# Best file format for compositions on demo CD to send out to music studios?



## metropolisman (Dec 22, 2020)

I know that most people these days don't even use CDs and that they just email the songs or use file sharing programs. 

I have done that as a first step, but a lot of the music studios I am contacting are really famous and probably have their inboxes flooded all the time, so there is a really high chance they will never see my email with my demo songs. 

So, the next step is to physically mail a demo CD of my compositions. 

I had originally exported all my files as .wav but I just used Windows Media Player to burn a demo CD and I noticed that it coverted the .wav files to .cda files. 

Now, I have no problem with this but will the music studios prefer that all my files me in .wav or is .cda the actual standard? 

I would appreciate any advice.


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## reborn579 (Dec 22, 2020)

if you're going to send a cd, i would just make a good ol' classical audio cd, playable in any cd player.


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## chillbot (Dec 22, 2020)

I think you are 20x more likely to get that CD tossed in the trash than to get an email deleted. Multiply that by the cost and effort it takes to produce a semi-professional-looking CD and have it delivered to the right hands.

I can't even think how I would listen to a CD anymore... I feel like any sort of professional studio houses computers in a separate room or closet. The physical act of getting up and going to the machine room to insert a CD and then coming back and figuring out how to listen to it on the computer... not that it's hard it's just not something I ever do.

Of course I listen to CDs in my car sometimes because I am old and have an old(ish) car but the car is so far removed from the studio... you can't jot down any notes while driving and then 99% of the time (this is scientific) you forget the CD in the car along with any accompanying literature and nothing ever comes of it.

Maybe just maybe you tickle somebody's fancy by getting an **ACTUAL CD** in the mail and then maybe just maybe they have an **ACTUAL CD PLAYER** in the studio but I would put this at 1-in-100.

So using my precise data that is 100% made up, you send out 100 emails and 100 CDs... 60 of the emails get listened to, or at least the tracks are scanned for the first 10 seconds or so to see if they are any good, and 4 of the CDs get listened to (60 divided by 20x plus the 1 tickled quirky nostalgic dude that still has a thing for CDs).

Then go back to where I said:


chillbot said:


> Multiply that by the cost and effort it takes to produce a semi-professional looking CD and have it delivered to the right hands.



Look I'm not happy about it either. This is from a guy that has mailed out 100s and 100s of demo CDs. But that was 20+ years ago. If you want me to listen to your music, you need to make it as simple and convenient as possible for me to do it, one click while I'm having my morning coffee is the preferred method.


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## chillbot (Dec 22, 2020)

Oh, to address the actual question, yes to audio CD. CDA is how windows refers to tracks on an audio CD, your format is correct.


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## GtrString (Dec 22, 2020)

Why would you even send music to a studio? Why not just put it out yourself?

Nobody sends demos to studios anymore, they struggle as much as any one of us. Give them some work instead, have the songs produced there, or just vocals, get master releases and use an aggregator to publish the music.

edit. If it is to showcase your production skills, a demo reel would be much better. Just use soundcloud, bandcamp or something and mail them a link.

CDs can be a legal liability for studios, because they can be accused of stealing if they open a cd package.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 22, 2020)

chillbot said:


> I think you are 20x more likely to get that CD tossed in the trash than to get an email deleted.



^this!!!!


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## Breaker (Dec 22, 2020)

If you really want to send or hand out a physical demo use an USB flash drive with audio, video and EPK. 
Order some custom ones with your logo printed or engraved if you want to make a real impression.


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## metropolisman (Dec 23, 2020)

chillbot said:


> I think you are 20x more likely to get that CD tossed in the trash than to get an email deleted. Multiply that by the cost and effort it takes to produce a semi-professional-looking CD and have it delivered to the right hands.
> 
> I can't even think how I would listen to a CD anymore... I feel like any sort of professional studio houses computers in a separate room or closet. The physical act of getting up and going to the machine room to insert a CD and then coming back and figuring out how to listen to it on the computer... not that it's hard it's just not something I ever do.
> 
> ...



I appreciate your long and informative reply. 

I actually live in Japan and although most of the world has pretty much moved away from CDs...Japan still uses them. 

Unlike with most of the world where CD shops like Tower Records have gone completely bankrupt, they still do really well selling music CDs here in Japan. 

I know that CDs are pretty much obsolete, but my email and 2 follow-up emails have been ignored or just went directly to their spam or trash folders due to receiving entirely too many emails from fans about this freelance job. 

It is my hope that continuously sending in demo CDs to the same music studio along with various other music studios, one might finally give me a chance. 

