What's the deal with record companies, anyway? Aren't they supposed to be on the lookout for new talent? Why is it so hard to get them to listen to my demo?

Geez, you'd think they weren't interested in hearing music at all! Almost everyone who has tried to break through the walls of the music industry without some kind of "inside" help has found themselves muttering these questions. Sometimes it seems impossible to get anyone to listen at all.

It may seem like they're going out of their way to avoid you, but there are actually pretty good reasons why record companies no longer throw their doors open to the general public.

One, they were sick of getting sued. About twenty years ago, labels and publishers began to get hit with nuisance "copyright infringement" lawsuits by songwriters claiming their songs had been stolen by the big, bad companies. In order to even begin filing such a suit, the plaintiff has to prove "access" -- that is, they must show that the company had had an opportunity to hear, and then steal, the song. Simply mailing an unsolicited demo to a record company was enough to show that the company had "access" to steal the song, even if they never actually listened to it.

Two, 98% of all unsolicited material is garbage. It's true, believe me. Sure, there are some diamonds in there, but when the cost of going through it all is combined with the risk of getting sued for doing so, the companies decided they would risk missing out on a few "diamonds" to save a few claims.

Three, musicians are nuts. OK, not all musicians, but enough to terrorize, threaten, and/or generally harass and make life miserable for receptionists, secretaries and A&R people throughout the industry that in order to get some real work done, they had to stop taking calls from just anybody that decided it was time to quit their job and be a star.

And four, they still get tons of new material to listen to from people that they already work with. In fact, most A&R people don't have enough time in their schedules to listen to all the new music that is sent to them by friends, managers, attorneys, and other trusted sources. But at least they know that this material will be worth listening to, because someone is staking their professional reputation on it. And besides, these people aren't going to be telling them they know where their kids go to school if the company doesn't sign the band.

So where does this leave you? Fortunately, there are ways to get through the doors, it just requires persistence, dedication and commitment. You can still try calling the labels. Be very nice to whoever answers the phone and politely request permission to send in a demo. Most will tell you to get lost, but some will say yes. Remember though, that even though they may let you send it in, your demo will be sitting next to a pile of stuff that is being personally recommended by someone they know. Which one would you listen to, if you were in their shoes? article by John Weakland