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Many unsigned bands and artists record demos in order to obtain a Recording Contract . These demos are usually sent to Record Label s in hopes that the artist will be signed onto the label's roster and allowed to record a full-length album in a professional Recording Studio . However, large record labels usually ignore unsolicited demos that are sent to them by mail; artists generally must be more creative about getting the demos into the hands of the people who make decisions for the record company. Songwriter's and publisher's demos are recorded with minimal instrumentation - usually just an acoustic Guitar or Piano , and the Vocalist . Both Elton John and Donovan gained studio experience early in their careers by recording publisher's demos for other artists, since their managers also handled music publishing. Many signed bands and artists record demos of new songs before recording an Album . The demos may allow the artist to provide sketches for sharing ideas with bandmates, or to explore several alternate versions of a Song , or to quickly record many proto-songs before deciding which ones merit further development. Demos are typically recorded on relatively crude equipment such as "boom box" Cassette Recorder s, or small Four-track Or Eight-track Machines , but sometimes they capture the feeling or intent of the artist better than the final version of the song, after the input of managers, producers and Sound Engineer s. Lou Reed sought out a studio in the late 1980s to record his ''New York'' album, where the polished sound would satisfy him as much as that of the rough cassettes he'd been making at home. (The B-side to the album's single was actually a transferred home tape.) Demo recordings are seldom heard by the public, although some artists do eventually release rough demos in rarities Compilation Album s or Box Set s. Other demo versions have been unofficially released as Bootleg Recording s, such as The Beatles ' '' Kinfauns Demos ''. Several artists have eventually made official releases of demo versions of their songs as Albums or companion pieces to albums. Notable officially-released demo versions include:
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