03/28/2024
Spread the love

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By: Erin Smith

A Bladen County band got some excellent news this week when they signed with Wendigo Records in Sanford. The band Nephilym, of which Tar Heel resident Brent Underwood is a member, recently signed a recording contract. He also sings with the band Drayton Road that has also signed with the same label.

Wendigo Records is a joint venture between Underwood and his good friend Orus Patterson. Underwood explained that Patterson had a recording studio that was state-of-the-art and the two decided to join forces to create Wendigo Records. Underwood that Patterson has a degree in music and is well versed in what it takes to get noticed by the larger record labels.

Underwood said that the paperwork was recently completed and filed with the state of North Carolina officially opening Wendigo Records. He said currently, the company represents four artists — the bands Nephilym and Drayton Road of Fayetteville, Cameron Davis of Wilmington, Against Their Will from Wilson, and a fifth artist is currently in negotiations with the company.

“There are about 20 to 30 artists who have already emailed us,” said Underwood.

He said the best thing about being signed to a record label is the fact that your music is no longer considered, unsolicited. Underwood said in the music industry, if an artist does not have a contract with a record label, their music is called unsolicited when they try to submit it to a larger record company and it can often get ignored or overlooked in favor of an artist who already has a contract with a smaller company.

“Now we can shop our music to larger record labels,” said Underwood.

He said by combining forces with other artists, it can help everyone to put out a better quality product.  Underwood said that at Wendigo Records, the staff can ensure each artist or band has a proper video, make sure they are on I-Tunes, make sure they have professional artwork and professional recordings of their songs.  Patterson said that Wendigo Records also has connections to the larger record labels and can help new artists in their quest to reach stardom.

Underwood said that his advice for a young musician embarking on their career is toppled shows. He said playing shows helps the musician to develop their musical style. Underwood also said that having your music available on the Internet can help an artist to develop their fan base.

Underwood said that an artist should not be afraid to spend money for a really good music video and to create a professional quality recoding of some of their songs.

“You get out of it, what you put into it,” said Underwood.

He also said that shows such as The Voice were a good place for an artist to try their skills. Underwood said Cameron Davis has been on The Voice and made to the second round though he did not make it to Los Angeles.

“Cameron, is the one artist I am most excited about (signing),” said Underwood.

He said that with shows like The Voice, exposure on the Internet, and platforms such as I-Tunes, the large record labels are not as necessary to musical success as they once were.

Underwood said artists are encouraged to submit their work, pictures and links to their social media sites to brent@wendigorecords.com, orus@wendigorecords.com or josh@wendigorecords.com. He said they would give your music a listen and get back in touch with you.

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