Most artists believe that record contracts will come their way simply because they drop off a demo recording of their work. Demo recordings are not the best way to get the attention of record companies, but if you decide to send out your CD, the following ten reasons may help you to create a demo that gets listened to.
1. Contact Information unavailable – put all your contact information on the CD cover of your demo. Make sure you include your email, phone, home address, mySpace address, website etc.
2. The music on the demo CD lacks originality
3. No matter how good the music is, the artist must be prepared and able to play live
4. Material recorded in the demo CD is poor
5. Best songs are not highlighted – make sure your best work is highlighted, so that the recording company rep can listen to those songs first and give them attention.
6. Sending videos instead of CDs – keep it simple and send in an audio CD, since the main goal is to showcase your music and songwriting skills. If you really want to show a video, upload it to YouTube and include the link on the CD cover.
7. Sending unsolicited demo CDs – try to make an appointment or let someone at the record company know that you are sending your demo.
8. Sending the wrong genre of music to the wrong label
9. The musicians in the demo CD cannot play their instruments properly
10. The music is not good – make sure you get someone with a music background and someone who will tell you if your music is not good to review the demo CD before you send it out.