Contact

Release Date:

If you wish to send us a demo, please read the Demo Policy section below.

You can also write to us at the address below:

The Leaf Label Ltd
3 Feast Field,
Horsforth,
West Yorkshire,
LS18 4TJ,
UK.

PRIVACY POLICY

You can view our updated Privacy Policy here.

DEMO POLICY

Please read this page before sending us your demo. We do appreciate receiving new music, and we do listen to everything we get sent, eventually. We have signed several artists, some of whom have gone on to be really quite successful, from unsolicited demo tapes. You don’t need to write to ask us if it’s OK to send a demo, just do it. But please follow the ground rules below if you want to give it your best shot.

First things first – do your research. Just because you are the greatest new artist on the planet, doesn’t mean you are necessarily appropriate for The Leaf Label. Think about what we have released and what we are releasing now. You can go and listen to some audio samples in our shop if you need guidance. If you are a straightforward indie rock or metal band we are probably not interested. If you make straightforward dance music, we are probably not interested. If you sound exactly like one of the artists on the label, we are probably not interested – we already have that artist. We’re looking for music that is fresh and original, that puts all the elements together in a way that we haven’t heard before, and that has good tunes.

Use your common sense. Don’t waste our time and yours with unsuitable material. We are all busy people, and if you’re asking us to spend our time listening to your music, please extend us the courtesy of checking that it’s appropriate first.

It’s worth noting that of the hundreds of demos we receive each year, we only sign one or maybe two artists. If you’re serious about being one of those artists, and you’re prepared to work extremely hard and be creative in the way you present yourself, for not much money in the short term, it’s probably worth a shot. Working with a truly independent label like ours is a two-way thing, and we expect you to work as hard as we do.

Acceptable formats for your submission are CD, vinyl & cassette, though CDs usually get listened to first. DAT or minidisc are no good to us. Wax cylinder or 16″ transcription disc we would be impressed by, but unable to play.

We expect your demo to be in close to releasable quality. We do not have the resources to put you in the studio to polish your half-formed ideas.

Please do not send more than one CD of music. Only the first one we pull out of the envelope will be listened to. Work on the assumption that only the first 30 seconds of your demo is guaranteed to be heard, so put the best stuff at the beginning. A sampler of your four best tracks often works better than the full 70-minute opus. If we like it we will soon be asking for more.

Please do not send DVDs of live footage, EPKs or promotional video clips, however relevant they are to your project. They won’t be viewed, and they won’t influence our reaction to your music. If the music is interesting to us we will ask you what else you have.

Please do not send emails with audio files as attachments, nor links to download tracks from the internet. They will not be listened to. If you must send emails, please send links to streaming audio (eg myspace page, etc). But be warned that this method of delivery does not guarantee a fair listening by our crack demo squad. It is likely to be background listening in the office at best. If it concerns you that the quality of streaming audio is not good enough, send us a CD. A physical CD will definitely be listened to by the man in charge, at some point.

Please make sure your name and contact details are clearly marked on the packaging and the CD itself. The CD may become divorced from the packaging and the disc (or other medium) may become divorced from the case.

Please think about sending your demo in recyclable packaging. We do try to reuse or recycle all parts of the package you send, included the mailer, the CD case or wallet, and the paper parts. The CDs themselves have been known to become decorations in our children’s nurseries, or bird scarers in our parents’ gardens. Worth bearing that in mind before you send.

We do like to receive letters with your CD, and we like to feel that you’ve made a specific choice to send your music to The Leaf Label, and why you think it’s appropriate to us. A concise summary of what you’ve been up to, how you got to this point, or what you look like can be illuminating, but is not necessary. We don’t really need to know how you recorded your demo, or what equipment you used – it’s not the process we’re interested in, it’s the end result.

If it’s of interest, our usual listening environment for auditioning demos is the car. They go in the slot, they stay for 30 seconds, 2 minutes, half an hour, then 99% of them are chucked in the back and recycled when we get home. But they do all get a dedicated hearing.

Please do not send emails or phone us to check that we received your demo. We don’t have time to check whether or not it’s in the pile. If in doubt, send us another CD.

Please do not send emails or phone us to ask us for feedback on your demo. We don’t have time to get back to every one we receive. If we like it, you will hear from us.

If you would like your demo back, please include a stamped, addressed envelope that is large enough to contain your demo (you’d be surprised). Make sure you put enough postage on the envelope, in UK Royal Mail stamps. Note that this will not increase your chances of getting your demo heard, neither will it decrease them. Neither will it increase your chances of getting an opinion on the demo.

None of this is intended to discourage you, just give you a bit of perspective. If you receive no positive response do not assume you may never receive a positive response. Sometimes your material may be appreciated but may not quite have that elusive something. Perhaps your next submission will.

If you’ve read all that, and we still haven’t put you off, please send your demo to us at the address above. It’s a PO Box, so please don’t send by a method that requires a signature.

Thank you!

