Three Big Misconceptions

Have you ever hunted for record labels to sign your music to, sent them perfect prospective emails and then had nothing back?

I TOTALLY have.

Don’t worry – lots of people have been there (in fact, the majority of people I’d say).

A lot of the time it feels like labels are only putting out stuff from their mates.

Have you ever stuck your music up on Bandcamp, but realised fairly quickly that hardly anyone’s finding or buying the music?

Again, I’ve been there. Without exposure and promo, it’s a real struggle.

Have you ever thought about starting your own label, but been put off by daunting nature of the ins and outs of it all? Paperwork, businessy stuff, codes, licensing? Even finding time!?

I ABSOLUTELY get you.

The good news is, I can help 🙂

Let’s take a quick look at where people are going wrong:

Problem 1 – The Label Hunting Game.

Hunting for labels to send your music to is basically a waste of time.

Firstly, most labels like to hunt down their own music, and many more are likely to act on a tip from a friend, than a cold pitch from you.

Loads of big labels today (at least the big independents) started when a producer decided they weren’t getting much luck with other people’s labels and figured it would be worth starting a label to put their own stuff out.

Secondly, signing releases to someone else’s label almost always stems from an existing relationship.

The EP I released on Nu Directions came after I did a remix for one of their artists. My debut album was signed to a label after chatting to them about distributing music from my own label! My latest album deal came after doing a remix for the label, and they wanted more.

I don’t think a label has ever signed any music from me after I’ve sent them something just out of the blue.

Problem is, even with these label signings, I always regret not releasing my own music in the end. Honestly? I’ve never had a completely smooth-sailing label experience.

I can help you release YOUR OWN music effectively and smoothly.

Problem 2 – Just Bandcamp It

Releasing music is just a tiny bit more involved than sticking it on Bandcamp.

Anyone can fire their music on a site and hope for the best. They can even get it onto iTunes or Spotify, but did you know there are over 4 MILLION tracks on Spotify, that have never even been played once?!

FOUR MILLION.

Let’s not make that four million and one.

Bandcamp is a great platform for selling or getting your music online, but when there’s no way for somebody to find your Bandcamp page – you’re going to struggle to get sales. Tags and recommendations on Bandcamp are only going to get you so far.

I can help you vastly improve your online promotion game so you’re not struggling for sales.

Problem 3 – The Label Complexity

There’s no doubt that starting a label takes a bit of effort, but it’s not nearly as confusing or convoluted as you might expect.

Especially if you’re armed with all the information you need in one place.

The problem happens when you jump into starting a label without knowing what’s involved or without having the right things in place.

I can help you avoid that mistake.

***

I believe that I can help you understand how to efficiently and successfully release and market music to the right audience.

Now granted, it’s one thing to TELL you it’s all a walk in the park, but it’s another thing to actually SHOW you!

If you’ve not already checked my free course out, it will give you a really useful overview of most of the process and it will help you get a foot in the door.

I’ve had the free course online for a little while, and here are some of the things people are saying:

Alex god damn you are a god for making this! I’ve always felt guilty about not putting enough time into the marketing and management aspect of my music because I didn’t know where to look. This is exactly what I needed!

I didn’t know any of this and this is the particular area I was struggling with. Thanks!

Yeah! That’s a great lesson. I like it a lot because it looks like a “to-do” list. It’s clear and to the point.

You can check the free course by signing up here:

There is no subscription, no recurring fee, no hidden payments and no time limits – check it out at your leisure, with full access for as long as you like.

Solid, free information that should help you understand the label process.

Now that you’ve got access to the free overview course, you’re set to go. Nice work!

Of course, there is LOADS more useful content and depth that you could go into to REALLY make your releasing effective and to really hit the mark with an audience.

But there’s only so much I can write in one post!

If you’re interested in taking self-releasing further, and really NAILING it, or starting that label with everything you could possibly need, this might help…

I’ve spend around half a year compiling the ULTIMATE self-releasing course which I’ll give you the low-down on tomorrow!

For now, I’d like to get you to do something for me really quickly:

Comment below and tell me just ONE thing that you’d like to achieve with your music releases or your label.

(I’ve spoken to some of you about this via email, but I’d love to know if anything has changed!)

That’s it!

Until tomorrow…