Within the music industry trade papers, any band can find an event featuring prominent A&R representatives willing to listen to new talent. The people representing these labels are either scouts or A&R department heads. So when a band or individual looking for a record contract attends anyone of these conferences, how do you make an impression? It is called the Media Package.

 

In the media package, you are leaving the lasting impression between you and the record company. With so many people having rock star dreams and aspirations, you want to leave a lasting image of who you are and what you sound like. Every A&R scout or big wig will come across an average of a thousand demos a month, so now more than ever do you need to define who you are with originality, class, and intelligence.

 
First of all, media packages are not novels of the band’s history, an abundance of pictures, or handwritten bios that were just done. I have received too many bios thicker than my phone book. When handed media packages that look like and are just as thick as your notebook from school, I TRHOW THEM AWAY!

Media Packages should ONLY have 5 simple things. No more, no less. If it has anymore of these things, we will probably throw it away or forget about you!

1. A Demo - Four songs are about the standard for demos. We do not have time to listen to 9 or 13 songs on your CD. In fact, unless a song really grabs us, many times we actually just skip through. But more importantly, make sure the demo is accurate to live performances. We have a standard for vocal groups. If a vocal group physically hands me a demo, I am going to ask them to sing a track on the spot.

Make sure the demo looks professional. We do not want a burned CD with Sharpie marker handwriting. Make it look professional just as if I was buying the thing at TOWER RECORDS. Holding a CD with what looks like professional production in its appearance with an adhesive CD label and contact information, tells me that the band is SERIOUS about what they do.

2. A Brief Bio - Did you notice the word, “BRIEF”? If you don’t, look it up in the dictionary and thesaurus. A significant paragraph is enough. After one paragraph, you are starting to lose my attention with your bio probably going in the trash.

3. A Picture of the Entire Band - In other words, we want to know if you look ugly. We have seen so many bands with pictures that are not even clear. That does not help us. Nor do we want individual head shots either. We want a clear visible photo with all band members. A group shot so to speak. One band even sent me a 5x7 black square. To this day, I don’t even know what they look like.

4. Contact Information - If we like what we hear, we need to contact you. Put your contact information on the demo and inside/outside of your media package folder.  The folder, by the way, does not need to be leather bound or a 3 ring binder with $50 in the pocket. We have enough money. Don’t forget the band website if you have one!

5. A Genuine Look or Originality in the Media Package Presentation - In a stack of thousands of demos, how does your media package look different? How will I remember you when I throw your package in a stack of others? Some bands have included stickers, buttons, or a t-shirt. It definitely works and grabs my attention.