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Trying to get signed to a major label


Gregg Hall

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Try and get an entertainment lawyer or management company first. Having someone represent you to labels will get you much farther much faster.

 

We found an entertainment lawyer through a major label artist friend, got to know him over a year as we recorded our demo. Once the demo was done, he had prepared his contacts and label interest was fairly instant. Now we are negotiating with Universal.

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Its not what you know, its who you know eh?

 

 

Originally posted by imissthewar

Try and get an entertainment lawyer or management company first. Having someone represent you to labels will get you much farther much faster.


We found an entertainment lawyer through a major label artist friend, got to know him over a year as we recorded our demo. Once the demo was done, he had prepared his contacts and label interest was fairly instant. Now we are negotiating with Universal.

 

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Originally posted by Gregg Hall

What about giving your demo to a major label artist? Think it could work if you give them something really good?

 

 

Very few established artists help an unkown artist because they are "good". This is how Puddle of Mudd and Staind were signed. Both bands came to the attention of Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit. BUT ... Puddle of Mudd is signed to Durst's vanity label imprint. I'm sure he got a piece of Staind too.

 

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The lucky few artists who make it into the stratosphere are sometimes "compensated" with a vanity label imprint on the major and a production budget to sign and develop artists. In other words they get to play record mogul and get a license to steal. Most of these arrangements are production deals where the artist is signed to the bigger artist's production company and the recording contract is held by the company. That means the act is not actually signed to the major label. They are signed to the production company.

 

The major label world is like a disease. By the time someone gets big on a major label they are so indoctrinated into the system, that they most often perpetuate it as the "way of the world". The system will never really change because no one really wants it to.

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Based on the fact that anybody still naive enough to want a major label deal in this day and age probalbly hasn't thought the whole thing out yet. IMO

 

And Based on the fact that if you want someone else to do it for you instead of doing it your self (Which really is the only way to get a major label deal IMO) it very likely won't happen. The odds are astronomically against it.

Sorry if it sounds mean, I'm not trying to be. I'm just a little cynical. Good Luck.

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Originally posted by Blackwatch

Based on the fact that anybody still naive enough to want a major label deal in this day and age probalbly hasn't thought the whole thing out yet. IMO

 

 

Why *wouldn't* someone want a major label deal? Everyone already has an indie label deal, so that's so passe.

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Well depends what indie label.

 

Right now, we're on a major label, and life WAS great. But they can and will screw you. They screwed us, and expect us to resign. We refuse, so as a result, we're COMPLETELY frozen.

 

We're now waiting on release forms so we can go to a major label, that just hit the status of being major.

 

Yea, theres tons of indie labels, but take a look at Jetspeed records. Their offer is great. But make damn sure you keep the rights to your songs.

 

You got to play where alot of the label reps hang out. Our band played a show and was invited to this room after a show and offered by a few different labels.

 

Major labels are all about what sells. You can go up there, play some amazingly complex {censored}, but if it doesnt fit the image of whats out there, they dont care.

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Originally posted by Delle_Rose



Why *wouldn't* someone want a major label deal? Everyone already has an indie label deal, so that's so passe.

 

 

The bad thing about major lables is what they can do to you once you sign. They can either make you change personell (like they did to Seafood Mama, turning thenm into Quarterflash, and Black Happy, turning them into Shoveljerk), change your songs, take away your creative control, and if they own a piece of your publishing, which they most certainly will, they can sell one of your songs to a bigger artist and shelve your CD (like the did to Desert Rose), not releasing your record but not cutting you loose to go elsewhere, keeping you in limbo. Major label deals can work out well for proven acts with a track record, but even they often have to fight and claw for every concession they get. For new acts with no clout, they are completely at the mercy of the company. I've seen more than one personal friend devastated by their experience with major labels. I decided a long time ago it's not for me.

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Basically, you gotta have the knowledge how to work em with the contract. Usually you go over it, and come back with your problems.

 

We're going to do this in a few weeks. But yea, everyone has lawyers at hand, and depending how bad they want you, determines how much say you have in the contract negotiations.

 

If your just dying for a major label deal, then bend over :rolleyes:

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Originally posted by BlueStrat



The bad thing about major lables is what they can do to you once you sign. etc...

 

 

Yeah, I was being half-sarcastic. Major labels have a long track record of screwing people over.

 

On the other hand, most HUGE acts are on major labels, so if that's what you want... then...

 

It basically seems like if you want to be super-famous, and you somehow make it into a position where there's a decent chance you could be, then you're kinda screwed one way or the other. Then again, you're screwed if you don't get there, too.

 

People want what they want... you can chalk it up to naivety, vanity, etc, etc, etc... all you want. But basically, when you want something that bad, naivety and vanity take over and you (or rather, the rational side of you) don't really have much say in it, so you can hardly be blamed for falling into such an enticing "trap".

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