How to Get Signed to a Label

Vigiland

Nobody in Sweden expected the biggest new electronic act in the country to come from the small Northern city of Västervik, least of all Claes Remmered Persson and Otto Pettersson. The duo had only made one song together (titled “UFO”) when they decided to name themselves Vigiland and release the track on Spinnup. But when it came out in 2014, it went on to amass over 100m streams across Spotify and 15 million views on YouTube.

 

Their sound is inspired by a particular form of electro house called Melbourne Bounce, and you can hear this in the raw energy and uptempo beats of their songs, and the shrewd sense of humour within their music videos. After releasing ‘UFO’ on Spinnup the duo was signed to Universal Music Sweden, and have since gone platinum 17 times in Sweden, and built up a following of 4.4million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Lxandra

Two years ago, Lxandra made a decision. After growing up on the small and idyllic island of Suomenlinna in Finland Lxandra made the move to Berlin to pursue her music career. She released two stunning singles with Spinnup, ‘Flicker’ and ‘Hush Hush Baby’ in 2017 before being signed by Vertigo (Universal Music Germany) and Island Records USA.

 

Flash forward to 2018 and Lxandra’s debut major label single, “Dig Deep”, has hit over 3.3million streams, she has supported Dua Lipa on tour, and became the 40th artist to sign to Universal Music via Spinnup. Her single “Hush Hush Baby” was chosen by the German retail giant Saturn to soundtrack their 2017 Christmas advert, and you can see why: the rousing piano ballad is so packed with tender emotion that it makes the listener feel like time has stopped around them.

A.T.

A.T, the latest afrobeats breakout singer, songwriter and producer. Born in Nigeria's mega-city of Lagos and raised in Tottenham, North London. Growing up in a musical family, his love for music began in the church, where his family spearheaded the choir. From an early age, he was a natural musician as he started recording and writing music from the age of 12, along the journey he crafted the ability to play the drums, keys and guitar.

 

A.T always had an eclectic ear for music, the roots of his inspiration come from legendary artists including; Fela Kuti, Lucky Dube, Chaka Chaka, Flavour, Wizkid and Akon. He describes his sound as a blend of Afro and Rhythmic R&B, Atueyii's mission is to bring back the 'feel' in Afro music and wants to communicate a message of inspiration within his music. A.T has taken his writing and production skills to working with a number of artist projects on the buzzing UK urban scene.

 

A.T's breakout single 'Kumbaya' was released on Spinnup in 2019 before being discovered by the team at Universal Music UK label Universal Music On Demand and signed.

Nelick

French rapper Nelick is a firm believer that hip-hop has and will continue to evolve through the mixing of genres. Which explains a lot about his experimental sound, fusing a laidback singing style with 90s rap beats and abstract lyrics. As the first artist to be signed to Universal Music in France, we think he’s onto something.

 

Nelick rose to fame back in 2016 with the release of his debut single “Ocean 2022”. The homemade and eye-catching video hinted at a watery and psychedelic universe within his musical imagination. He’s since continued that with the sequel songs “Ocean 2017” and finally “Ocean 2077”, which received over 2 million views on YouTube.

 

His debut major label projected, KiwiBunnyTape, was released on Caroline in early 2018 and is 10 tracks of pure experimental rap bliss that has already reaped over 600,000 streams on Spotify.

LOVA

Some people are born to play music. At least, that’s how it seems with Swedish singer-songwriter LOVA, who wrote her first song at the age of 7 years old and has been playing piano for as long as she can remember. After releasing the first of her music on Spinnup, she was discovered by a scout and signed to Universal Music Sweden in 2016, and is now an artist on Polydor UK.

 

LOVA was born in Stockholm and studied at Rytmus music school, where Robyn and Tove Lo also attended. She specialises in writing catchy and inventive pop songs, that are brimming with social criticism and female perspective. Her breakthrough single, “You Me and the Silence”, explored how we’ve come to desire unrealistic role models who portray perfection, rather than people who are 100% themselves no matter what their flaws are. It was a message that resonated: the song has been streamed more than 1.3million times.

 

Right now, LOVA is focused on spreading the word of her debut EP, Scripted Reality, which deals with ever more poignant themes about how her generation lives through social media more than they do through real life.

Moody

Danish singer-songwriter and producer, Moody, started her music career in earnest in 2016 with the release of her debut EP, Golden Souls, on Spinnup. Catching the attention of Universal Music Denmark A&Rs she was signed to the label before releasing the fierce pop song “Karma”, which blended a sensual 90s R&B with a dance floor synthpop sound, and garnered over 135,000 streams on Spotify. It wasn’t her first release but it seemed like the first time all of her diverse influences had married and exploded in one unforgettable track.

