How to Get a Recording Contract in Australia?

[Cezar20]

Hey All. I'm a singer/songwriter,early 20s (23 in 2 weeks can I still say early :) ). I live in Sydney, Australia. Now that my demo is done, what's the next step. People say not to send unsolicited stuff to the majors. Is that valid? So who do you approach then? The material is Pop Rnb ala Justin Timberlake, Craig David, Usher, insert flavour of the year male artist here. And Oz is such a Rock/Dance driven nation. The other advice I get a lot is gig, gig, gig. But I'm a solo singer who sings to pre-recorded backing tracks. Not a lot of avenues for live performance there. Any tips from other Aussies or anyone else? Thanks heaps.

[Barandine Vondenger]

so basically you're a KEREOKE singer? MAYBE you could GET a guitar and learn a few songs. then go to your local pub and play for the dronks and spastics. if you HAVE ANY TALENT they will let you know. then decide if you wish to spend thirty or so years HONING your craft untill you are old and grey and still playing the same stinkin' dives you started in. or you could try factory work. I heard they have goode benefits. or sheep farming; I hear you get free wool and ALL THE SHEEP PUSSY you can handle.

[Cezar20]

Erm. Yes thankyou very insightful. In the world of Pop/Rnb most backing tracks are sequenced, are they not? I can play keys and guitar but the live route doesn't lead itself to what I'm trying to achieve. And yes your perception is dead accurate, Australia is a large farm with plenty of sheep. Anyone have any real advice?

[nursers]

Geez mate, what part of Sydney do you live in that's overrun with sheep? Darlinghurst???? or Marrickville???

[sparksongs]

The main problem is that that most labels want to see not only how you perform when you gig, but how often you're playing, how audiences respond, and how many CDs you're selling off-stage. Short of finding a manager who has contacts in the business, loves what you're doing, and is willing to work to further your career, in your situation, the best thing to do might be to find a band that needs a singer, start gigging and begin building a following. You may also want to look for any talent competitions you can enter; anything to start making contacts within the industry. Obviously, you can send your demo to labels and it's possible (though not probable) that something will happen. You could begin that process by checking out the book "2004 Songwriter's Market" by Ian Bessler (available at Amazon.com). It has labels, publishers, music libraries, etc., many of which accept unsolicited material. Granted, most of them are looking for songs, however, there are a lot of contacts listed and anything's worth a shot. But keep in mind that in almost all cases, major (and even smaller) labels don't care all that much how well you sing; they're mainly interested in how many people are watching you sing and are buying what you're singing. Hope this helps.

[KenElevenShadows]

>> People say not to send unsolicited stuff to the majors. Is that valid? So who do you approach then? >> Then make it solicited. Call 'em up, contact them somehow and describe your music, and if they say send it along, go ahead and do just that. You can also try and get a music attorney or a manager who has connections so that, again, it IS solicited. Don't just focus on Australian companies. Send it all over. Music is international, so think internationally. I don't listen to very much of the music that you describe, so I'm not that familiar with many pop labels in Australia. I don't think that Dorobo would be interested in your music, as they cater more towards electronic and experimental music. In the mean time, play clubs, bars, whatever and build a following. If you build a large enough following, it'll be impossible to ignore you, and labels will eventually beat a path to your door.

[Barandine Vondenger]

sto,uh,uh,uh,uhp! he,eh,eh,eh,ehlp! ba,eh,eh,eh,ehd ma,eh,eh,eh,eh,ahn he,eh,eh,eh,ehlp! no,ah,oh,ah! he,eh,eh,eh,ehlp!

[Cezar20]

Hi Nursers. I'm located near Parramatta, what about you? Your probably familiar with the situation. How many Pubs, Clubs etc in Sydney would you find an Rnb band? Right not many. Our local scene is Rock and the only Pop artists that we have made their name known through soap operas (Holly, Delta, Kylie etc). I dont envision myself in Home and Away. Thanks for all the advice though, they were great. I've got a sort of connection with a respected artist manager who happens to be a director for a publishing co. But when he heard one of the demo's (not one of my tunes, but one I session sang on), the questions he asked were, what does he look like and how old is he. I don't know if the answer to those would be what Warner Music Australia is looking for. :) As for most "managers" here in Oz. Majority of the ones with good connections are usually producers who want you to pay them hefty amounts to produce your demo and "shop it around". And I don't want my demo produced by someone else, I've done all that, I just want someone to shop it around. At almost 23, I think my pop music expiration date is nearing. Geez, that's sad.

