publishers) – what they did, how they worked, or what kind of music they needed to license to TV or Film productions. I knew because at one point in my career I managed the largest audio post-production studio on the planet, and we used tracks from the best Production Music Libraries every day.

We used them for background music on TV shows and commercials. We used library tracks under voiceovers for radio spots. We licensed music from Production Music Libraries for Industrial Videos… you know, those cheesy videos that widget manufacturers and big pharmaceutical companies put out.

The point is, it just wasn’t cool to license your music for anything but records. Indie musicians and major label artists all turned up their noses at the very thought of having their music in a TV show or movie.

Funny how all that’s changed! Now, even the Rolling Stones and the Beatles will license their music for film, TV and video game projects. Major labels are more than happy to license music from their acts for TV shows, simply to get some exposure.

And who do you think was one of the earliest pioneers of helping Indie artists, bands and composers license their music? Yes, TAXI, the company that everybody in the music business laughed at. Trust me, they are definitely not laughing any more.

As a matter of fact, hundreds of companies have tried to imitate what TAXI does, but they all lack one very critical element – human ears. TAXI filters the music companies ask us to find. We use industry experts under our roof to find the very best. While the music supervisors like using music from Independent artists and songwriters, they don’t want to search a database full of less than wonderful music.

It takes more than a website and a database full of mediocre music to get the job done well.

That’s exactly why I created TAXI, and that’s why we are still the world’s leading independent A&R company. People from the TV, Film and Music industries don’t have the time to filter. We do it for them. We give them what they ask for. We give them what they need. We give them top notch music from the very best Indie artists, songwriters and composers.

The irony in all of this was best demonstrated when I asked an A&R person from Interscope Records this question during our annual, members-only convention, the Road Rally, last year, “What do you think is the best thing the people in this audience can do to get on your radar? Where do they start getting your attention so you’ll sign them to a record deal?”

The answer he offered up? “The best thing you can do is try to get your music placed on a TV show or in a movie!”

Wow, seventeen years later and TAXI is finally cool. That A&R person was right of course. Getting your music placed in TV shows and Films is just as much about the exposure as it is about the money. And if you do it persistently, and for a period of years, you’ll be able to turn it into a full-time gig because the money can really add up over time.

More specifics about how to make money by placing your music in Films and TV shows in a future blog!