Dear Record Label: Does My Demo Have to Be Polished to Get Noticed?

In a band? Have no idea how to go about getting a label to take you seriously? We've got the answers you're looking for.

In our blog series, "Dear Record Label," we went to Roadrunner Records -- home of Slipknot, Rob Zombie, Opeth, Megadeth, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Trivium and more -- and asked them the tough questions young bands should know the answers to. Each week, we'll be bringing you advice from members of the Roadrunner staff to try and get you on track to get noticed.

This week, the advice comes from Roadrunner Records Vice President of A&R, Monte Conner.

Q: Does it take a well-polished, professional-sounding demo to create excitement about a new band?

MONTE CONNER: In a perfect world, an A&R person should be able to hear a great song through even the crappiest recording. However, considering the ease with which bands can make their own inexpensive, high-quality, and professional-sounding demos, there is simply no reason to turn in a poor recording these days. The recording quality of the average demo I get is quite high, so when a crappy sounding demo comes in it makes the band look unprofessional and makes me think they don't see the big picture. And given the ease with which bands can reach/email A&R guys these days, the amount of music in front of us is bigger than ever and we have way less patience sitting though something that sounds like shit. So, put your best foot forward and give your music its best chance to impress us! And if you're an unsigned band, be sure to check out Roadrunner's Sign Me To website, which allows unsigned bands to display their music, move up charts based on fan ratings, get reviewed by Roadrunner staff and maybe even get signed!