I don't want to say which music studios and who I want to work with, but I will say that this person even said in an interview that to get into the music industry, he would send out demo CDs of his music over and over, even to the same music studios. 

He mentioned that he did it so relentlessly, that the music studios thought he was like a stalker but one of the music studios finally gave him a chance because of this. 

So, I am basically doing what he did.


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## AudioLoco (Dec 23, 2020)

CDs are dead and buried in the US and Europe. Most people don't even have where to read them.
The artist usually still printing CDs are people gigging a lot (I forgot what is a gig after Corona....) 
and street musicians. 
Obviously also major artist, but that is more because of the global markets they may reach, and high demand. 

So yeah, I wouldn't say CDs are the way to go for your use.

A nice and tidy looking site with a music player is a more likely to be given attention to, in my personal opinion.

Although mayyyybeeee, if you make it look REALLY cool and interesting, it could have a novelty value (hey what is that plastic disc I got in the mail ?!) and be listened to. 

What is the role you are hoping to be considered for in a music studio?


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## Technostica (Dec 23, 2020)

Or maybe go for a hipster take and encode it using RealAudio and send it on floppy disks and include a USB floppy drive.


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## metropolisman (Dec 23, 2020)

Technostica said:


> Or maybe go for a hipster take and encode it using RealAudio and send it on floppy disks and include a USB floppy drive.



I know this is mostly sarcasm, but honestly that might work due to being so out there and retro lol.


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## metropolisman (Dec 23, 2020)

AudioLoco said:


> CDs are dead and buried in the US and Europe. Most people don't even have where to read them.
> The artist usually still printing CDs are people gigging a lot (I forgot what is a gig after Corona....)
> and street musicians.
> Obviously also major artist, but that is more because of the global markets they may reach, and high demand.
> ...



If it weren't for the music composer/producer I'm sending my demo CD to saying that sending demo CDs endlessly was the way he made it into the business (I know times have changed along with technology) and the fact that Tower Records still does good business here in Japan selling CDs...I wouldn't try it.

Because of these things, I am just going to give it a shot for the heck of it. If I were anywhere else in the world, I would not go the CD route at all.

Well, I would like to get a job composing music but I wouldn't mind any job within a music studio to be honest. I am not going to be picky. Being able to do anything, even sound design or just being the intern dude at a music studio would be amazing.

I will just try blasting out demo CDs to various music studios non-stop for a year or so and see what happens.

If nothing, I will know for sure that is not the route to go. I will also email other music studios and send some demo tracks at the same time.


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## mybadmemory (Dec 23, 2020)

Just a general feeling, but having run a somewhat successful design studio for around 10 years, I got a lot of applications for jobs / internships etc, both by email and sometimes in physical form as well.

The one thing I can say is that very quickly your mind start to filter all of this out, almost in the same way you filter out banner ads on webpages. 98% percent of it gets ignored simply because it's just too much and not really something you have the time to prioritise among all of your actual work.


Out of the 2% that did in fact get my attention, two things were common:

1. If an email, DON'T write an essay. Try to have a subject line that sticks out. Write no more than one or two sentences. Include a VERY visible link. And do include a picture of yourself. I know it "shouldn't" matter, but the reality is just that among 100 mails that are just long pages of text trying to persuade you, the ones that do stick out are the ones that are ridiculously short, include an actual face of a human being, and a link leading directly to content. Not to a start page, so you have to search, but directly to your best stuff.

2. If in physical form. It has so stick out as well. It can't be an ordinary letter and a burned CD in an ordinary envelope. It needs to be special to even be looked upon. Make the box ridulusly big. Include flowers. Include candy. Include your grannys best recipe. Print the CD like it was a real release and not a burned CD. Put it in a gift box. Just do anything that makes it look like someone actually put serious time and effort into getting the attention of particular person, and not just anyone.

Best of luck!


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## Technostica (Dec 23, 2020)

How about a vinyl pressing?


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## BGvanRens (Dec 23, 2020)

I have an actual CD player in my studio but I 100% agree with chillbot.


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## AudioLoco (Dec 23, 2020)

Dear Metropolisman,

If you want to one day get a composing related job, more then music studios, I would probably suggest trying to find a composer's assistant job.
If you want to work in a music studio, there are only a few big ones left. The other mid sized studios, are often little teams, and hiring, especially inexperienced people to train, is not the norm anymore sadly.

If you want to start in a studio, you have to be a bit more specialized minded then in my opinion.
Find the area that interest you the most, (recording/mixing, mastering, production?) and aim for that more specific area.
A certain famous studio in London for example recieves probably thousands of applications a year.
I respect your tenacity, this is indeed how it should be done, and being pro active on a search like that is the only option (even if it is probably a 1% success situation).
Any experience in a recording studio will make you a better composer as well.

