In an increasingly competitive music industry, bands must have more than a popular song or the right look to sign with a major record label.

More and more record executives are looking at a combination of live performances, song writing and the band’s ability to sell its own records when deciding whether to offer it a contract.

Members of mid-Michigan’s Domestic Problems, 19 Wheels and the Verve Pipe know first hand the stresses of competing for a major contract and the opportunities it provides.

MSU alumnus and 19 Wheels guitarist Scott Owens said the band traveled and performed for different record companies this summer.

“We’ve started doing a lot of showcasing for labels,” he said. “We’d fly out to Los Angeles for a few days or go to New York and play.

“Then we’d come home and it’d be business as usual.”

Owens said the band has received offers from two different labels, but so far, is still unsigned.

“There was one offer we weren’t sure of, so we let it rest for awhile,” Owens said. “When we went back to the company and asked for a few changes, they said the offer was no longer on the table.

“They made an offer for less than the original and we turned it down.”

Owens said he was disappointed by the way the deal turned out, but the band has learned its lesson.

“We’ve got a new distributor for our record and one of the biggest radio promoters to help us out,” he said. “ We’re hoping that’s going to get us more play on radio stations.

“Everyone’s really confident that we will gain some new interest from labels.”

Owens said the number one thing labels are looking for is the amount of CDs a band sells on its own. He said airtime on radio stations and live shows are also a big factor.

“They want to know that you can sell records without help from them,” he said. “They want results immediately.

“Most companies would sign banjo-playing bears dressed as women if they could sell records.”

Domestic Problems lead vocalist Andy Holtgreive said the band has had trouble finding the right record company to sign with, but is doing fine on its own.

“We’ve had labels call and express interest,” he said. “But for one reason or another it hasn’t worked out.”

Domestic Problems started selling records on its own label, Triple Rock Records, seven years ago. It has since sold thousands of compact discs at concerts and through its Web site, www.domesticproblems.com.

“Some of the labels we’ve been in contact with want to hear more of our music and want to know how our record sales go,” he said. “This is a great way to show them what we can do.

“We aspire to do great things, but we don’t expect them to happen.”

Holtgreive said Domestic Problems was just starting out when fellow Grand Rapids band the Verve Pipe signed with RCA Records in 1995.

“When that happened, I thought this could be a great thing for local bands,” he said. “It motivated us to keep doing what we were doing.

“We could only be so lucky to reach that level.”

Verve Pipe keyboardist Doug Corella said by the time record contracts began pouring in, the band already had a strong following in Michigan and had written its gold single “The Freshman.”

“We had sold more than 40,000 records out of the back of our cars,” he said. “Atlantic and Giant had expressed interest in us, but RCA seemed to be the place that suited us best.

“They were the only ones who talked about musicianship instead of money.”

Corella said once they decided on RCA, the support of a major label helped it to finish writing and recording its 1996 platinum debut “Villains.”

“It was always our goal to jump up to that next level,” Corella said. “You work so hard at the local level but you can only do so much there.

“But everyone starts out on the bottom rung.”

Corella said the pop music industry has changed dramatically since the band signed with RCA.

“A lot of people in the industry think major labels have a squeeze play on young bands,” he said. “The market is getting more difficult for people to break into.”

Corella said there is such a drive for creativity right now that a lot of independent labels and bands have flooded the scene.

“There are so many musicians producing and distributing their own records now,” he said. “It’s interesting to see where it’s going to level out.

“The sad thing is the amount of great bands that no one will ever know about.”