How to Send a Demo to a Record Label: Steps and Email Template

To send a demo to a record label, start with the label’s own rules: look for a “Demos” or “Submissions” page, or the FAQ, and send only where it says it listens. Choose one to three finished songs that fit that label, strongest first. Share them as a private streaming link, not as attachments. Write a short email that says who you are, what you are sending and why this label. If the policy allows it, follow up once, politely, after three or four weeks. And never pay a stranger to “get your demo heard”.

Step	What to do	Time
1. Research	Read the label’s demo policy and listen to its latest releases	20 minutes per label
2. Prepare	One to three finished songs, tagged and named, with lyric and credits	One evening
3. Host	A private streaming link that plays without an account	10 minutes
4. Write	A five-to-eight-line email, or the label’s form	15 minutes
5. Follow up	One short reminder, only if the policy allows it	Three to four weeks later

How labels actually receive demos today

There is no single demo address for “the music industry”. Each label decides, and most use one of three routes:

• A form or a portal. A page on the label’s site asks for your name, a link and a few lines. Some electronic labels use a demo platform instead of their own form.
• A demo email. A dedicated address, usually with rules: links only, no files, a set subject line.
• No unsolicited material. Many large companies do not listen to anything that arrives without an introduction from someone they know, such as a manager, a lawyer or an artist on the roster.

This is how five labels describe their policy on their own sites, checked on September 27, 2026:

Label	How it takes demos	Rule worth copying
Sub Pop	An email to its demo address, with links	No audio files; do not call or email to follow up
Kompakt	An email to the label, with links to an online player such as SoundCloud	It does not download demos and replies only if interested
Elefant Records	A message with a link through the site’s Contact section, or a CD by post	Include your name, email and phone; do not email MP3s
Armada Music	The “Drop Your Demo” button on its website	A private SoundCloud link and an introduction under ten sentences
Sony Music	It does not accept or consider unsolicited recordings or compositions	Reach it through a manager, a lawyer or another real contact

None of these pages wants files attached to an email: they ask for a link or their own form. And even labels that welcome demos are honest about the odds. Sub Pop says it is “extremely rare” for a band to sign on the strength of a demo alone, and advises bands to keep playing live and building an audience.

How to find each label’s policy

1. Open the label’s website and check the footer, the FAQ and the Contact page for “Demos”, “Submissions” or “A&R”.
2. If nothing appears, search for the label’s name plus “demo” and open only results on its own domain.
3. Read the whole page: genres, formats, subject line, whether they reply.
4. Listen to three recent releases. If your song would sound out of place among them, choose another label.
5. Copy the policy into your send log with the date you read it. Policies change.

If you cannot find a policy, treat the label as closed to unsolicited demos. The way in is then a person: an artist on the roster, a producer who works with them, a manager, or a showcase their team attends.

Do not pay “submission fees” to strangers

None of the five pages above charges anything to listen. Be wary when someone you do not know writes as an “A&R”, asks for money to pass your demo to a label, or promises a signing, a placement or a playlist in exchange for a fee. A label that wants your song earns from releasing it, not from reading your email.

Paid pitching services also exist, where you pay a platform or a curator for a guaranteed listen. That is a service you buy, not a label’s submission route: check who runs it, whether the label names that platform on its own site, and what you actually get.

Prepare the demo before you send it

A label hears a presentation demo: a recording that lets a stranger understand the song and the artist in one listen. The guide to what a demo is in music explains how that differs from a working demo, and the home demo guide covers the recording itself.

Pick one to three songs, strongest first

Three songs show a direction, and one great song beats three average ones. Put the song you would release tomorrow first, because it may be the only one they play, and choose songs that belong together.

Make the first 30 seconds count

Busy listeners decide early. Get to the voice, the hook or the main idea within the first 15 to 20 seconds. If the song has a long intro that matters live, make a shorter edit for the pitch and keep the full version for later.

