As you listen to your freshly cut master track, you can't help but feel the goosebumps rays on the back of your neck.
You put your heart and soul into this music, and now that you've finally got records you're proud of, it's time to try and make it for real in the music business.
Rappers and beatmakers who are looking to get signed by a record label, the process can appear to be very daunting.
After all, how do you know which record labels are legit? How do you know which are competent or would be a good fit for you in particular?
The world of hip-hop in particular is full of scoundrels and people who don't have your best interest at heart.
We created this guide for approaching and contacting hip-hop record labels to make sure that you are doing your career a service instead of hindering your progress by making the wrong decisions.
Avoid the pitfalls of the modern hip-hop industry by adhering to these tips.
Aside from showing a record label that you actually care about who they are, researching a label before you reach out may help reveal whether or not the label is legit and actually helps its artists, or if it's a straight up scam.
Pure scams aren't very common, and we don't want to give you the impression that just because a label is small and doesn't have a huge online presence means that it isn't legit. It very well may be.
With that said, you should be able to learn at least a little bit about whatever hip-hop label you are contacting before you reach out.
Anybody have any record label that you contact is shorter run your legal name or your artist name through Google and see what comes up. Make sure that you are putting your best foot forward by having lots of high-quality results on Google and other search engines.
If I were a record label executive thinking about responding to your email, it would for sure give me more confidence that you are a legitimate artist if I can find things like interviews, reviews of music, and other online media articles that demonstrate your legitimacy.
Tons of artists put time and energy into their social media presence, but neglect their general online presence.
Given that it is possible to buy fake followers and engagement on social media, most real record label execs will want to see that you are represented in other online media as well.
These days it is super easy to distribute your music across all sorts of platforms that listeners tune into.
Distribution services such as Distrokid, Tunecore, and CDBaby can help you get your music across Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and every other platform you can imagine.
Before you contact hip-hop record labels, make sure your music is On as many different listening platforms as possible.
You're going to want it to be super easy for label representatives to find your tunes and give whatever you have a listen should they decide to research you.
This one might sound obvious, but allow us to explain.
Establishing yourself on social media is going to be key if you want to successfully contact a hip-hop record label and get them interested in signing you.
Now, establishing yourself does not necessarily mean that you have to have a huge following and massive engagement numbers.
Even just having a few thousand followers could be enough to convince a record label to respond to your email or phone call.
What's more important than following numbers alone is the consistency with which you post, and the brand that you were portraying in your post content itself,
Hip-hop is a music genre that is huge on image.
That doesn't mean you need to flex expensive stuff all over your Instagram, but it does mean that you need to pay careful attention to how you are presenting yourself on social media.
Don't post anything that gives you an unprofessional look or appears to be from a personal profile. As a music artist, you are inhabiting a character of sorts, so make sure that everything you do on social media reflects this character and brand.
Music is a tough business and asked me to mention there are plenty of people who may be looking to take advantage of you and do not have your best interest at heart.
While it is great news if a record label response to your message or request to listen to your music, never let them sweet talk you into doing an instant deal that may not be in your favor.
Always do your research before signing any record deals. It may seem like a far away goal now, but if you follow the tips in this article, it's only a matter of time before you land some sort of deal. Keep grinding until you get what you want!
