Demise of the Demo

The days of a demo tape and a dream are nearly over, according to Reuters:

SonyBMG, the world’s second-biggest music company, said that from Monday it would no longer accept hard copy formats. Instead, budding musicians will be asked to sign up to a record
label Web site such as www.columbiademos.co.uk or www.rcademos.co.uk to
blog their music, photos and videos.

With countless A&Rs scouring music blogs and Myspace to find their next signings, this is obviously nothing new. However, one must cast a small tear for the pending demise of innovative tactics musicians have used to get their tapes in the hands of the right people. One of our favorites is  electronic producer Recloose, who was working at a sandwich shop in Detroit. When techno pioneer Carl Craig came in, he slipped him an extra "demo on rye," which eventually lead to his signing.

Any more interesting demo tape stories you’ve heard? Leave them in the comments.