Length, loudness and format

• Full songs, not snippets, unless the label asks for clips.
• A finished, balanced mix. Armada asks for completely finished and preferably mastered tracks; other labels care more about the song. Either way, the vocal must be clear and nothing should distort.
• No crushed masters. Streaming services turn loud tracks down. Spotify, for example, normalizes playback to about −14 LUFS by default, so a clean mix with some dynamics travels better than a very loud one.
• Upload a WAV or a high-quality file and let the host handle playback. The listener should press play in the browser, with no account and nothing to download.

If the recording still needs work, the GarageBand demo guide walks you through a clean version on iPhone or Mac.

Metadata and file names

Fill in the tags before uploading: title, artist name, year and a contact email. Name each file so it explains itself if it is ever downloaded, for example LenaBrooks_SaltAndNeon_demo_2026-09.wav. The song file name generator builds names in a consistent format.

Lyric sheet, credits and splits

Add three things to the link description or to a one-page PDF:

• The lyric, laid out by section. The lyric and chord sheet guide shows a clean layout.
• Credits: who wrote, who produced, who played.
• A signed split sheet if the song has co-writers, so nobody has to ask who owns what if the label says yes.

Before sending, play the demo to two people outside the project and ask one precise question; the demo feedback brief is a ready form for it. For the link itself, the guide to sharing unreleased music privately compares SoundCloud, cloud drives and review tools.

An email template that fits on one screen

Use this when the label asks for email. If it uses a form, put the same content in the form fields. Lena Brooks is a made-up artist; replace every bracket with something true.

Subject lines:

• Demo: Lena Brooks – "Salt and Neon" (indie pop, Chicago)
• Demo submission – 3 songs – Lena Brooks
• For your A&R team: "Salt and Neon", private link

If the policy gives a subject format, use theirs.

The email:

Hi [name, or “the A&R team”],

I’m Lena Brooks, a singer-songwriter from Chicago. I’m sending three unreleased songs; “Salt and Neon” is the one to start with.

Private link, no download needed: [link]

I’m writing to you because [one specific reason, such as “the close, dry vocals on your last two releases are the sound I’m chasing”]. I play [about 40] shows a year and [1,200] people read my mailing list.

Lyrics and credits are in the link description. I wrote all three songs; “Salt and Neon” is co-written with Sam Ortiz, and our split sheet is signed.

Thanks for listening, Lena Brooks [email] · [one link to your artist page]

Why it works: the first line says who and what, the link sits alone, the reason proves you listened to the label, two facts replace the hype, and the rights are clear before anyone asks.

Follow up once, then move on

Wait three to four weeks, unless the policy says otherwise. Some labels ask you not to follow up at all (Sub Pop does), and others reply only if interested (Kompakt). In both cases, silence is the answer, and a reminder hurts more than it helps.

Where a follow-up is allowed, reply to your own first email so the context stays in the thread:

Hi [name],

A quick follow-up on the three songs I sent on September 3, in case they got buried. Same private link: [link]. Since then, “Salt and Neon” has joined the set for our show at [venue] on October 18.

Thanks again for your time, Lena

One follow-up, with one new fact if you have one. Then log it and send to the next label on your list. Keep a simple sheet with the label, date, songs, link, version and reply.

What not to do

• Attach files when the page does not ask for them. Some labels say outright that they do not download.
• Email twenty labels at once in CC, or open with “Dear Sir or Madam”.
• Send ten songs or unfinished sketches “to show range”.
• Post the song publicly and then pitch it as unreleased. Some labels want music nobody has heard: read the policy before any public upload.
• Send a new mix a week later. Choose a version and stand by it.
• Call, message every staff member or follow up every week.
• Pay a stranger who promises to “get you signed”.

Sending to a producer, an artist or a publisher

The package is almost the same. What the listener wants from it is not.

