How I Got Signed With Only 8 Months Of Experience

Neon Notes — Week [8]

When I began making music again in 2023, I didn't have any notion of it being anything more than just a hobby. Sure, I uploaded my first song to SoundCloud and made it public, but I really didn't expect anyone to listen. And I was right. At the time of this blog, "Synthia" has 44 streams on SoundCloud.

But streams aren't the goal with my music. Sure it feels great, but if you're not making it for you, then I think that misses the point of making art in the first place. I initially put them on SoundCloud so I could listen to them wherever I was, and I just decided to share them publicly because I was proud of them. I am still proud of them.

I just kept making songs and uploading them, trying to improve with each release. I studied everything I could about music production, and still study today.

After about 6 months of producing, I noticed that my songs sounded so much better than before, and I started getting a lot of scam messages on SoundCloud about how they loved my song or how some big-name artist wanted to work with me. Of course I dismissed all of them.

Then a few months later in July, I released several songs that I feel were a step up in my production. Songs like "Mistakes and Perfume" and "Toxic" had spikes in listeners on SoundCloud, and "I Fall" got over 10,000 views on YouTube. Shortly after that I released "Wide Awake" and "Everything", a song I dedicated to my dog that passed away.

At this point I felt like people were noticing my music. I was starting to get messages on SoundCloud and YouTube telling me how much they liked my music, and not just from people trying to scam me.

That's when I got a message a few months later in October on SoundCloud that was different from the rest. Normally, when it's a scam, they don't get specific. They say things like, "I really liked your song" or "Your music resonates with me."

This message was specific. It mentioned "To Love You", the title of the song they liked, and seemed more genuine than the other messages.

Of course I was skeptical. Who wouldn't be? I wasn't going to message them back, but my wife said, "What's it going to hurt? If it's a scam you'll know." So I messaged them back about five hours later.

We had a brief discussion on SoundCloud, then moved it to email correspondence. In the emails, they introduced themselves more formally. The label was Triptych Music and the publisher was Blue Pie Records, a company that works with music licensing and sync placements. Lauren, who runs the label, explained that they were interested in signing me as a sync artist.

At the time, I had only been producing music for about ten months, but the songs she was referencing I made with only eight months of experience. So hearing that a label wanted to work with me just didn't seem real.

For anyone that doesn't know, a sync deal means your music can potentially be placed in things like television shows, films, advertisements, or other forms of media. Instead of focusing only on streaming platforms, the music is pitched for opportunities where it can be licensed and used in visual media.

Of course, I did my homework. I looked up the label and publisher, the artists they worked with, and tried to make sure everything was legitimate. After all the scam messages I received on SoundCloud, I had to be skeptical.

But the more we talked, the more I realized that this was real.

I wanted to be transparent and explained that I had less than a year of music production experience. I think Lauren was a bit surprised when she found out, but I also think she realized I still had room to grow, and that my productions would only get better.

So I did it. I signed, and they released several of my songs on all the major streaming platforms and pitched them for sync placements.

• To Love You
• Let Go
• Just A Game
• I Need Your Love
• See Me Fly
• I'm The Darkness
• Cold Embrace
• Too Late
• Good Liar
• I Am The Storm
• Drown Me In Your Love
• Are You Lucky Now?
• Put Your Love On Me
• I Don't Need Saving
• Eyes On Me
• Don't Worry
• All I Need
• Out Of My Mind

It was also humbling. I never expected anything like this. Not to say I thought my music was bad, but I am a realist and I try to stay grounded.

Signing that deal didn’t mean I had it all figured out. I was still learning and trying to improve with every song I made.

What it did show me was something really important.

Just share your work. Let people hear it.

If I had kept those early songs private, none of this would've happened. The only reason that opportunity existed was because I was willing to share my music while I was still learning.

Looking back, those first songs were rough, but I still enjoy them. Now my mixing is better, my writing is better, and my production skills are way ahead of where they were back then.

Those songs were the best I could do with the knowledge I had, and I think sharing each one shows the progress I've made.

Getting signed wasn't something that I ever thought about, and getting signed from songs I made with only eight months of producing experience was definitely unexpected.

I was just making music and not being afraid of letting people hear it.

Sometimes the best thing you can do as a creator is just make it and share it.

Now Creating

• Replacing old cover art
• Physical merch?
• Finishing up some songs for Electric Skyline Volume 2

Thanks for reading.
If you have thoughts about any of this, I’d love to hear them.

This post is part of my weekly Neon Notes series. New posts go live every Wednesday.