Sound Cloud and Youtube are my favorite links for demos.

If you are sending me a link to your demo on the web, I want you to know that SoundCloud and YouTube are my favorites for two reasons.

1. I can listen to them on my iPhone while I am traveling.

2. They load fast and get right to the point with no drama.

Myspace and Facebook are my least favorite. I can't listen to them on my iPhone (no flash) and they usually take a long ass time to load the page (myspace in particular) and facebook likes to make me log in and 'like' a song before I can even listen to it which is the kiss of death for you. I will not take the time to log into Facebook just to listen to your song let alone put my reputation on the line by 'liking' a song that I have never heard. Especially when I have thousands of other emails with demo links in them that are not a pain in ass to listen to. The easier you make it for me to listen, the better chance you have of getting listened to.

Reverbnation is ok, but not preferred. I can't listen to reverbnation on my iPhone.

If you're including an audio file in your email, don't send me anything but an MP3 or I will not listen to it, most likely cause I can't.

Sendspace and other file sharing services that I have to download to my hard drive first are the WORST mainly because they expire after a certain amount of time and I hate having to take up my hard drive space. Don't send me these. Lately I have just been deleting these emails without listening.

Just a litte FYI for you. Keep it in mind when sending me your demo.

~Zane Tobin

How do I get a record deal

How Do I Get A Record Deal

How do I get a record deal

I thought I would write a blog post on how do I get a record deal. I actually already wrote an article on how to get a record deal that I had on my site but just realized that there was no link to it. So, If you are looking for some tips on how do I get a record deal, there is the link.

The article describes the three basic things you should have if you are looking to get a record deal. I get asked this all the time, "how do I get a record deal? What is the secret?" I don't really think there is a secret unless you really don't know the obvious. People think it is impossible to get a record deal. Well, It is also impossible to win the lottery but it happens twice a week? I think it's twice a week right? Well, record labels are signing record deals all the time too. Anyway, if you want the so called secret formula, just take a look at my article on how do I get a record deal and I will give you mine (even though there really isn't one). There is no guide to getting a record deal. It's really all who you know and if you have what they are looking for at the time.

Follow me on Twitter. I usually tweet to let you know when I am actively listening to demos kinda like the "Hot Donuts Now" sign a Krispy Kremes, that lets you know when they are making a fresh batch of donuts. They seem to always taste better when that sign is on.

~Zane Tobin

How Do I Get A Record Deal

Some Tips on Submitting Demos To Me

After going through another demo listening session from my overstuffed inbox, I thought I would write a blog post to give you guys some tips when you submit your demo for review. I think the easiest way to do this is a list of DO's and DON'T's.

DO's:

• DO read my entire How Do I Get Signed To A Record Label page before submitting ANYTHING for review.

• DO take five or ten minutes to read all of this before sending me an email. It will be worth your time and save some of mine (seriously).

• DO submit no more than 3 MP3's or a link to myspace or youtube or wherever else you have your audio posted online to listen to.

• DO include a PICTURE of yourself or your band (unless you're a songwriter; In that case, I don't really care what you look like and neither does anyone else I don't think).

• DO provide basic contact info in your email and a quick (I mean QUICK, I don't mean three paragraphs) bio and/or history and what you are looking to accomplish.

• DO provide at least your real first name (the name your parents would like you to use) in your email. If I respond, I would like to know who I am talking to.

DONT's (or at least try your hardest NOT to):

• DON'T submit a link to something that I have to join, search your name on, or anything else that is a pain in the ass. Just submit the direct URL to your audio file or a list of your audio files. All I should have to do is click PLAY.

• DON'T submit a link to a file to download that has an EXPIRATION date. This one is very important. It may take me weeks or months to get to your submission and all for nothing if your download expires after 48 hours. I would rather you not submit anything that I have to download in the first place. MP3's are the easiest for me.

• DON'T send me an email from an email account using BOXBE. I hate Boxbe. If you must, at least have the sense to add my email address to your approved list before sending me anything. If I have to go back and enter in some stupid capcha code to respond to your demo submission, then your out of luck. Did I say that I hate Boxbe?

