Almost every artist dreams of getting signed to a major record label and kickstarting their music career. If you want to pursue a career as a full-time musician and are ready to make a name in the music industry, follow these guidelines mentioned below:
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HAVE A REMARKABLE MUSIC IDENTITY
What makes you special? What makes your music stand out?
Record labels are always on the lookout for new music. So, you need to break through the noise and get your music heard.
Creating a buzz through exclusivity is no big news. Many artists have experimented with different music genres in search of their own unique that would later become their “signature song”.
For example, Billie Eilish rose to fame thanks to her neo-goth music style. Her music had a unique quality that made her so distinguishable.
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MAKE CONSTANT HITS
To catch the eye of major record labels, you need to make killer music. This means that your singles, albums, or EPs, must all be a hit.
What makes a song a “hit song”? The key ingredients of chart-topping music are catchy, relatable lyrics, a memorable hook, and unique songwriting that tells a story.
If you want to make songs that are constant hits, you need to master The Hit Songwriting Formula.
- FUEL THE DEAL WITH THE BEST DEMO
While your singles and albums are meant to woo your audience, your demos are exclusively meant for record labels, producers, and other artists to refer to.
Recording your demo is the key step to sealing the deal. Your demo should demonstrate your song’s idea that you want to record with a label. If you want to put yourself out there and land a deal, make sure you’re giving it your all.
You can make the most of the equipment you have and record your pre-production demo in your very own home studio.
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BUILD AN AUDIENCE
Record labels want to maximize artists’ already existing audience, even if it’s a small one. You can spread the word about your music by:
- Playing at events,
- Promoting on apps like Spotify, Soundcloud, and iTunes,
- Connecting with your community on forums,
- Pitch yourself to music blogs
- Making collaborations with other underground bands and artists.
Your fans help you figure out what works and what doesn’t. So, connect and engage with them to improve your music.
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CREATE A LOYAL FAN BASE ON YOUTUBE
YouTube is your best shot at growing your audience, establishing your name, and getting noticed by a major record label. Many music artists start on YouTube to grow their audience exponentially.
You don’t just need an audience to listen to you. You need to sow the seeds to grow a loyal fan base that will stick with you with your hits and help you improve your flops. Building a loyal YouTube audience can be challenging to say the least. But, with the right guidance, you can build yourself a full-fledged thriving community on YouTube!
At Flintzy, we have helped many creators grow their YouTube channels from the ground up. We can help boost engagement and make enough noise to get your music heard. If you want to build a devoted audience that will keep coming back to you, start here at Flintzy.com.
- SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION & ENGAGEMENT
Never underestimate the power of promotion. Today, many underground artists are pop stars because of “that one song” that went viral. Emeline’s “Cinderella’s dead” and Jenna Raine’s “See You Later” blew up on Instagram and TikTok, gaining them millions of listeners on YouTube.
So, make the best of social media and promote your songs on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and more.
A few fun tricks to create buzz around your music and engage your audience include:
– Promoting your music before its release
– Promoting your music through ad campaigns
– Engaging with your audience through merch, giveaways, contests and challenges, hyper-call-to-action, and so on.
– Social media engagement through tweets, stories, reels, edits, Q&As, and consistent posting.
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MAKE CONNECTIONS
The music industry is a very unpredictable and hostile one. While you can now climb the ladder through hard work, skill, and promotion, you always have a better shot if you have inside connections.
So, mark your calendars for any and every music event you can attend. Attend shows, concerts, and other gatherings of people in the music industry. Socialize and gather email addresses, social media handles, and major business names. Do this and you might just meet the right people in the industry.
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RESEARCH
It is very important to understand the know-how of the entire process before accepting a record deal. So, research the different record labels, their terms, royalty rates, process of working (through tours or music videos), marketing offers, and more.
Here are a few Things to Look out For If You’ve Been Offered a Record Deal
It takes passion and dedication to make your dreams a reality. But with hard work, patience, and a little sprinkle of luck, you might just make it happen!