Imagine going to a steak house. You order the food the way you like and you are ready to enjoy the experience. When the waiter comes back, he says "The peas are mooshed, the potatoes taste like wood and the steak is way over cooked. Enjoy!"
How excited do you think you'll be to dig into this meal? Probably not at all, but disclaimers seem to be the norm in the music business rather than the exception. I cant begin to count how many times someone has handed me a demo only to disclaim that - The drums weren't tuned right, the guitar amp was messed up or the singer had a cold. Or Ive got a demo that just wasn't ready. The meter was off the mix was not good or the songs had not been fleshed out all the way.
What I would really like to hear is - "Take this demo, its going to rock your frickin world", or "This is the best thing ever". Am I going to be skeptical? Perhaps, but chances are that I will take a listen.
Recently a band asked me to listen to a demo and give them an honest critique. The short version of my answer was, to start over. Primarily the drums were having a meter issue and this was a metal band. One thing about metal, you want it to be precise. After some debate the band took my advice and re-tracked the drums. They are much happier with the overall product, now.
Music is your creation and you want to make it the absolute best it can be. That means no shortcuts. If you put out inferior product and no one buys it, you will make excuses forever. Take the time to do it right and it will pay off. Worst case scenario if no one buys it you still have work to be proud of, with no disclaimers.
As always, we welcome your feedback on this or any topic
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