Music labels...

My suggestion would be to swing by your local bookstore and pick the 2004 edition of the Songwriter's Market. You should be able to find some contacts there. Also, you may consider checking the listings at Taxi (www.taxi.com). Membership is about $300 a year but you get Recording Industry tip sheets twice a month and they also do song critiques. Hope this helps.

NeoSoul Man

Music Is The World & The World Is Music...r u listening?

Sounds to me like you might be better looking at non-label work to start. Labels will either be looking for a) long-term artists with a known following or b) songwriters with songs for their pre-existing artists to record. You might have better luck looking to indie films, tv, commercials, etc., particularly if you are combining humor with the funk/disco.

Taxi's a great step to take and a small investment overall, but don't just rely on them as they get money if *any* of their members get placed (and are generally geared more to songwriters for TV, film, etc., although they do have quite a few listings for labels or songs for other artists to record. I'd also check out the Indie Bible (www.indiebible.com) which is a great resource for contacts for indie lables, A&R, etc.

Anyway, surf the web a bit. Check out Ascap's and BMI's sites. That should help give you some ideas.

Cheers,
RW


It is not how loud you make it, it is how you make it loud. Bob Katz

Hi,

Thanks for both of your advice. So labels won't sign anyone unless they already have some sort of following?

I talked to someone that does a lot of stuff in music (and some stuff for Jive), and I explained the gimmick I'm going for to him and he said that it might be possible to get signed (if even by a smaller label) because it sounds like it can be marketable, have hooks, etc.

I wish I could explain the gimmick here, but I'm kind of afraid to since this is a public forum. But if someone here would like me to explain it to them through email, feel free to send me an email. I don't want to sound braggy or arrogant at all, but it really does sound like it could be well-received, especially with the humor and attitude mixed in.

Someone told me that Astralwerks might be interested in it because they've got a good variety of dancey sort of artists. He also mentioned that I should send stuff to some foreign record labels, such as Sony Canada, UK, Asia, etc. Another guy mentioned that Interscope might be interested in it (although I'm not sure what to make of his advice, especially considering that he runs an extreme death/gore metal label).

I wish I could sign up for Taxi, but I'm afraid I don't have enough money to right now. Tons of people have mentioned it to me, and it seems great.

Is there anyone here that has connections to people in the music industry that could help me out? Again, if you'd like an explanation of my gimmick and music plan, please send me an email at HutchesonHH AT aol DOT COM. I'd love to get professional advice (or whatever anyone can offer).

Another thing I need to work on, of course, is getting the actual music done. Right now, I've got around 10 song pieces saved in the Fantom, and I'm continuously working on fleshing them out (some of them are closer to getting done). Again, I don't want to sound braggy, but a lot of them are just absolutely catchy and pleasant...as in, if I heard them on the radio, I'd love them. But if anyone can offer me advice/help me out, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Henry