TIPS FOR GETTING A RECORD DEAL (FROM A REAL RECORD LABEL!)
In my experience, artists find it really difficult to find any insight into what record labels look for they look for when signing an act. This makes it hard to know where to focus their energy.
I was fortunate enough to do some work for influential Irish record label Paragon Records earlier this year. I was really struck by their level of expertise and how pragmatic they were. Paragon Records was set up by Brian Scally & Ciaran Conroy here in Ireland and is funded through private equity and venture capital funding. The label is set up to operate across multi genres internationally and also employs seasoned executive label staff in New York and London.
I took the opportunity to ask Paragon Director Ciaran Conroy a few questions that crop up regularly!
Q: What do you look for in an artist in order to give them a deal?
A:
(i) Originality of songwriting (lyrically and melodically).
(ii) Ideally a very meaningful knowledge of music (both current and historic).
(iii) Be really able to deliver live.
(iv) Ability to engage with and communicate well with fans / an audience.
(v) To ideally have a pretty clear vision as to what they want to do artistically. (Labels and management can help this, but not lead it).
(vi) A good professional attitude in dealing with things (positive and negative) and ultimately just being easy to work with.
Q: What excites you about potential new artists? What are some notable things that artists have done in the past that have led you to sign them?
A:
Honestly – the thing that excites me the most about any new artist is how they are able to deliver live even in the earliest of settings. I remember seeing Curtis Walsh when he was 16 in a small pub in Dublin. The crowd in that bar were going to be brutally honest and unforgiving! But his voice was just so strong that he basically had them in the palm of this hand and he was comfortably able to deal with them. It’s still very early days in his career but he’s gone on to do around 15 million streams to date in just a couple of years.
Other times it’s just about artists having an incredibly clear artistic vision. We’ve had this a couple of times again at early stages with various acts, and it makes a huge difference once things get moving.
Q: Are there specific metrics that are important to you: (eg: radio play. Spotify. Social media following, live performance)
The size of the metrics are not important initially. What is important is the type of metric. Ie: if an act only has 500 followers on Instagram but 50 of those are highly engaged and plugged into what the band/act are doing, that’s infinitely more valuable than an act with 5000 followers who are largely passive.
Q: What do you look for in an artist beyond metrics, and how an artist can demonstrate this to them?
Again, I know it sounds sort of obvious – but really what we’re looking for all the time is artists with serious talent and a clear vision backed up with a solid knowledge of music so that what they’re writing musically and lyrically is in some way original.
Q: Where do labels, managers etc. look for potential new artists?
Everywhere – all the time! – So, TikTok, Instagram, Blog Postings, Word of Mouth etc etc.
Q: What forms of communication are you most receptive to?
Honestly, my core advice to any act starting out or even developing is not to waste time emailing management companies or record companies until you have at least 50 fans who are absolutely devoted and you can pretty comfortably put 100 people into a venue who are not friends and family. The industry will always find good acts. But you need to make a certain amount of real noise and traction yourself first and then let them come to you.
The only time it makes sense to reach out to a label directly is if they provide label services such as PR / sync (music placed on Film and TV) / help with content creation etc etc) and you are looking for a specific paid service on that level. That is something a number of indie labels (including Paragon) do. But otherwise, if you are looking for a deal etc, my advice would be to wait for them to come to you and just focus entirely on building a fanbase one by one.
Q: What does a label expect from an artist after they’re signed?
Have a great work ethic, show up on time and understand that everyone is trying to make things work. The best label / artist relationships basically operate as partnerships, and less as an ‘us and them’ type relationship. Those ones tend to not last very long.
Q: What advice could you give to a fully independent artist who is managing all of their own affairs in terms of running their music business (eg: marketing their music, reaching an audience, radio/playlists pitching, getting/booking gigs, image, etc)
More than anything else, focus on getting the best possible tracks written and recorded. This should be the priority of priorities, above absolutely everything else. If you are happy with the material, then work out where you think your biggest gaps are (eg: content creation, PR, etc) and try to raise some budget to get external support in these areas. The sole objective though once you are happy with the tracks is building fan communities. Don’t get too bogged down on getting on playlists, etc initially. That may happen, but the former is far more important overall.
I hope this article is a help to artists. Huge thanks to Ciaran Conroy for taking the time to answer these questions. 🙏