About Deadwax

The shift in the music industry.

Major labels wait for proof: streaming counts, playlist placement, social growth. Independent labels compete on a different footing. They find artists before the numbers, build the relationship, and actually develop them.

Deadwax is a discovery system built with artist development in mind.

The problem

Everyone is looking at the same data.

Where everyone looks

01

Public popularity dashboards

Charts, rankings, and audience-growth snapshots

02

Playlist exposure

Editorial and algorithmic placement after momentum is visible

03

Social momentum

Short-form video, follower growth, and visible engagement

04

Artist / demo submissions

Direct pitches, submission portals, and inbound referrals

05

Industry network / human scouting

Professional referrals, live discovery, and trusted relationships

Same artists. Same time. Same stage of career.

The solution

A new avenue for discovery.

01

Taste as input

You complete a taste profile before any search is launched. Not preferences, a calibrated expression of what you hear: sub-genre specificity, reference artists. A scout's taste, written down so the system can search on your behalf.

02

Searches continue. You research.

Discovery searches continue in the background while you listen to previous findings, research artists already in your pipeline, or work on something else.

03

Listen before the numbers

Metrics should not make the first call. Listen first. Read the room around the artist. Decide whether the sound and the identity match what you sign. Only then check the numbers, and only as a sanity check.

How we scout

What we use

  • Your taste profile and the verdicts you give after each search.
  • Early artist signals before chart momentum.
  • Cross-checks for duplicates.
  • Eligibility and duplicate checks before findings reach review.

What we avoid

  • Charts-first sourcing that makes every shortlist look the same.
  • Major-label rosters and artists already outside the development window.
  • Paid submission boosts that distort the scout's actual taste signal.
  • Letting metrics make the first call before anyone has actually listened.