Just wondering a few things from the more experienced in the area.
Do you start sending out a track that you feel is good straight away once finished or stay quiet for a few months before you have 4-5 songs that you can do at the same time?
I'd like to have the patience to send out that much tracks at a time but unfortunately I lack it. I usually finish a track, wait a few weeks, tweak it some more and then start sending it out. This I'm trying to improve on. For me anyway it would take a long time to get together 4-5 tracks that wold suit a single label's style, since the tunes I make are usually very different - cheesy liquid, dark breakworks, dubby style etc...
Full length previews or 96kbps clips?
This has been discussed a lot and I can only tell you what I do... I send full 320s. I don't think there's a point in sending low quality, they sound so shit that it clouds the mixdown effectively. Same with clips, there is no rule IMO that dnb tracks have a, intro, drop, rinseout, breakdown and a copy of the first rinseout. There can be progression throughout the track on different levels, and sending a clip is just telling the label "this is my track, there is nothing else you need to hear but this, its the most important part". It's kind of patronizing.
Give your tunes to a small select amount of people or anyone who could possibly get you recognition, youtube, radio and so on?
Aim for the highest in terms of labels etc or something you think is more achievable?
First try the select few, the best labels and best DJ's you think are the top of the pops and who you think deserve to hear your music first and foremost. If that is not working after a couple of weeks, you can try to send to more DJ's, labels and promoters. Start from the top. They might not get back at you but at least you tried. There aren't that many labels that you should worry about 'losing on sales' if it gets released on a smaller label and 20 label heads wont buy it - chances are they would receive it as a promo copy either way. I really can't tell you anything concrete on the bigger labels, but at least this has worked for me in getting some digital releases.
What signs tell you a tune is good enough to send out to labels?
This is what my 'wait for a couple of weeks' method comes from. You have to know it yourself. Waiting for a while, not listening to the track 6 times a day, will give you a more objective view on the track. When you've just finished a track youre so hyped that you will not see the obvious - it might have serious flaws that you cant even see. Also A/B ing a track is good practice for checking the mixdown and technical aspects. And if you think you have something that is artistically good, you will know. But I guess getting feedback on the web is the second best thing. It's just a 2 edged sword... many people are not honest on the web, saying 'nice one' or 'wicked' or whatever when actually they wouldn't give your track a second listen. This is why
you need to posess the skill to evaluate your track properly.
---------- Post added at 16:28 ---------- Previous post was at 16:25 ----------
And I guess playing tracks out is the best meter there is when it comes to quality control.