[KenElevenShadows]

[quote]Originally posted by cesarpunzalan@hotmail.com: At almost 23, I think my pop music expiration date is nearing. Geez, that's sad.[/QB][/quote]You can prolong this if you start playing blues. :D

[nursers]

[quote]Originally posted by cesarpunzalan@hotmail.com: [b]Hi Nursers. I'm located near Parramatta, what about you? [/b][/quote]Think Cronulla and you are close :thu:

[DRi]

im brisbane based played lots of sydney gigs. you suckers pay good money. heh. on the Creative Vibes label.... not exactly pop :p so you're a solo singing guy? thats a tough one. some of my breakbeat producing friends have done work in/for pop acts that you would recognise, for the cash, but they of course had hook-ups. think "biggest pop act from australia with males". going from the ground up is a different story. just look at Australian Idol... my advice is keep on learning. actually, my advice is go hook up with some electronic producers... producers are ALWAYS looking for people to do some vocals on their tracks. i say this from experience, having recently hired some "pop" singers you might have heard on JJJ to lay some vocals/samples on something for the broadcasting realm.

[Super 8]

First of all, I don't recommend getting a recording contract at all. It's not worth the crap it takes to get one. Define your goals: What do you want to do? If you want to travel and play for people, then travel and play for people. You don't need a Record label's permission to do that. If you want to record your music for the world to hear, then record your music and post it on the web. You don't need a record label to make that possible. If you want to sell CD's, you can do that too. If you want to make a living recording, playing and selling, then do all of the above AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Once again, you don't need a record lable to do these things. If you want to be rich and famous... Good luck! You have plenty of competition! But you STILL don't need a record label to make these things possible. You have come to the right place if you are looking for insight in how to do these things. There are A LOT of good people here who enjoy helping others... We'll even listen to your music and offer our critique. So make yourself comfortable, welcome aboard! We're like The Olive Garden Resturant: "When you're here, you're family"! :wave:

[Cezar20]

[quote]Originally posted by DSamp: [b]im brisbane based played lots of sydney gigs. you suckers pay good money. heh. on the Creative Vibes label.... not exactly pop :p so you're a solo singing guy? thats a tough one. some of my breakbeat producing friends have done work in/for pop acts that you would recognise, for the cash, but they of course had hook-ups. think "biggest pop act from australia with males". going from the ground up is a different story. just look at Australian Idol... my advice is keep on learning. actually, my advice is go hook up with some electronic producers... producers are ALWAYS looking for people to do some vocals on their tracks. i say this from experience, having recently hired some "pop" singers you might have heard on JJJ to lay some vocals/samples on something for the broadcasting realm.[/b][/quote]Is the pop act, Human Nature? What's Creative Vibes like in terms of genre? Your from Brisbane, is this guy [url=http://www.stuartstuart.com]www.stuartstuart.com[/url] a good guy to hook up with? Man, how come Selwyn got a big major label gig. I can sing THRICE as good as he can :) .

[DRi]

not human nature but close ive read the name stuartstuart somewhere before but from what i can see of that webpage... urgh... id talk to him before commiting to anything. i hope im wrong and his self-praise is true, but man that website is so unpro it hurts. Creative Vibes is a downbeat label... breakbeat and jazzy electronic, future jazz and lounge etc. as for selwyn... i wouldnt sweat that. he's a laughing stock. im sorry if im dispraging youre genre but australia cant pull off a usa rnb steriotype and not get bagged out and ripped off. look what happened to (where are they now) scandalus! made to cash in on aussie kids buying usa rnb and flopped. if you have a passion for rnb go for it 100% but please, show some integrity. there is no sustainability for bling bling aussie urban pop under your own steam, and no money to be made from the labels (well not for YOU, mabe for them). case study: did you wonder why that katie underwood girl hooked up with Disco Montego after bailing from (no money no career) Bardot? im no expert, but id recommend again, get some experience with some electronic producers, and not just traditional rnb stuff. hell, send me your demo if you want. again, im no expert but ive done alright so erm... any thoughts expressed are based on my experience alone :rolleyes: :D