Recipient	What they listen for	What to send	Main difference
Producer	Whether the song and your voice give them something to build on	A clear demo, tempo, key, two references and the help you want	Usually a paid job or a co-write: say which, and ask about rates and credits first
Artist	Whether the song suits their voice and their story	A demo that sounds like them, in a key they can sing, with a lyric sheet	Most artists receive songs through their manager, label or publisher, not in DMs
Publisher	Whether you can write songs others will record, again and again	Three to five strong songs over time, with clean credits and splits	Many take music only by referral, and they sign the songwriter, not one recording

For a producer, add one line of direction: “close and dry, like my voice memo, but with a real rhythm section.” For a publisher, clean credits and splits are part of the pitch, because that paperwork is what they will manage.

Protect your work before you send it

A little order now saves arguments later. This is general information, not legal advice.

The song and the recording are two different works. The composition (melody, lyric, harmony) belongs to its writers. The recording, the master, belongs to whoever made or paid for it. If Lena and Sam wrote “Salt and Neon” together and Lena recorded the demo at home, both own the song and Lena owns that recording. A label usually wants the master; a publisher wants the song.

Four habits help:

1. Keep dated versions. Save every export with the date in its name, together with the lyric drafts and the session files. They document how the song grew, but they are not a registration: the guide on how to copyright and register a song explains the difference.
2. Sign a split sheet with your co-writers before the song travels. The free split sheet template lists every writer, warns you if the shares do not add up to 100%, has fields for society (PRO) and IPI number, and prints a sheet for everyone to sign. The split sheet guide shows how to decide the shares.
3. Register the work with your performing rights organization once you are a member: ASCAP or BMI in the US, PRS for Music in the UK, SOCAN in Canada. ASCAP, for example, is free to join as a writer and registers works online through Member Access. A US Copyright Office registration is a separate step.
4. Share privately, with the least access needed, and note who received which version.

If the songs are going out on your own instead, how many songs on an EP explains how stores count a single, an EP and an album.

Where Zoundroom fits: one project per song you pitch

A pitch scatters a song across folders: the export here, the lyric in a notes app, the split sheet somewhere else. In Zoundroom each song is a project. Import the demo version you are sending, keep the earlier versions next to it, and write the lyric, the credits and your pitch notes in the same place: which label got which version, and when. Invite your co-writer or producer to the project so everyone hears the same version before it goes out; on Pro and Band they can leave timestamped comments on the recording, such as “the intro drags at 0:12”.

Zoundroom does not send demos to labels, publish songs or master recordings, and it is not a legal registration. It keeps the song ready and documented; the pitch itself goes through the label’s form or your email.

Frequently asked questions

Do record labels still accept demos?

Many do, on their own terms. Independent labels often list a demo email or a form, electronic labels often use a portal, and many large companies do not accept unsolicited material at all. Read each label’s policy before sending. If there is none, assume it does not take unsolicited demos and look for an introduction.

How many songs should I send in a demo?

One to three, strongest first, unless the label asks for more. A publisher may want to hear more songs over time, but a first email with more than three usually gets fewer of them heard.

Should I send a private SoundCloud or Google Drive link?

Send what the label asks for. If it does not say, a private streaming link that plays in the browser without an account is the safest choice; Kompakt and Armada both mention SoundCloud. A Drive link works if the file previews in the browser. Test either one in a private window first.

How long should I wait before following up?

Three to four weeks is a sensible gap, and one follow-up is enough. If the label says it replies only when interested, or asks you not to follow up, do not send one. Keep pitching other labels meanwhile; if nobody bites, you can still release the songs yourself, as the music distribution guide explains.

Sources

All pages checked on September 27, 2026.

• Sub Pop: FAQ (demo policy).
• Kompakt: Demos.
• Elefant Records: Envío de maquetas (in Spanish).
• Armada Music: How to submit your demo.
• Sony Music UK: Terms and conditions, section 5, “Unsolicited submissions”.
• Spotify for Artists: Loudness normalization.
• ASCAP: Registering your music and Why join ASCAP.