Demo song recording - An Art form

Demo tapes have been the cornerstone of the music industry for years, because for many musicians, it all starts with their demo. A demo is like a business card of the industry, and it’s a way for a musician to sell themselves to a record label, producer, or another artist. For years, musicians have made the best of what they had to record a demo, embracing a “lemons into lemonade” philosophy. They would choose a room that offered the best acoustics, sing into a recorder, and send the results to music labels across the world. No matter their genre, musicians have turned to the demo as an example of their talent and skill. One notable demo tape success story is Christina Aguilera's song “Reflection” from the Disney animated picture Mulan. The singer sent Disney executives a demo she had made in her bathroom. This let the studio hear the power of her voice as she sang her rendition of the difficult Whitney Houston hit “I Wanna Run to You.” The tape, made in one take on her personal boom box, was overnighted to executives, who immediately had her record the song 24 hours later.

Demos are often recorded with a bare-bones budget, often because musicians are living up to the struggling musician mentality. They may only have a microphone, a computer, and a dream, but they make the most of it. This virtue alone can infuse the recording with a genuine piece of the musician's soul, as they try to create the best music to get noticed. Indeed, demos are a testament to someone's music goals. They illustrate where a career is starting, and where it's going. Compare recording a demo to climbing Everest. It all begins with the first step. Demos can be thought of as a way to see the power and drive a musician has to accomplish their goal. Earlier this year, Hozier spoke to Rolling Stone about how he recorded a demo for his hit song “Take Me to Church,” in his parent's attic in the countryside of Ireland. The demo caught the attention of indie label Rubywords, who connected him to a producer who had worked on several U2 albums. More than a few demos get recorded by struggling artists who may be struggling with debt and uncertainty. This experience often contributes to the unique feeling of the recording. For example: Hozier's attic demo is filled with the raw uncertainty he was facing about his music career, and he would later tell Rolling Stone, “I never thought Irish radio would be turned on by my music.” The rest, as they say is history.

 What do Hozier and Aguilera have in common? They made the most of what they had to share their music. This is an indomitable spirit that many musicians possess, and that spirit colors their music. DemoVolume.com is a website that sees the magic of demos and has made it possible for any musician to archive their demo songs for the world to enjoy. The DemoVolume.com creators know that because of the bare-bones approach of musicians, a demo is sometimes better than the most polished track, and they wanted to preserve that musical integrity for years to come.