DEMOS, NO UNSOLICITED MUSIC POLICY
How can I submit my demos to XYZ Record Company?


Four of the most sobering words to any aspiring talent seeking to have their music heard by a major record company A&R or publisher .. is - NO UNSOLICITED MATERIAL ACCEPTED!

What does that mean?

It means that you can't just obtain an email or mailing address of a major record company A&R or publisher and send them your music and assume that they are going to listen to it. Your music has to be requested (solicited) by the record company A&R before they will accept it from you.

Posted on most record company websites, printed materials, and even on some company voicemail recordings is some version of the following "no unsolicited material" policy statement that typically reads like this:

"XYZ Music does not accept unsolicited submissions of any recorded materials. All submissions received will either be returned to the sender unopened or destroyed upon receipt. XYZ Music takes no responsibility for returning any such materials to the sender"

Now, record and publishing companies are not just being mean, spiteful or elitist by not accepting unsolicited material. There are actually sound business reasons for this policy. Below are some of the most common.

o To avoid bogus lawsuits and limit liability.

Record companies are often subjected to a considerable amount of bogus copyright infringement lawsuits each year from people claiming that their music was stolen by someone at their company and released. Unfortunately, regardless if the lawsuit is bogus or not, a record company has to spend real money and legal resources to defend each alleged infringement. The major issue here is that the person bringing the lawsuit must prove the that the infringer had "access" to their music. In other words, they listened to their music and then created as their own material. So if the record company wants to limit their liability they don't accept it under a "no unsolicited music" policy. This helps to eliminate the exposure and these types of lawsuits.

o Volume - Not enough record company staff to listen to all of the music submitted.

Advances in recording technology has made it possible for talent to affordably create ten times more music than what was possible just a few years ago. At the same, record companies have reduced their staffs significantly as a result of low CD sales and automation of certain tasks previously done by humans. Combine the high volume of new music invading record company email accounts and mailrooms and a rapidly shrinking A&R staff, and you will find a huge bottle-neck of unsolicited music that will probably never be heard at the record company. Simply put, there are not enough record company personnel to listen to all of the music submitted.

o Record Executives prefer to work with people that they know, more importantly those with ears they trust.

Beyond the glitz and glamour of the music industry, like any other job, record executives and A&R have to perform to maintain their employment. They are only as good as their last record or artist released. Record executives are under constant pressure by their bosses to deliver top marketable music and talent that can compete on major radio stations, TV, industry trade charts, and most importantly at the cash register. If a record company executive does not bring competitive music to the label they are out of a job and their record company will go out of business.

So the issue for most record companies is that ninety-five percent of all unsolicited submitted music is not marketable or does not fit the format of the record companies. To help record executives deal with the issue of high volume and low marketable music, they don't accept unsolicited music. They limit submissions to people that they know, more importantly from industry-insiders with ears they trust. By this approach record executives know that they will get a much higher percentage of competitive music and marketable talent.