• DON'T send me an email that tells me all about how great you are and that you are the greatest rapper to ever walk the face of the earth and then not include a demo in your email. I can't tell you how (I'll try to be nice) NOT SMART this is. If you have your shot and my attention for however long it is to open your email and take a look you better have something to listen to in there (unless of course we are already corresponding after your original demo submission, then you can tell me how great you are all you want). I technically don't even read anything unless I have already started to play your MP3, then I will read while I listen. No MP3 or link DIRECTLY to an audio file, then I might just hit reply immediately without reading anything with "you need to submit a demo", and then I'll drag your email to the trash. Or, I might just drag it to the trash without even responding at all (kinda all depends on how NOT SMART your email was).

• DON'T send me an email asking me if I am currently accepting submissions. I am always accepting submissions. I take all genre's as well so don't ask! Don't ask me if I can help you either when you have not submitted a demo. How the hell should I know if I can help you or not when I have no idea what you sound like? (Yes, I get this all the time).

• DON'T send me a link from Facebook asking me to check out your photos. I don't know what the hell this is but it never works. Once again, DO NOT send me friend requests from websites that I have to join. I do not have the time for that crap.

And last but not least....

• DO NOT send me an email with a demo submission without reading my How Do I Get Signed To A Record Labelfirst. I do not want to waste my time or your time for that matter by responding to something that I like, just to hear that you had no idea what I do or how I do it. This just tells me that you are not serious about your career if you can't even read a few paragraphs before submitting your material for review.

Okay, that was relatively painless right? to sum it up, just send me an mp3 with your name and a pic. How easy is that?

I hope this helps you out. I know if you actually read this whole thing, it will definitely help me out.

Good luck!

~Zane Tobin

Record Labels Looking for Artists

360 Deals Become Mandatory at Record Labels

What are 360 deals?
360 Deals (also known as Multiple Rights Deals) are contracts that allow record labels to receive a percentage of the earnings for ALL of a musical artist's activities, not just record sales. Record companies got there name from pressing up and selling records. They were responsible for promoting and selling an artists records. Now with the free music generation, they need to find other avenues of income. They are now attaching themselves to digital downloads, ringtones, merchandise, ticket sales, sponsorships, etc.. Record companies are not the only ones asking for 360 deals. Managers, and Agents are also starting to make 360 Deals necessary if you want to do business with them. Record Labels Looking For Artists will not sign an act without some kind of 360 agreement. There just is not enough money in CD sales alone to survive anymore.
Some people in the industry may not like 360 Deals and try to find a way to sell their music without a major label, but you cannot compete with the machine they have. The major labels will be around for some time to come. As long as there is money to be made in music, the music will be owned by the major record labels.

~Zane Tobin
A&R

Record Deals - How NOT to Get Signed to a Record Label

I have seen so many articles on how to get signed to a record label that are full of so much wrong information that I thought I would write an article on how NOT to go about getting signed to a record label to try to debunk some of this awful advise.

You are not going to get signed to a record label by:

• Buying somebody's 'step by step guide to getting signed in 30 days for only $29.99.'


• Buying an A&R contact listing publication.


• Sending unsolicited material to every contact in said A&R contact listing publication.


• Sending solicited material to a company that charges a submission fee.


• Paying a recording studio, with professional producer included, a large sum of money to record your demo.


• Paying to play at a venue that promises that many top A&R reps are usually in attendance.

I could go on and on all day listing ways that will never get you signed to a record label. I hear it all the time, 'I can't believe I never got signed. I did all of this and I did all of that.' Well, unfortunately they didn't do the right 'all of this and all of that.'

First of all, please don't ever pay someone $29.99 promising to get you signed to a record label or giving you the secrets that only a lucky few know on how to get a record labels attention. This is just ridiculous. Everyone is entitled to sell you an ebook but it's up to you to not be a fool. This is just a total waste of money. This is the same thing as buying an ebook or joining a program promising riches from working at home with just your computer. It just doesn't happen, ever.