[Psychotronic]

OK, here's a tip for all of you aspiring stars out there that want a major label deal: They will NOT accept unsolicited material. It doesn't matter if you're the second coming of John Lennon/Jimi/Janis/Kurt/Zevon (RIP), your demo will not be listened to if it isn't shopped by a lawyer or manager. Sound ridiculous? Yep. Why is it that way? Read on. Labels are afraid to get sued. There are too many artists that have a hit record, only to have their label slapped with a lawsuit by an unknown songwriter saying, "HEY! That was MY song that Britney just had a hit with! I submitted that to you guys 2 years ago, and you stole it from me!" Maybe it's legit, maybe not. But the labels protect themselves by saying, "Oh yeah? We don't accept unsolicited material, so we can't steal it from you if we never heard it!". Demos go straight into the garbage can, unfortunately, never to be heard. So, the bottom line is that if you're THAT GOOD, sing/play everywhere and anywhere you can, knock on managers' doors, do anything you can to get heard -- and I mean ANYTHING -- and you will be found. But, you have to get where the industry is, because that will increase your chances of getting in the face of someone who can further your career. I have listened to people who have bugged the shit out of me, and while I never signed those particular artists, they gave it their best shot and got heard by someone in the industry. But, don't let all this bother you. Another piece of advice -- assistants run the music industry. If you want your material heard, give it to an assistant/peon/runner/intern/etc. Why? They're looking for a break too, and WANT to find the next big artist to make their career. They are willing to take a chance on unsolicited stuff in order to do that, I know I did. I actually got an artist signed that way. So, it CAN happen. Be creative in who you network with, that's very important. [whew] Ok, I'll shut up now...

[Barandine Vondenger]

[quote]Originally posted by Super 8: [b]First of all, I don't recommend getting a recording contract at all. It's not worth the crap it takes to get one. Define your goals: What do you want to do? If you want to travel and play for people, then travel and play for people. You don't need a Record label's permission to do that. If you want to record your music for the world to hear, then record your music and post it on the web. You don't need a record label to make that possible. If you want to sell CD's, you can do that too. If you want to make a living recording, playing and selling, then do all of the above AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Once again, you don't need a record lable to do these things. If you want to be rich and famous... Good luck! You have plenty of competition! But you STILL don't need a record label to make these things possible. You have come to the right place if you are looking for insight in how to do these things. There are A LOT of good people here who enjoy helping others... We'll even listen to your music and offer our critique. So make yourself comfortable, welcome aboard! We're like The Olive Garden Resturant: "When you're here, you're family"! :wave: [/b][/quote]:eek:

[Cezar20]

DSamp, thanks for the comments. So good to chat with aussies, seeing as there are so (relatively) few of us here. I wouldn't mind doing any sort of session work. I really think vocally I've got it. But here in Aus, have you noticed the move towards African-American (or any dark skinned) looking artists? Kaylan aka Disco Montego, Selwyn, Shakaya. Can't the labels understand Rnb is a genre. And were from Australia so ahem a lot of us wont be black. That shouldnt stop us from producing/making Rnb tracks, though. Tiffany from Bardot, demo'd an rnb sounding CD and was told, "Girlfriend your white'. ahaha. She then promptly did more Avril type songs, so i'm told. Ahahaha Yes [url=http://www.stuartstuart.com.au]www.stuartstuart.com.au[/url] is not the most professional site is it? I'd love to send you a demo, but would you mind listening to this first, and we shall see if it is worth it? [url=http://www.mp3.com/cezarmusic]www.mp3.com/cezarmusic[/url] Get me on email/MSn if you want cesarpunzalan@hotmail.com Cheers mate.