Guide · Releasing

Getting your trance track signed

Finishing a track is half the job. Getting it onto a label that suits it, in front of the DJs who'll play it, is the other half. Here's how to give your demo its best chance.

8 min readFor finished tracksNo sign-up anywhere

Aim at the right labels

The most common reason a demo is turned down isn't quality: it's the wrong label.

Listen to what each label released in the last few months, and send only to labels whose current sound matches yours. Most artists build up through label sizes: a few releases on independent labels earn the catalogue, DJ support and following that bigger labels look for.

The usual route: independent labels are smaller and often more open to new names; established labels bring DJ support and radio; majors bring the biggest reach and the most competition.
Trance Label FinderLabels by style and size, with links to check their current demo policy.
Open tool →

Is the track ready?

  • Finished, not nearly finished. A&Rs hear thousands of demos; they won't imagine the final version.
  • Mixed and mastered to a competitive level, with no clipping (check it in the Mix Checker).
  • DJ-friendly: a mixable intro and outro, usually 16 or 32 bars of drums (see track structure).
  • Strong in the first minute: many A&Rs skip through, so the hook and the drop need to be easy to find.

Sending the demo

Check each label's current route first: their website, their social media bios, or LabelRadar, which many dance labels use. Then keep it simple:

  • A private streaming link (SoundCloud or similar) with downloads off, not an attachment.
  • Artist name, title, BPM and key in the message.
  • A short, personal note: who you are, why this label, any DJ support so far.
  • One or two tracks at most, your strongest.

Never pay a label to listen to your music or to release it. Legitimate labels earn from sales and streams, not from their artists.

Waiting and following up

Many labels only reply if they're interested. Wait two or three weeks, send one polite follow-up, then move on to the next label. If you send to several at once, say so, and if one offers to sign the track, tell the others straight away.

2–3 weeksBefore one follow-up
1–2Tracks per demo
£0What you should pay a label

Master or premaster?

Many labels master their releases themselves. If so, they'll ask for a premaster: your final mix with no limiter on the master bus, peaking around −6 dBFS, as a 24-bit WAV. Send demos mastered (so they compete), but keep the premaster ready.

Compare the two: a finished master is loud and limited to −1 dBTP; a premaster keeps its dynamics and headroom so the mastering engineer has room to work.

For the mastering itself, see mastering trance for the club.

When a label says yes

Read the contract before you sign: what the label gets (usually the master rights for a set period), the royalty split, how long the deal lasts, and who owns remixes. Ask questions; a good label will happily explain. Then help the release: share it, send it to DJs, and start on the next one.

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Getting your trance track signed

Picking labels, sending demos, premasters and what happens when a label says yes.