get a record or publishing deal, A&R men, cliches about A&R men, send a demo, invite an A&R man to a gig, put on a showcase, record companies; majors and independents, publishing companies, PRS.

Ah! The elusive deal! Yet again, there is no guaranteed way to get a record or publishing deal, although if you’re genuinely really good at what you do, you put the work in and persevere, there’s a good chance you’ll get some kind of deal eventually. When it comes to getting signed and becoming successful, timing is everything. Unfortunately being in the right place at the right time happens mostly by chance but you can at least maximise your chances by doing everything you can.

The first thing you have to do is to attract the attention of some A&R men; all publishing and record companies have A&R departments… the initials stand for artists and repertoire and an A&R man is someone who scouts for bands at gigs, finds bands he/she thinks would be good to sign and puts the case for signing to the label. Then they become your liason at the company; at the record company this means overseeing decisions on what songs to record, when to release them and how much money to allocate to promoting your release with press, plugging and touring. Your publishing A&R man can help to push your songs for tv and movie soundtracks and advertising. Unfortunately, at major record companies A&R staff tend not to keep their jobs for a long time so you can find yourself signed to a label where the A&R that signed you has left and there’s no-one to fight your corner.

There are lots of cliches about A&R men; some say you can spot them at gigs because they always carry a shoulder bag and coat (they don’t use the cloakroom so they can make a quick getaway if they hate you), they never applaud and always drink expensive bottled lager! Others say A&R men were all bullied at school and are exacting revenge by making everyone suck up to them! They notoriously won’t say they like you unless someone else does first; there’s even a joke about that... how many A&R men does it take to change a lightbulb?... I don’t know, what do you think? Whatever the truth is, you need them on your side to get a deal. Most A&R have seen hundreds of bands and are consequently fairly critical. They have a mental checklist when they see you play live; do you have strong songs? Can you sing/play/perform well? Are you contemporary/do you fit into a current scene or pigeonhole? Do you have X factor (sex appeal, star quality, massive charisma etc)? And above all... will your music sell? If the answer to at least 4 out of 5 of these questions is yes, then you’re in with a chance, especially if it’s the latter three!

When trying to impress A&R, there are three lines of attack; play them your demo, invite them to a gig or do a showcase. You can send a demo in the post or try and give it to someone personally if you meet them at a gig (try and get a contact number or email so you can chase them up) or preferably, get someone else to give it to them, eg a promoter… they’re more likely to take it seriously if someone else is pushing you. When A&R men listen to your demo they may only listen to the first 30 seconds before chucking it in the bin so try and make sure the first track on your demo does something exciting within this time to make them listen to the rest of it!

Assuming they like your demo, you can invite an A&R man to a gig. Bear in mind that if they see you play first on at a dodgy venue to three men and a dog you aren’t likely to impress. Getting a happening vibe going is crucial to how they will perceive you; they might try and tell you different, saying they just want to hear the live sound and don’t worry about how many people are there etc... DON’T LISTEN TO THIS! It will matter so make sure you pull all the stops out and make it a happening gig.

If you can’t guarantee that a gig will be exciting enough to convince them, another option is to put on a showcase. This involves hiring a decent rehearsal studio with a good pa and inviting A&R men to see you play a few songs in this more controlled environment. You can invite them to come one at a time by appointment or make the showcase into a small intimate gig by inviting a few friends. Keep in mind the fact that A&R don’t like to be the first to commit themselves, invite anyone else in the industry who already likes you, eg. promoters, journalists who have reviewed you favourably etc.

There are two types of record companies; majors and independents. Both have advantages and disadvantages that if you’re lucky enough to be in position to choose between them, need to be considered.

