It’s nearly impossible to get industry professionals to listen to a demo. Sending an unsolicited CD that will likely be tossed directly in the trash is a waste of money. An unsolicited email will likely get you nowhere either, especially if there is an attachment that has not been requested.
From an article on Mixmag – “A new report, made by data and insights company Luminate, has revealed that 120,000 new tracks are released every day on music streaming platforms.” https://mixmag.net/read/120-000-new-tracks-are-released-on-streaming-services-every-day-report-finds-tech#:~:text=A%20new%20report%2C%20made%20by,day%20on%20music%20streaming%20platforms.
With 120,000 tracks being uploaded per day it would be impossible to filter through them all. It’s safe to say that so many great songs are overlooked in the process and filed away on a streaming platform server and virtually ignored by music stream algorithms. One of the issues is that algorithms in most cases do not send your song out to a wide enough audience (with the exception of Pandora Radio, I’ve had an amazing experience using Pandora AMP for artists.) For example: The last 4 single releases received just under 50 total streaming on Spotify from release date up to today, December 24th, 2023. With the same songs performing so well on Pandora Radio, I find it hard to believe if Spotify’s algorithm gave the songs the same amount of attention that they would receive the same reaction they did on Pandora Radio.
How to get through all of the noise and actually reach music producers, record labels, music publishing companies and more. I have spent far too much on music marketing that has resulted in little to no traction. Here’s how I got my music directly to major labels, record producers, and publishing companies. Entering the Song of the Year songwriting contest has been life-changing for me. Not only does it give me a charge of encouragement and belief in my abilities, it also opened doors that can only be opened by people inside. I was lucky enough to place as a finalist for one of my songs in the Song of the Year contest. Song of the Year has agreements with top music industry pros that allows them to send 50 songs behind the “locked doors” of the industry. They also share your contact information with them so if a producer, record label, or publishing company is interested in your music they can contact you directly. During the contest entry process I was also asked for my website address so I would imagine they would also share that with them allowing for a huge opportunity if a producer or music publisher were to visit my website to listen to more of my songs.
I had always thought that contests were not worth entering and that my songs would never place at any level. I was wrong and I am so happy that I didn’t give up on submitting entries. Whatever may come of the open music industry door, I am convinced that songwriting contests are a great way to stand out in the 120,000 uploads of new music releases a day that has become the norm and will likely continue to grow.
Coffee & a Playlist 