I hear producers say all the time that they can’t wait to find an artist who’s music they love, has a great work ethic, and can invest in the long-run. It’s hard to be everywhere at once and the one person that is constantly getting new music sent their way are DJ’s. These are the people who set the vibe of a venue or an event and even though we are all pitching records to be be added to playlists there’s nothing like seeing an actual crowd reaction to your music. Why not connect with them to see who’s probably going to be the next artist you should work with?
In my last blog post I spoke about how I connected with DJ’s as an artist to find out who was popping in different territories and do features to get my name out there. It was a proven strategy that I wish I did more of but that’s neither here nor there. As a producer, I use that same system to find potential artists that I could one day work with. The DJ probably already has a link to their music in their DM’s or inbox and has probably seen them perform live. Tapping in with them will allow you to curate a list of artists and you can get to them first before they drop that one single that blows them up. In fact, you could probably produce that very single.
Another reason producers should connect with DJ’s is that they have a finger on the pulse first. They have to play the hottest new music and they have to know what’s coming out before it does. It’s hard to rock a party or a club and not know what the patrons want to hear. When “Bodak Yellow” was released, all my DJ friends on twitter were confirming my predictions that it was a hit. Even if I felt that it wasn’t a hit, the tweets would’ve let me known otherwise. You’re going to need to develop a system that will allow you to know where things are happening when you’re not there.
It is well known that DJ’s and producers make the best A&R’s and that is simply because we are the ones that are there from the birth of an artist until the world knows them. We, may, subconsciously notice patterns of real potential after about the 12th artist we’ve worked with. Don’t just rely on your intuition. Find a DJ, introduce yourself, and let them talk.
When they mention the streets, it’s the DJ’s they’re referring to.