You could buy an A&R contact listing publication, but don't count on it being very accurate. Most of these publications are quickly outdated because I cannot think of any other industry with a higher turnover rate than the A&R department at music companies. Unless they produce the hits, they hit the road. If you purchase one of these publications, don't think either that by spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars sending material out to every contact in the book, that you are going to get lucky and someone is going to recognize your talent and you will be the next top selling artist in the country. This won't happen either. Okay, well maybe it will happen and maybe you'll win the lottery too. Most, if not all of these companies DO NOT accept unsolicited material. That means, 'we will throw your package in the trash or deny delivering and return to sender.' This does NOT mean 'well, your material is just so great that we will not care about our policy and we will be banging down your door with a record contract anyway.' No matter how good you are, it does not matter, they will not listen to it. How are they going to know that you are so great if they will not listen to it in the first place; and there are some good reasons for it. First, they might be and probably are lazy. Second, they don't have the time to listen to hundreds of demos every day; not possible. Third, and the main reason, they don't want to get sued. Record labels started getting sued by people claiming that they sent in a song that the label ripped off and released commercially. That is the main reason labels stopped accepting unsolicited material. They now get all of their material from trusted sources like managers and attorneys who they already do business with. Don't waste your time and money sending unsolicited material to labels and start spending your time trying to find a trusted source to the labels.

Now, there are some companies that will accept unsolicited material, and by all means, go ahead and send them your package. These are usually new companies without much success yet but might be willing to give you a chance if you give them one. Just don't send them a package if they charge a listening fee or a submission fee for doing so. This more than likely means they are just going to take your money and not listen to your material anyway. Anytime there is a company asking for money from you before listening to any of your music, you should run the other way quickly. I have even seen some reputable companies that have started doing this and it is just ethically wrong for many reasons.

Now, you DO need a good product. Paying a good producer and/or recording engineer to record your demo is not a bad idea as long as you are not totally getting ripped off and as long as they actually give you a good end product. Compare their prices first before making your decision. If you do decide to pay top dollar to get a reputable producer to produce your demo or album, don't expect them to do much after you're done recording. If they are asking for money up front for their work, they are not going to be interested in helping you get signed to a record label because they already got paid; not much motive after that. If they ask for points on the song or album, then they might have an incentive to try to get you a deal because they have an monetary interest in doing so. Most of the time though, if you pay them, even if you are god awful, they will accept your money and produce your record, but they will not put their reputation behind it by shopping it to their contacts. This happens all the time. These guys may have had something to do with a hit ten years ago, but they need to pay their bills today, so they are willing to work for money up front for pretty much anyone willing to pay. You should expect a good sounding record but don't expect them to do much for you as far as exposure is concerned. And, a good sounding record doesn't mean much without a good song.

Last, but not least, don't pay a venue to be able to play there, especially if they are promising you good exposure to A&R reps by doing so. They can't guarantee that record label reps will be there when you're on stage. You want a venue to WANT you to play at their place because you can draw a crowd and they can sell liquor. If you can't draw a crowd and you pay them to play there, what's the point? You are just going to play to an empty venue with no A&R reps (even if they promised) and you will have ended up paying a lot of money for a nice rehearsal.

To find out more about how to get a real shot at being heard by real A&R reps you can visit How do I get signed to a record label

~Zane Tobin
A&R

I Love My Job!

I love my job. Why? Because I love music. The difference between just loving music and listening to it and doing it for a living is huge. The Difference? Well, most people who love music just listen to what's out there commercially or a local band they heard about from a friend, but I get to listen to all kinds of music that no one as even heard of and that most, unfortunately, will never hear unless I do something about it. That is what is so great about my job.

Yes, most of the music submissions that I get I could live without ever listening to again, but there are some really great songs that I get a chance to hear and I appreciate them all. I am actually surprised at how good some of the material is that I have been getting lately. I can hear the change and the growth in these artists as they mature and as they write better and better material. It really is awesome. I just want to let all of the people who have submitted their material know that I listened to it all and I enjoyed the chance to hear your art and am thankful. To those that have got an agreement and got signed, I wish you the best of luck and will support you all the way.