Majors have a huge international machine at their disposal including their own press, marketing and plugging departments so if they’re really into you they can get maximum exposure for your music. The downside is that this comes at a price! A major record company is likely to offer a 5-7 album deal; they will pay you an advance (usually ranging from £50,000 to £250,000 for an unknown band) for the first album. When your record begins to sell, your share of the royalties will be somewhere in the region of 15-18%, out of which you have to pay back the advance plus any other costs like tour support and recording costs. Only when the advance is fully recouped do you start to see any income. When your second album is ready, the major will have an ‘option’ to release it on the condition that they give you another advance, The size of which could be more or less than the first one depending on how much you recouped the first time around. Major record companies used to give a band time to develop over 2 or 3 albums but now they’re likely to drop you if the first album is unsuccessful.

It’s an unfortunate fact that major corporations need a ‘tax loss’ from time to time so bizarrely it’s sometimes in their interest for you to fail... hence the numerous stories of albums being made and insufficient copies being pressed or releases not being promoted with any marketing or tour support. The only precautions you can take against this situation are blind faith, a good manager and an experienced lawyer!

Independent labels are generally what they sound like; privately owned small companies usually started by an individual who takes a hands-on approach to finding and signing music they like. However, during the last 20 years, major corporations have bought some indie companies, financing them whilst allowing them a degree of independence so they can maintain their credible status. These companies are known as subsidiaries. An indie deal can be for anything from one single/ep to 5-7 albums. They are likely to offer no advance at all or a much smaller one than a major, eg between £10,000 and £100,000. They will still usually pay recording costs and allocate a budget for paying an independent press agent, radio plugger and some tour support. On the plus side, once your record begins to sell there is less of a debt to recoup and they will pay royalties at a higher rate, sometimes as much as 50%. On the negative side, an independent label will have to make licensing agreements with small labels in other countries in order to release your music abroad so you aren’t guaranteed international exposure when you first sign the deal. Also an indie can’t usually afford quite as much money for marketing and tour support as a major so it might take longer to raise your profile.

At some point you will also need a publishing deal. Publishing companies control the rights to the copyright of any material you write while you are signed to them and they will continue to control those rights for a term of up to around 25 years after you cease to be signed to them. (see HOW TO GET STARTED to see how to divide publishing splits between band members)

Publishers basically collect any royalties you are owed from pressing of records/cds (mechanical royalties), public performance, radio broadcast and cablecast (performance royalties), sale of printed music, use of music on film or tv (synchronisation royalties), use of music in theatre and ballet (grand right royalties), ringtones and downloads. Then they will take a percentage of these royalties and pass the rest on to you. The usual rate is in the region of 65-80% to the artist, 20-35% to the publisher... the term and the rate depend on the contract you negotiate with them. Some publishers act purely as administrators, passively collecting royalties. A good publisher can assist your career by to developing your band, helping you to get a record deal if you haven’t got one already and by seeking out licensing opportunities eg. getting your music on film or games soundtracks.

Like record companies, publishing companies can also give advances and sign you for several album’s worth of material. After the first advance, the next one will be subject to you having fulfilled the minimum comittment, which means getting your first album released on a major (or established indie) label. The advances are again recoupable so must be paid back from your earnings before you receive any royalties.

You can sign a publishing deal before or after a record deal; if you sign before the record deal you are likely to be offered a smaller advance (around £10,000 to £50,000) but you can use the advance to help develop your band eg. buy better equipment, pay for rehearsals or tour support for gigs. The fact that you are signed by the publishing company should help to raise your profile in the industry and gain you a better record deal. Your publisher may even help you to find the right record company. If you sign the publishing deal after your record deal, the advance is likely to be larger because the publisher has some guarantee that you will get your music released and generate them some income. If it’s a good record deal then the sky’s the limit as far as your publishing advance goes... anything from £100,000 to £1000,000 is possible!

Just when you thought you’d got your head round all this information, there’s one other thing you need to know about; collecting societies like the PRS (performing right society) work in conjunction with publishing companies to administer the distribution of royalties. As a songwriter it’s in your interest to join the PRS who are responsible for collecting royalties from public performance of your music ie. gigs, pubs, clubs, shops, restaurants, radio and tv. If you have a publishing deal, 50% of this income will come direct to you from the PRS and the other 50% will go to your publisher who will deduct their percentage and recoup any outstanding advance from your share.