Labels & demos · 5 min read
Demo submission email template for record labels
A good demo email is four or five lines: who you are, the track’s name, genre, BPM and key, one private streaming link, and a sentence on why it fits this label, naming one of their releases. Below are three versions to copy, a first email, a follow-up and a short one for a demo form, with the reasoning behind each line.
Three emails to copy
Replace everything in square brackets, and check the label’s own demo page first: if it asks for a subject line or a link format, use exactly that.
The first email
Subject
Demo: [Artist] – [Track] ([Genre], [BPM] BPM, [Key])
Email · one click selects all of it
Hi [A&R’s name, or the label’s name], I’m [Artist], a [genre] producer from [city]. Here is an unreleased track I think fits [Label]: it would sit next to [one of their releases]. [Track] – [Genre], [BPM] BPM, [Key] Private stream: [link] It’s finished and mastered, and it hasn’t been released anywhere. I’m offering it as a [single / EP with one more track]. Thanks for listening, [Artist] [One link: SoundCloud or Instagram]
The follow-up, one to two weeks later
Subject
Re: Demo: [Artist] – [Track]
Email · one click selects all of it
Hi [name], A short follow-up on [Track], which I sent on [date]. Here is the link again: [link] If it isn’t one for [Label], no problem, and thanks for your time. [Artist]
The short version, for a demo form or a message
Subject
[Artist] – [Track] ([Genre], [BPM] BPM)
Email · one click selects all of it
[Track] – [Genre], [BPM] BPM, [Key]. Unreleased, finished and mastered. I think it fits next to [one of their releases]. Private stream: [link]
What goes in each line, and why
- 1The subject: artist, track, genre, BPMAn A&R scans subject lines before opening anything. Put the facts they filter on where they can see them without a click.
- 2A name, not “Dear Sir or Madam”Use the A&R’s name if the label’s site gives one, the label’s name if it doesn’t. A greeting to nobody reads like a mass email, because it usually is.
- 3One of their releasesNaming a release your track would sit next to shows you listened, and tells them where it would go in their catalogue.
- 4One private linkA stream they can play in one click. No attachments and no zip files; offer the WAV when they ask.
- 5Say it is unreleasedLabels sign music nobody has heard. A track that is already out is an announcement, not a demo.
- 6Stop after five linesYour story, your gear and your influences can wait for the second email, if there is one.
What not to write
Don’t send a folder of tracks: one track, your best. Don’t promise a hit, don’t send the same email to every label with the name swapped, and don’t follow up more than once.
Never pay to be signed. A label that asks you for money to release a track is selling a service, not signing music.
Send it to DJs before you pitch
NeedlePool’s Promo pool holds 5,900+ curators: DJs and radio shows, chosen by genre. Send them the track before you pitch a label: the report names who pressed play and who downloaded it, and DJ support is worth a line in your email to a label.
How to send promo to DJs →The sending side: what to write, whom to pick, how to follow up.Sending it as a label pitch
In NeedlePool a label pitch is a fixed email built from the same facts: a greeting with the label’s name, your genre, BPM and key, your note, and either one MP3 to stream or your private SoundCloud link. The master is never attached and can’t be downloaded. Your note goes to every label in the campaign, so keep the line about one of their releases for the labels you write to yourself. Every label gets its own link, so you see which labels opened the pitch and, on an MP3 pitch, which pressed play, by name; the label’s reply comes straight to you.
The label pool holds 2,400+ labels, filtered by genre and country. On the free plan you get 10 label pitches a month, to labels of your track’s genre. Paid plans open the whole pool in any genre, starting with Starter at $14.99 a month.
A pitch is never a guarantee of a listen, let alone a signing.
Questions
Should I attach the WAV to a demo email?
No. Send a private streaming link and offer the WAV when the label asks for it. Many labels ask for links only, and their own demo page says so.
When should I follow up on a demo?
Once, one to two weeks after the first email, longer for a big label. After that, move on: silence is the most common answer, and it isn’t personal.
Can I send the same demo to several labels?
Yes, but write each email for its label: its name, one of its releases, its demo rules. Some labels ask for exclusivity while they review, so read their page first.
What does it cost to pitch labels from NeedlePool?
Starting is free, with no card and no time limit: you send to your own contacts and get 10 label pitches a month to labels of your track’s genre. Paid plans open our Promo pool in any genre and start at $14.99 a month (Starter).
Keep reading
- How to send a demo to a record labelEight steps from a finished track to an A&R’s inbox.
- Tech house labels accepting demosThe same guide for tech house labels.
- Techno labels accepting demosThe same guide for techno labels.
- Deep house labels accepting demosThe same guide for deep house labels.
- A LabelRadar alternativePitching labels: how NeedlePool compares on reach and price.
- NeedlePool for artistsSend music to DJs, radio and labels and see who listened.
- PricingWhat each plan includes.
Pitch labels from NeedlePool
The free plan includes 10 label pitches a month in your genre. No card.