Oscar Sanchez New Book "Life Of a NYC Industry A&R" blog series

Feb. 8, 2012 - PRLog -- HOW TO SHOP YOUR DEMO IN 2012?

Its incredible that throughout all these years in the music industry no matter what or where I go, the biggest & first question people always have for me when they get to see me is “How Do I Shop My Demo”. I tell people always, its takes more than just a few words to cover that question. You need a real conversation to understand what to & what not to do in 2012.

When I was growing up working at the Majors things where different. People used to wait outside the building or at the label lobby and hit you with their tape or CD. They would educate themselves on who was who and what they did and what the label was all about. They used to see you in the clubs and hit you with their demo like Emerald the Chef  “bam” right at you. People back in the day had hustle and were hungry to get on.

Now in 2012 with the digital era people act like they have lost their minds, they act like they are doing you a favor. One example I can use was a recent experience I had with this new no experience, no name manager, just got in the industry with no hustle what so ever came out to me that he had the lead singer of very popular boy band that was looking for a deal. It was amazing to me instead of trying to close a deal with me this guy decided to work me and come at me at every opportunity at every angle. He tried to work me in the worst way it was so basic that he became predictable. I actually won a bet in my office that at the end this manager would not sign and would end up sending me an email saying that I should work for free for them because they owned companies outside the music biz. Could you believe I won the bet no sooner than 3 days after we were supposed to administered contracts, the manager did in fact write me that exact typical email I predicted. Of course the sad part wasn’t only that he had the deal in hand for the mere fact the artist was great but that he shut himself down. As you read what I write I know you are laughing of course nodding your head saying “who say things like that when trying to close a deal and are that close”, but in the music industry you get all types.

Unfortunately for that artist the manager killed his deal and maybe his career because of his lack of experience. I see this mistake over and over again. I can honestly say people got lazy and lost their hustle or lost their sense.

Like in any business if you are going to work in business you cannot work on emotion. In the digital era people filled their egos with the “I can do better” attitude have left many of them pretty much out in the cold in the cyber world just one right after the other. These people think that the quick fix formulas that sites offer are going to get you that next major deal or signed to an indie with a huge advance. Biggie said it best “MF this aint back in the days but you don’t hear me tho things done changed”. That’s why you always hear people saying “Oh the music business is down, its not down if you know what you are doing. I don’t see Diddy complaining the music business is down on tv or on the radio”. In this business like any other you get in what you put in, think about that.

The worst of the 1990’s lines and 2nd worst mistake I still hear everyday is “I’m making a Mixtape” that one kills me the most. For the mere fact that Mixtapes are used now as marketing drivers not points of focus where to sign that next hot artist from don’t believe me just checkout successful sites like www.datpiff.com When DJ Clue stopped making CD Mixtapes that era pretty much died of discovering new artist on Mixtapes to sign to a label. Ever since then they have been used as marketing drivers from every artist in the game like 50Cents to DJ Drama to even R&B Pop artist Chris Brown. They all have used their Mixtapes to create a brand not just get discovered.

The sad part is that we work in an industry where a majority of the industry are followers not innovators. Which is why you have every other rapper or “just came up” managers saying “We making a Mixtape and we make it from there because I got so & so to produce my records”. People spend so much money on creating that Mixtape mostly with samples that they cant clear LOL big fail so what, what else have you done that are not just promotional attempts is my question. To tell you the truth the look on their face after I say that directly to them is priceless. Then what usually follows next is the answer “Im saying I put my own money into this”, Hello what business in this country did not start out with funding your own project, it is your project right. Hilarious the answers I get from people everyday. As Big Daddy Kane said in his song  “You know that makes me want to laugh”.

The 3d biggest mistake that I could never understand was the strategy or mind state of some people who meet with you to shop their demo and act like they are the next hottest sh*t but in reality have 100% of nothing on their table. Rule of thumb never go into a meeting to close a deal and verbally under mind the label or producer or executive into thinking they will close the deal with that attitude. If you are a headache there is always the door is my rule. I work only with people that are passionate and want to work. I never work with people that act like they are doing me a favor. 9 out of 10 conversations with people shopping their demo deal with 150% ego & words that come out of their mouths with terms they have no idea about. Instead of educating themselves or doing research these people heard or read about these terms but have no clue what they mean in reality. That right there usually kills them within their own conversation when here they are shopping themselves to you. Again its hilarious, everyday I play industry SHARK TANK online or on the phone.

So take note in 2012 it takes more than just uploading a record to become successful. To get your music heard you need branding and to be distributed in all the top digital outlets. Sorry Blah Blah Baby & Blah Core can only provide upload distribution but you cannot get any customized online branding marketing artist development (yes a widget is not artist development) for your release for your artist or your brand.

It’s a whole different world now, you have to laugh at those people that still try to give you a CD in NYC to listen to their demo. How lost are these artists when they realize that nobody has CD players anymore. Everyone has smart phones & ipods. I saw a guy about 65 tell a young kid on 6th Ave in NYC why you selling CD nobody has CD players anymore. LOL The funny part was the kid looked at the guy weird.

So think before you flood that A&R’s mailbox with your demo MP3 think about what is going to make that A&R listen to your email over all the rest of the others. Listen to me its one simple word people its called BRANDING.

Tune in to next month’s article in which we look at world of distribution.

We can be found on www.affluentworld.net

If you are an artist or label imprint looking for World Wide Digital Distribution, A&R Consulting, Artist Development, Music Production, Online Publicity, Brand Marketing, Media, Web Development, Strategic Planning & Digital Promotions contact us at www.affluentrecords.com or directly at oscarsanchez@affluentrecords.com



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