The answer is, you must have developed aspects of your career, beyond just being a talented artist, that will give the lawyer some hope that he will be able to pique the interest of a record company. Good lawyers will not risk damaging their reputation by submitting a demo to a record company if they don't feel that there is some chance that the record company will be interested. The reason that they will not do this, once again, has to do with professional courtesy. Most good lawyers know that A&R people will open a package from a lawyer they don’t know once. If the enclosed demo is appropriately prepared and targeted, the lawyer will be perceived as understanding the process. His future packages will also be opened, business may be referred to him, and a holiday card will likely be forthcoming.
Lawyers also know that the inverse is also true. If, out of professional courtesy, an A&R person opens a package from a lawyer whom they don’t know, and the demo within satisfies few or none of the requirements that it should, then there is little likelihood of future packages from that lawyer being opened. This is why lawyers, like everyone else in the business, are going to be very selective about whom they represent. They know their reputation and ability to generate revenue for themselves is contingent upon the artists with whom they choose to work.
You will have a far easier chance of securing a lawyer to shop your demo if you can present a good package. Once you have your demo package, submit it to lawyers in the same way you submit it to prospective managers, labels, and booking agents. Some lawyers may sign on early in your career and help you develop yourself in order to give you a better chance to get signed. Just don’t expect a lawyer to come in, and simply by his connections, allow you to leapfrog all the steps that artists must go through to get signed. In fact, if a lawyer contends that he can help you skip any of these steps, I would be very leery about him.
Source: Artisthousemusic
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Good post. Remember, the lawyer you hire should always be available for you anytime you need to reach him. He should also return your calls within a reasonable amount of time as well. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I was wondering if you have tried hiring and lawyers in Edmonton, and if so what your thoughts on them are? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
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