Dear Artists Seeking Record Deals,

When’s the last time you bought a record? Do you see any record stores still open in your town? And you’re looking for what? A Record Deal? There aren’t any more record deals because no one buys records anymore. I wish I had $ .007 cents for every time I have been asked “how do I get a record deal” I’d be rich just like the record labels are lately. Gold records now count streams as sales. Want a Gold record all you need is 500,000 streams that pay $.007 cents each. That means if you went Gold the record label made a whomping $3500.00 after they invested 100 grand or so into your career. Wow, isn’t THAT an incentive for a label to sign an artist and invest in them.

I was recently told, by a very good artist, ”I’m moving to Nashville so I can be discovered”. Who’s gonna discover her? The only thing that she is gonna discover is they are not interested and that there are no more record deals that develop artists. If she is going to have any career in music she is gonna have to do it herself, because a record label is not.

Artists do you know the history of how the major labels squashed you from being heard and making any money? Nah, you probably don’t. Well back in the days when digital first came out, the majors laughed at it because it was only a minute piece of the market. They said it would never catch on. Then they spent years fighting digital to no avail.

Then one day a light bulb went off in some record execs head. “Hey lets allow streaming of our artists!” So the first deal was made with Spotify, and the major labels took multi-million dollar advances to let them stream their catalog plus a large % of their advertising dollars. None of this was ever shared with the artists. Oh yeah, every year the majors take millions in advances from streaming companies allowing them to stream their catalog of music. This is how the major labels are staying in business. None of these advances or ad dollars are shared with the artists.

Did they ever ask you the artist if you wanted to be streamed? Did they ever give you the artist a piece of that multimillion dollar advance? Nah.

And you want what a Record Deal? How can a label give you a record deal when there are no more record sales. Why does everyone want what they can’t have? Record Deals, in the context the artists think of where they sign you because you have great songs and mega talent don’t, exist anymore there is no label out there that’s gonna rescue you and make you a star.

Want to be famous, travel and tour the world and perform. Then invest in yourself because there is no record label on the planet that will. Again, when’s the last time you bought a record? Do you see any record stores still open in your town? And you’re looking for what? A Record Deal? Want a career in music? Then wake up! You can have one, but only if you realize that you are the only one that’s gonna make it happen, and that it can happen. Stay tuned, the next article will tell you how.

By Stephen Wrench President www.musikandfilm.com