For everyone else who has not heard back form me, just keep writing and keep growing and KEEP sending in your material. I can't tell you how many times I have passed on an artist 10 times and then finally got them an agreement and got them signed. See, that's the difference between a rookie hot shot A&R rep. and a true A&R rep. The true A&R rep won't just toss something in the trash or hit the delete button in their email just because they have passed on someones material previously. You never know what they will come up with next and a true A&R rep owes it to themselves to listen to EVERYTHING. Just keep at it and don't give up. Like they say, "what a difference a day makes", well I can say the same thing about what a difference a song makes. I just signed an artist tonight who had sent me material for over a year. He sent me dozens of songs and then finally, I heard the one. That's it. I need the one and your in. It is like winning the lottery, but you have the power to write better songs not pick better numbers.

If you don't know what a good song is, TURN ON THE RADIO. It doesn't matter if you think everything on the radio stinks, which I think a lot of it does, that is the level at the current moment that you need to be at. It's like being a novel writer. You don't just pick up some novel writing software and have at it, you have to read read read first. ALL published authors read before they write. They have to know what good writing is before they can write good. The same thing goes for writing music. You can't just pick up some music recording software or by a mac with garageband and expect to be huge when you have no idea what good writing is and what type of writing you need to be writing for the age you are living in. Even if you are trying to be the next White Stripes and do something retro, you still have to have that sound, that sound that says "I know I sound like I am from the sixties, but that was the point, not because I actually am 60 years old and have not listened to commercial radio since the sixties."

Do some research, produce what you feel, but just make sure you did your homework. It is all about the expression of oneself and their art in the end, but don't be a fool, be as creative as you can be while still walking the fine line between "the next thing" and "too out there that no one will get it."

Until next time,

~Zane Tobin
A&R Contacts

My Early Life In Music

I just felt like reminiscing on old times. Here are some things I am grateful for that I had a chance to experience in this crazy business of music.

1. Being in the studio watching Smokey Robinson sing "Being With You". I was only 5 years old and I knew at that moment that I wanted to be in the music business like my father.

2. Being allowed to stay up late in the studio at age 9 while New Edition was recording their album "All For Love". Then grabbing some early morning grub with Ralph and Ricky at Denny's. Thanks dad. (shhhh don't tell my mom).

3. Hanging out with Bobby Brown behind stage on his solo tour and sitting next to Mike Tyson, my all time favorite boxer. At the time he was king. We use to order every fight. It was a pretty big event in my house.

4. Dancing on stage with Michael Jackson in front of thousands of people. Yes I was nervous and no he never gave me Jesus Juice lol.

5. Break dancing for Tiffany when my dad first saw her singing. She was recording a demo at the studio. Man I must have looked like a dork. A white boy breakdancing on tile in a lobby with my 80's mullet hair with the buzz lines on the size of my head wearing guess jeans. She was laughing at me the whole time. She was 12 and I was like 7 or 8 I think.

6. Hanging out with Tiffany when she lived at my house for a summer. Swimming in the pool and watching her film a music video in my bedroom. That bedroom was my favorite childhood bedroom as well. I had this big dome where I slept that had stars painted on the ceiling which the entrance for was up in the middle of the wall in my bedroom. I remember Chad from PC Quest now Shiny Toy Guns use to love my room too. We both had that stupid 80's mullet hair. His was longer than mine though lol. I have a picture of Chad jumping out of this hole in my wall but I can't find it.

7. Walking into my sisters bedroom and accidentally seeing Tiffany sleeping without a shirt on. ooops, I don't think I ever told her about that one, lol. But I didn't see anything that now the world hasn't seen since she posed in Playboy.

8. Going on tour with Tiffany and New Kids On The Block. Going thru the drive-thru in a tour bus was fun. Especially when we got stuck. He went thru backwards so we could order for ourselves from the rear-side window. They were like "what the hell"?

9. Sitting on the NKOTB tour bus and asking Jonathan and Donnie why they had so many pairs of shoes. I had never seen so many damn shoes. Especially on a tour bus. Plus all the hats and don't forget the girls. So many many girls. OMG! Those were the days. I'll never forget when Henry (our bodyguard) was playing with the roadies walkie-talkies. He was really pissing everyone off but nobody wanted to mess with him.

10. Being in almost every Tiffany video ever made. I was the little kid with the bright blonde hair. I just youtubed some of them and laughed my ass off. Those were really great experiences I will never forget.

