Reply to So, about all those DOWNLOAD MY TRACK FOR FREE NOW! Facebook/Twitter updates

At some point in the not too distant future I intend to begin producing. I have been dabbling in it on and off for 15 years and while it will never be my full time job, it's something I am going to take more seriously going forward.

So let's say that I create this amazing track, fit for dancefloors across the globe. I then offer it out as a free download and get a few people downloading and playing it. How does this affect getting it signed?

My questions are:

• Do labels shy away from tracks that are already essentially in the public domain?
• Are free tracks good promotional activity or do they just underline the "you get what you pay for" attitude?

If you offer you offer up free downloads of your tracks

• Why do you do it?
• What kid of download counts do you get on individual tracks?
• Has a free download led to you being signed? If so, by what kind of label?

If you don't offer free downloads - why don't you?

Sensible discussion please. let's talk about YOUR experiences, not someone you know or a DJ/producer you love or hate.