 

In April this year she released “Say The Word”, a heartbroken and introspective pop song that showcased her voice in a new way; soaring yet fragile, smooth yet unpredictable. It was the start of a busy year, that has seen her play the major Danish event, Spot Festival, and rack up 360,000 streams across her Spotify. Now, Moody will be following it all up with a 12 date tour across Denmark and Sweden.

Albin Johnsén

Back in 2014, one song exploded across Northern Europe and dominated the airwaves. The song was the uplifting pop-rap banger “Din Soldat” released on Spinnup by Swedish rapper and songwriter, Albin Johnsén, and accumulating more than 43 million streams on Spotify.

 

Since then, the 28 year old has sigend to Universal Music Sweden, been streamed over 100 million times, repeatedly showcased his talents on songs like “Rik”, "En Sista Gång" and “Frank” - which have all been certified platinum. Unlike many rappers, Johnsén boldly explores a whole range of emotions; from anxiety to fame, emptiness to hope, childhood to becoming a father. No topic is off limits, and this, it seems, is why so many millions of people connect with his blockbuster songs.

Emile Kruse

Two years ago, Emil Kruse dropped a song out of nowhere on Spinnup called “Hvorhen”. With its sun-drenched house beat, dreamy vocals and razor sharp raps, it immediately reinvigorated the Danish rap scene and made Kruse a ‘one to watch’. “Hvorhen” went on to muster 1.2million streams on Spotify and Emil went on to sign to Universal Music Denmark.

 

Since then, he has established himself as an unpredictable artist, just as likely to use deep house synths as he is to sing a soulful melody or rap a fierce verse. After signing to Universal Music, he created the I Dine Blå EP, which further explored his sound. This year he’s already dropped two infectious new singles that displayed yet more inventiveness, in the shape of the pulsating “Svært” and the jazz inflected “Så Ved Jeg”.

Albert Dyrlund

Danish star Albert Dyrlund started out as a YouTube personality back in 2016, and quickly built following for his funny and personal videos, which would feature everything from Pokemon Go to eating challenges. But it wasn’t until he began to show his musical side that things truly took off.

 

In 2016, he dropped “Hellerup Dreng” on Spinnup, a summery EDM-inspired pop song that quickly rocketed to 5 million views on YouTube and saw him signed by Universal Music Denmark. Dyrlund’s subsequent singles have become the biggest videos on his channel (last year’s “Emoji” hit over 4 million views). It was enough to earn him an invitation from the Danish version of Dancing with the Stars, but Dyrlund was too busy to accept.

 

Earlier this year, he dropped the infectious tropical dance track “ICE”, and now he’s focusing on his acting debut in the lead role of forthcoming Danish movie, ‘Team Albert’.

Adrijana

When Adrijana first burst onto the scene back in 2016, she was a female rapper from Southern Sweden with a balaclava on her head. Debut single “Kan nt med mig ” had the tenacity of Nicki Minaj and the mysterious intrigue of Sia, and quickly garnered almost half a million streams on Spotify. After releasing three singles on Spinnup she was picked up by the A&Rs at Universal Music Sweden and signed a record deal.

 

Since then, Adrijana has worked hard at diversifying her sound, so that she’s known not just as a rapper who sings, but an all round artist. Now, her music can veer anywhere from hip-hop to electro pop ballads. In 2017, her breakthrough hit “Amare” reached the semi-finals of Sweden’s competition to select their Eurovison contestant, picking up over 4 million Spotify streams on the way. In Adrijana’s words, the song is about “girls who are not afraid to say what they are feeling.”

Infinit

German rapper Infinit grew up in the old city of Koblenz on the banks of the Rhine, and spent his youth listening to Eminem, learning to rap, and buying music equipment with his pocket money. It wasn’t until he was in his early 20s that he was discovered after winning Raptags, an annual hip-hop competition in Germany run by Spinnup and Universal Music sub-label Chapter ONE. Infinit’s prize was a record deal with Chapter ONE, which he quickly put to good use.

 

In 2017 he released his debut album „Aus Prinzip“ on Chapter ONE. It was a raw and enigmatic record that showcased Infinit’s ability to tell a story through his bars. He has a lot to say and is eerily wise for his young age. Last August he dropped “Anderes Kaliber” (featuring Haze) and it became an underground hit in the German rap community, picking up over 1.5million views on YouTube. Now, all eyes are on his 2018 follow up EP, „03:26“.