11. Having Tiffany autograph a ton of her pictures for me while on tour. It was at a show she was doing at Disneyland. There really is a little room in the tower of that castle by the way. I told her that they were for my friends. I was actually selling them for $20 a pop.. lol. She finally caught on after about 50 or so. She was like "Zane, I know you don't have this many friends, come on.. what are you doing with all of these"? Going through the entire park with the Disney "CIA" Security Officers getting to cut lines for every ride was a lot of fun too.

12. When Tommy Lee gave me a rubber pellet machine gun and my mom took it back to him and told him I couldn't have it. That sucked. Him and Heather lived down the street from us. Yes, the cops were at their house every weekend. At least I got to see Heather laying out naked at the pool.. lol (I just happen to fall into these situations don't I? lol). We use to ride these little mini ninja motorcycles that he got while on tour in Japan. He had like 10 of these things. We use to all race up and down the street. It was sooo much fun. He would let me and my friends watch him practice the drums too. I remember when he took me to a show one time and I watched him play the drums live in concert in a cage that floated above the crowed. It was crazy. I loved it.

13. Watching my neighbor having his wife crash her car into his. He kept saying "one more time! Ok, a little harder now". Then they pulled the cars back into the garage. I had no idea what they were doing at the time but figured out that it had to be some kind of insurance fraud. He also went to prison for hiding money in his house for our other neighbor who was that guy from ZZ Best Carpet who defrauded people out of a lot money and ended up going to prison for a long time. I knew something was up when people started shooting up his house in the middle of the night. (This doesn't have anything to do with music but I though it was cool and I thought I would add it).

14. Taking my friend Jennifer Capriati and her younger brother Stephen to Lollapalooza one summer when I was in Florida at tennis camp. I remember calling my dad from a pay phone at the show asking him if he could get us backstage passes because our tickets sucked. Within 5 minutes a guy came up to me and asked me if I was Zane Tobin. The next thing we knew we were drinking beers with Primus, Stone Temple Pilots, watching the Beastie Boys from the side of the stage and hanging out with Alice In Chains. That was a lot of fun.

15. Going VIP at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco. So many bands I got to hang out with it was crazy. Beastie Boys, Chili Peppers, Bjork, Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Sonic Youth, Fugees and many more. I really had a great time at this event and made a lot of contacts.

16. Working with Kicking Harold when they got signed to MCA. Hanging with Tim in the studio and joking around all the time. Tim is a great guy. Going to their shows and hanging with Everclear and hearing about all the fun and the shitty clubs that they had to play on the road. Don't know why but there were a lot of stories about farting.

17. Remembering just how much Pot smoke there was that filled the entire building when Dre and Pac were recording. I remember watching Pac take other dudes girlfriends and wives in the bathroom when no one was looking. I used to cuss like a sailor and Pac would say "I have never heard a white boy cuss as much as you do". He then surprised me by rapping about me in his track "How Do You Want It" saying "Give it up for Zane, the very one that taught us all to cuss". I thought that was cool as fuck. The first time I heard it was when it was on the radio. Here's to you Pac (I just poured out a little liquor).

18. Watching Dre wash his Ferarri and remember him lecturing me on what kind of car wax he used and why it was the best. He lived down the street too.

19. Going to SXSW, NXNW, NAMM and a slew of other music conventions. These were a lot of fun and I found a lot of bands this way, still do.

20. Hanging with my best bud John Duarte AKA "JedHed" in the studio for years. This guy was basically responsible for all of the behind the scenes production on Tiffany's albums and organizing her tour and recruiting her band but never really got any public credit for it. He played on most of the songs on her albums. The advice alone that I still get from this man is worth more than its weight in gold. What a great producer and just a cool as fuck dude. He has worked with some incredible artists. He use to work at Motown. Hey John! We learned Pro-Tools without reading the manual. We just called each other every 20 minutes to learn what we each figured out on our own. This was more fun than reading the manual...lol.

OK, I am done for now. My brain hurts and I am getting hungry. I experienced all of this by the time I was 19 years old. Just imagine the contacts I got from all of this let alone what I have done since. So many more stories and artists that I have worked with in the past 15 years. Too much to put here. I just wanted to talk about my childhood a bit. It was fun. Thanks for reading.

~Zane Tobin

A&R