Until you get to the stage of managing to work in a studio, I would suggest instruct yourself and develop your skills (and exact goals) as much as possible. Be current on software, techniques etc... 
There is so much good info out there that older generations had access to only by working in the best studios with the most experienced engineers and mentors.

Good luck!


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## mybadmemory (Dec 23, 2020)

I’m also wondering about your exact intentions of even wanting to get a job at a studio? Are you sure this is the best way towards your actual goals?

I can’t know what your goals are, and they might in fact be to be employed at a studio, but if they are more along the lines of wanting to become a composer for media, games, tv, film, I think the studio route is quite outdated.

I would much rather spend my time on honing my craft and builiding my audience through the internet. Look at people like Daniel James, Alex Moukala, and others like them who simply built their careers by themselves via the internet instead of relying on others to “let them in”.

I think that’s probably the approach most people see beneficial in 2020. Learn online. Be active online. Build your brand online. There are of course other ways too, but I believe the feeling of needing to first be let in by someone else no longer stands true. These days you can create it all yourself.


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## metropolisman (Dec 23, 2020)

mybadmemory said:


> I’m also wondering about your exact intentions of even wanting to get a job at a studio? Are you sure this is the best way towards your actual goals?
> 
> I can’t know what your goals are, and they might in fact be to be employed at a studio, but if they are more along the lines of wanting to become a composer for media, games, tv, film, I think the studio route is quite outdated.
> 
> ...



Yes, I know about these guys and I have been watching a lot of their videos. Unlike them, I am a really shy person. Making Youtube videos explaining everything would make me so uncomfortable.

If I did anything like that, the best I could do is literally just post my compositions on Youtube with text descriptions below.

It is a sort of a catch 22 because posting my music on Youtube would help get my name out there, but at the same time if the music is good and none of it is copyrighted (I'm too poor for that) then people can just steal all my music.

I guess I could just post the songs that I don't mind people stealing off me if this contacting the music studios things doesn't work out.


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## metropolisman (Dec 23, 2020)

AudioLoco said:


> Dear Metropolisman,
> 
> If you want to one day get a composing related job, more then music studios, I would probably suggest trying to find a composer's assistant job.
> If you want to work in a music studio, there are only a few big ones left. The other mid sized studios, are often little teams, and hiring, especially inexperienced people to train, is not the norm anymore sadly.
> ...



I will definitely be combing the internet for composer's assistant jobs. Thank you for this job title name drop! 

I appreciate it.


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## christianobermaier (Dec 23, 2020)

metropolisman said:


> I am a really shy person. Making Youtube videos explaining everything would make me so uncomfortable.


If that is an unsurmountable problem, guess what it feels like to talk to actual people ? Like, strangers who will judge you forever on the first three things you say ? Where you don't have the opportunity to post take #56 because every one of the 55 takes before made you cringe ?

See it as an opportunity to grow, to learn, to improve, to build your skill and confidence and if it takes 56 tries to get something barely presentable, well, then you're better off than any violin player.

And if it still sucks - so what ? The world doesn't care. No one will come to your door with banners to mock you about your Youtube videos. So there is nothing to lose here.



> the best I could do is literally just post my compositions on Youtube with text descriptions below.


For what ? If no one knows you why should anyone actively search for your stuff ? Do you see the problem here ? It's not that people go "Oh, I'd like to hear some unknown composer's work today, let's see what we got..." they go "How do I work this new keymetric performulation thing in Cubic Pro XYZ?" and if you're the one with a video about it, *then* you will be seen.



> none of it is copyrighted (I'm too poor for that) then people can just steal all my music.


If the music is any good, it might be stolen, adapted, played upside down or backwards just enough so you can't sue anyone, copyrighted or not. Fact of life. Deal with it.


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## mybadmemory (Dec 23, 2020)

metropolisman said:


> Yes, I know about these guys and I have been watching a lot of their videos. Unlike them, I am a really shy person. Making Youtube videos explaining everything would make me so uncomfortable.
> 
> If I did anything like that, the best I could do is literally just post my compositions on Youtube with text descriptions below.
> 
> ...



Building a personal brand doesn't have to be becoming a social guy with a camera strapped to his face though. It could also be running a blog, writing detailed articles, reviewing stuff, anything really that makes people look at what you post, care about what you say, and build relationships and connections. These connections are, in any creative industry, what eventually turns into a career. I think shying away from building personal connections with as many people as possible in the field makes it much harder.

