There is no way to avoid the saying "It's all about who you know." We've heard that phrase all over the place and specifically anytime we wanted to break into anything new. This philosophy tells me that I can get a great car at a great price depending on who I know. It also tells me I may be able to get my foot in the door with Universal Records, depending on who I know.
But that's very broad to me because any and everything can be boiled down to - who you know. When it comes to music industry contacts I'm very skeptical and I think alot of the selling points are manipulative. The one thing that is needed most in the music industry is a directory of individuals who can actually help you with your career. Even if you do have the contact information for Steve Lunt , you still need to get his attention and get an incredibly good product.
I tend to think that if a contact is easy to get, then it's probably easy for thousands upon thousands of other people just like me to get the same contact information. That's actually just a fact because anyone serious about their career should be able to scrape up 40bucks to get a directory full of contacts. I would spend more time making sure I am familiar with publicists, A&Rs, A&R assistants, and Interns.
When you do obtain contact information for an exec, you are sure to spend more time talking to their assistant or an intern anyway. So instead of talking to them on a (secretarial or assistant) level, make sure to get them actively involved in what you have to present.
People always say know the names of the assistants, as they are "gatekeepers", but it's more important to be able to get as much information as you can about what's happening in the department, which projects are most important to them at the moment, what's going on in their week, etc. This information is just as valuable as the contact and will help you in your decision making.
A few resources I am most familiar with:
When I need to be very specific about contacts for a specific artist or celebrity - I use - Celebrity Access; although they are out of reach for most people - this is still another advantage. Most people will work so much longer and harder to get this kind of quality information that is not offered in the above resources.
Howard Britt is the owner of Music Oxygen, a music industry resource that unsigned bands and independent artists use to promote their music and connect with fans. More information and resources can be found on his Music Industry Blog.