Why do bands wait to get signed?

[BigGingerBob]

I've been thinking during some idle time about bands getting signed.
A few years ago bands wouldn't be able to afford the cd manufacture and distributionthat record companies provide but why do bands still wait to get signed?
What's stopping these bands recording their music in a hired recording studio, whacking it on itunes and their website? They could send it into the radio and hope it gets played.

I'm sure I'm being very naive about the nusic business but wouldn't that be possible?
Another question about this is if it is possible are record companies necessary any more?

[Lotus 50]

The answer is (I think) that they do. The problem is you need the marketing/pr/distribution support that the label can give...

[chevy-stu]

As Lotus50 says above above, 1000's do everyday, but it's the mainstream marketing you need Sony etc, for.. daytime national radio, MTV, appearances on Lorraine Kelly airplay etc are very very expensive.
There's a whole industry of people that push artistes to the front, unfortunately only a tiny percentage get through, and it's often those with the biggest wallets (ie, Simon Cowell et.. )
Some cable TV type music channels, trendy magazines and websites, late night or more local and internet radio do push new unsigned acts they like, but they rarely break through without the big boys help...

[vsonix]

BigGingerBob said:

hired recording studio, whacking it on itunes and their website? They could send it into the radio and hope it gets played.

I'm sure I'm being very naive about the nusic business but wouldn't that be possible?
Another question about this is if it is possible are record companies necessary any more?

That's not particularly good business strategy, but in general, you don't just submit a song to BBC1 and expect someone who has any clout to actually listen to it. John Peel used to be about the only big DJ who would listen to everything he got sent, one of the reasons he was so loved by many.

In order to get anywhere with a track you need to spend a lot of time plugging - it's a job in itself, requires a lot of relationship building and dogged persistence on the phone and emails.

Also the old business model of getting signed to a (hopefully) major label was attractive to bands as you would normally get a fairly sizeable advance against future record sales - however, in fact many bands ended up owing their labels money after subsequent releases failed to perform.

The internet has democratised the production and release of music - which is great - but a side-effect of course is that the volume of material has increased so you still need a hard-hitting PR campaign as well as killer material if you want to get noticed and hopefully make a career out of recording, releasing and performing music. If you want time to actually make music and perform, unless you are an epic multi-tasker, you will need a manager and a publicist - and this is why labels still have relevance - because they can handle that side of things for artists, who aren't always the strongest negotiators or networkers themselves.

[BigGingerBob]

Ok, so it's still a very costly business then.
I didn't realise you had to pay for airplay sometimes. It's a shame really.

[vsonix]

not in terms of cold, hard cash you don't but ultimately, time is money, and if you want to get your track heard by Pete Tong it helps to have a home mailing address for his producer, for example. Unless you have plenty of industry experience or are very good at getting hold of people, you'll never have access to the type of people you need to be able to successfully break records/artists.

[Fantuzzi]

They do, all the time, everyone does.

They record, they gig, they advertise. Then they send demos to labels, or they self release and self publicise.

There is no waiting as you put it.

[audidoody]

And only one in 1,000 will get any kind of commercial success (i.e. able to earn a comfortable living for an extended period of time)

[richwig83]

Even with a record deal.... And a few hundred thousand pound backing, doesn't mean your tune will get played on the radio.

It's not as simple as just sending radio 1 your cd you made in your shed.

[richwig83]

Even with a record deal.... And a few hundred thousand pound backing, doesn't mean your tune will get played on the radio.

It's not as simple as just sending radio 1 your cd you made in your shed.