And about fear of posting your music. Not posting what you do in fear of theft will only lead to no one in the world ever knowing about it and therefore eliminate almost every chance of getting appreciated and eventually sought after. Posting your work however will do the opposite (considering it's good), and if it is, it WILL be stolen, ripped off, inspire someone, or get used someplace where it wasn't intended. It's just how the world works, but its still a heck of a lot better than the alternative.

My design work has been stolen, ripped off, and used on a multitude of occasions, but in the end it doesn't matter at all cause the mechanisms that made that possible are the same mechanisms that built the firms brand, clients and reputation. Having not made anything visible online in the beginning due to worries of theft would have just lead to nothing at all. The real value you have, and what you want to be selling, is not the music itself, but the ability to create it in the first place. That ability cannot be stolen.


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## metropolisman (Dec 23, 2020)

christianobermaier said:


> If that is an unsurmountable problem, guess what it feels like to talk to actual people ? Like, strangers who will judge you forever on the first three things you say ? Where you don't have the opportunity to post take #56 because every one of the 55 takes before made you cringe ?
> 
> See it as an opportunity to grow, to learn, to improve, to build your skill and confidence and if it takes 56 tries to get something barely presentable, well, then you're better off than any violin player.
> 
> ...



Are the days of just being a composer dead and gone?

I was born in the early 80s, so while I use computers...I'm not really into them like all the younger folks. I actually sort of hate all the social media, but I love music.

I agree with your post about how making Youtube videos is a good way to grow because I could keep retrying until I feel the video is good enough to post.

While I could possibly post videos of my songs along with videos of me actually playing piano, I have no interest in teaching people how to play piano, how to read music, how to use a particular DAW or sound library, which I know most Youtuber musicians love to do these days.


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## christianobermaier (Dec 23, 2020)

Being twenty years older than you, I can attest that there never were days where being a composer was "enough". Not by far. Even in the really old times, composers were dependent on benefactors and sidejobs.
So the romantic thought of you sitting quietly in your room, scribbling dots on sheets of paper and sliding these under the door in exchange for food is pure fantasy.


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## Jeremy Spencer (Dec 23, 2020)

metropolisman said:


> Are the days of just being a composer dead and gone?



Depends what you mean by "just being a composer". If you mean that that's all you do for a living (purely writing music), then that notion is definitely a fantasy. But you can still be a composer for your entire life, if you don't have any expectations. I've been a composer since the early 90's....some years I do fantastic...others not so much. Some years I earned over $25,000 from composing...some years less than $2K. Early on I learned how expendable creatives were, and that a steady income was not realistic, so I got a "real job", which has enabled me to pursue the musical dream ever since. Would I like to be a composer as my primary career? Damn right I would! If that day ever comes, then I'm ready. But if not, I've had a lot of fun (and fulfillment) doing my best.


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## twincities (Dec 23, 2020)

Breaker said:


> use an USB flash drive



i don't know about you, but there's a zero% chance of me plugging an unsolicited flashdrive into a machine of mine.


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## chillbot (Dec 23, 2020)

What if you stood outside their window with a boombox and blasted your music until they hired you.


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## christianobermaier (Dec 23, 2020)

They'd rather marry him than hire him because of that.


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## Technostica (Dec 23, 2020)

Hire a mariachi band to play your music outside the studio entrance.


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## AudioLoco (Dec 23, 2020)

I understand the OP's reluctance to wanting to to do the Youtube stuff.
Not everybody enjoys to be on camera, also not everyone is effective or any good doing that.
It is one way. It is defenitely not the only way in my opinion.

If you are engaging and naturally "fun" and upbeat it may be the best thing you could do surely.
But if you are darker personality wise, or just shy I would say it is counter-productive and would create awkward moments.

Probably, writing a blog with reviews etc as suggested here already, might be an alternative in that case. (not as popular as Youtube though).


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## Breaker (Dec 23, 2020)

twincities said:


> i don't know about you, but there's a zero% chance of me plugging an unsolicited flashdrive into a machine of mine.



TBH I wouldn't do that on my DAW either, but some record company exec with a supermarket laptop might be a different story.


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## PaulieDC (Dec 23, 2020)

metropolisman said:


> So, the next step is to physically mail a demo CD of my compositions.


I wouldn't send 16-bit audio to my Aunt Sadie on her corn farm in Kearny, Nebraska. Stick to audio files, even a 24-bit 320kbps .MP3 will be good enough to not overly crush the highs. (Side Note: I hear the oncoming thunder of the "no difference between 16 and 24-bit" militia storming this way, lol).

Ultimately, if the content is killer, none of this matters.


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