The importance of soundscan

In a word, Yes. As a consultant to major labels and their sub labels, I will let you in on the “hidden secrets” of how major labels evaluate the artists they are considering signing to their rosters.

First, lets dispel the myths about A&R people in general. Even though a major label may have anywhere between 10-30 A&R reps running around the country checking out independent artists, there is a limited number of people who can actually sign an artist to their company. In most labels, its only 2 or 3. These are the people who are responsible for signing the new artists who will (hopefully) make the company profitable. It is their job and their “neck on the line” to make sure the artists they sign, have the greatest potential of success. With that thought in mind, here is how they typically pick a new artist.

When a “junior” A&R staff person is interested in you, they will conduct what is called a “market by market analysis.” This involves:

Getting a copy of your Soundscan report to verify how many CDs you have sold and where. (It should go without saying that you need to make sure that your bar code on your CD is registered with Soundscan. If you got a “free” bar code from someone, most likely it is not registered. If it is, it is not registered to you unless you have filled out the paperwork!)

Attached to your Soundscan report will be a copy of your Venue Verification Program Reportwill let you in on the “hidden secrets” of how major labels evaluate th. That’s the program that tracks all of your CD sales you have at your live shows. *When you are checking on your bar code with Soundscan, you better make sure that you are signed up for this as well).

After reviewing your Soundscan reports, market researchers or even the “junior” A&R person themselves, will call the various record stores in your home market, where your CDs should be and selling out of. They will try to verify with them how your CD is selling.

Then they will call the commercial radio station’s Music Director, daily newspaper and alternative newsweeklies music writers in your home market, to see what they know about you and your CD. If they have played your CD, or if they have written articles or reviews about your CD and what the response has been.

Then if a major label or A&R person is truly interested, they will ask you for 3 things.

Several copies of your CD and promotional materials. (This is a good time to remind you that you should NEVER SEND A PRESS KIT to an A&R person. Always send your Artist Profile. It is always good to have a downloadable version of your Artist Profile on your site in case someone loses their copy!)

Copies of your sales reports from Amazon.com and CD Baby.com. (As you know, they are 97% of all online sales for independent artists). It is usually a good idea to include a copy of your State Tax Report from the State Board Of Tax & Equalization to help verify sales.

A copy of what is called your “Marketing Book.” If you are not familiar with this or (God forbid) you haven’t started one, it is a journal that includes a copy of your marketing plan, with the written comments on a weekly or monthly basis, as to what worked and what didn’t in each aspect of your marketing campaign.

Lets take half a step backward to answer your questions about these 3 things.

They need copies of your CD to obviously review the music and see how commercially viable it will be to “their” contacts in your home market, state, regionally and eventually nationally. Your promotional material will show them how much you really know about what you are doing.

They ask for copies of your internet sales reports to verify the “virtual online sales” that are not typically reported to Soundscan. However, CD Baby has just started to report to Soundscan to make your life easier. A copy of your tax report can account for hundreds or even thousands, of “hidden sales.”

Providing a copy of your Marketing Book is extremely important to show the company, how and where you succeeded and to keep them from repeating the efforts in areas, where the promotion didn’t work. Especially so they don’t repeat them later on, when you are signed and hold it against you when it doesn’t work for them!

Once all the market research is done and your sales history has been verified and your potential success has been measured, the record company will decide what kind of offer they will make to you.

So is this the “magic formula” to getting a record deal?

No. There really isn’t a magic formula. But I will tell you from my 20 years of being a consultant to these companies, an artist with a sales history of at least 10,000 CDs sold in their home market is considered far more interesting and valuable than an artist without a CD or with no sales history.

Does this mean you can’t get a record deal without releasing your own CD and selling 10,000 copies?

No, but the odds are severally stacked against you. Lets say several million to one, unless, the person who brings your music to the company has a successful past history with them or in the industry. There is still the possibility that they may think, you are the greatest artist of all time, but that’s pretty rare. Considering that successful A&R people pass on groups that go on to sell over a million copies every year, the odds aren’t good they will just “hear it” in the music.

Artists with a sales history of at least 10,000 copies, will get a much better deal than someone without a sales history. Artist with a sales history also have something very important. Keeping in mind that the average major label artists won’t even sell 1,000 copies nationwide, an artist with a sales history has a “position of strength to negotiate from.” They will most likely be listed as a “Priority” artist when signed to the company.

Obviously, once you are signed to a major label, its all about how many copies you have sold. You can make a great record but if it doesn’t sell, the record company and the share holders who invest in the company, don’t care how great the songs are or how it sounds. It didn’t sell enough copies.

Here is an interesting thought to leave you with. If you can sell 10,000 copies of your CD in your home market and then duplicate that in the surrounding markets, do you even need a record deal? You will be making a lot more money than if you are signed.

Food for thought.

Tim Sweeney

PS. Chapter 2 of Tim Sweeney’s Guide To Releasing Independent Records will give you the real insights into how the major labels work. Read it carefully, before you focus your attention on trying to impress them.

Tim Sweeney is an independent music consultant. He is one of the music industry's most highly sought after experts in the areas of artist development, radio promotion, record distribution, retail marketing and publicity. He has helped dozens of record labels both major (Columbia, Epic, MCA, Revolution, Hollywood, Capitol, Mercury, Polygram, Warner and their sub-labels) and independent (Restless, Skunk, Screaming Goddess, among others) develop some of their most promising and successful artists of all time. For more information on Tim's seminars, books and artist consultation, please visit his website at www.tsamusic.com