Contact

Release Date:

If you wish to send us a demo, please read the Demo Policy section below.

You can also write to us at the address below:

The Leaf Label Ltd
3 Feast Field,
Horsforth,
West Yorkshire,
LS18 4TJ,
UK.

PRIVACY POLICY

You can view our updated Privacy Policy here.

DEMO POLICY

Please read this page before sending us your demo. We do appreciate receiving new music, and we do listen to everything we get sent, eventually. We have signed several artists, some of whom have gone on to be really quite successful, from unsolicited demo tapes. You don’t need to write to ask us if it’s OK to send a demo, just do it. But please follow the ground rules below if you want to give it your best shot.

First things first – do your research. Just because you are the greatest new artist on the planet, doesn’t mean you are necessarily appropriate for The Leaf Label. Think about what we have released and what we are releasing now. You can go and listen to some audio samples in our shop if you need guidance. If you are a straightforward indie rock or metal band we are probably not interested. If you make straightforward dance music, we are probably not interested. If you sound exactly like one of the artists on the label, we are probably not interested – we already have that artist. We’re looking for music that is fresh and original, that puts all the elements together in a way that we haven’t heard before, and that has good tunes.

Use your common sense. Don’t waste our time and yours with unsuitable material. We are all busy people, and if you’re asking us to spend our time listening to your music, please extend us the courtesy of checking that it’s appropriate first.

It’s worth noting that of the hundreds of demos we receive each year, we only sign one or maybe two artists. If you’re serious about being one of those artists, and you’re prepared to work extremely hard and be creative in the way you present yourself, for not much money in the short term, it’s probably worth a shot. Working with a truly independent label like ours is a two-way thing, and we expect you to work as hard as we do.

Acceptable formats for your submission are CD, vinyl & cassette, though CDs usually get listened to first. DAT or minidisc are no good to us. Wax cylinder or 16″ transcription disc we would be impressed by, but unable to play.

We expect your demo to be in close to releasable quality. We do not have the resources to put you in the studio to polish your half-formed ideas.

Please do not send more than one CD of music. Only the first one we pull out of the envelope will be listened to. Work on the assumption that only the first 30 seconds of your demo is guaranteed to be heard, so put the best stuff at the beginning. A sampler of your four best tracks often works better than the full 70-minute opus. If we like it we will soon be asking for more.

Please do not send DVDs of live footage, EPKs or promotional video clips, however relevant they are to your project. They won’t be viewed, and they won’t influence our reaction to your music. If the music is interesting to us we will ask you what else you have.

Please do not send emails with audio files as attachments, nor links to download tracks from the internet. They will not be listened to. If you must send emails, please send links to streaming audio (eg myspace page, etc). But be warned that this method of delivery does not guarantee a fair listening by our crack demo squad. It is likely to be background listening in the office at best. If it concerns you that the quality of streaming audio is not good enough, send us a CD. A physical CD will definitely be listened to by the man in charge, at some point.

Please make sure your name and contact details are clearly marked on the packaging and the CD itself. The CD may become divorced from the packaging and the disc (or other medium) may become divorced from the case.

Please think about sending your demo in recyclable packaging. We do try to reuse or recycle all parts of the package you send, included the mailer, the CD case or wallet, and the paper parts. The CDs themselves have been known to become decorations in our children’s nurseries, or bird scarers in our parents’ gardens. Worth bearing that in mind before you send.

We do like to receive letters with your CD, and we like to feel that you’ve made a specific choice to send your music to The Leaf Label, and why you think it’s appropriate to us. A concise summary of what you’ve been up to, how you got to this point, or what you look like can be illuminating, but is not necessary. We don’t really need to know how you recorded your demo, or what equipment you used – it’s not the process we’re interested in, it’s the end result.

If it’s of interest, our usual listening environment for auditioning demos is the car. They go in the slot, they stay for 30 seconds, 2 minutes, half an hour, then 99% of them are chucked in the back and recycled when we get home. But they do all get a dedicated hearing.

Please do not send emails or phone us to check that we received your demo. We don’t have time to check whether or not it’s in the pile. If in doubt, send us another CD.

Please do not send emails or phone us to ask us for feedback on your demo. We don’t have time to get back to every one we receive. If we like it, you will hear from us.

If you would like your demo back, please include a stamped, addressed envelope that is large enough to contain your demo (you’d be surprised). Make sure you put enough postage on the envelope, in UK Royal Mail stamps. Note that this will not increase your chances of getting your demo heard, neither will it decrease them. Neither will it increase your chances of getting an opinion on the demo.

None of this is intended to discourage you, just give you a bit of perspective. If you receive no positive response do not assume you may never receive a positive response. Sometimes your material may be appreciated but may not quite have that elusive something. Perhaps your next submission will.

If you’ve read all that, and we still haven’t put you off, please send your demo to us at the address above. It’s a PO Box, so please don’t send by a method that requires a signature.

Thank you!