Good luck!
Here's a couple cents...
Don't think that record deals are the only way you can share your music with the world and profit from it. I'd actually advise against record deals, especially exclusive ones. Record deals started out so companies can sell and advertise artists' music, while keeping a huge chunk of the profits. That used to be a great option a while ago, but today, with physical distribution being at the brink of death due to internet distribution, new artists are bound to not gain much traction with record labels. However, because of the internet, you don't need to pay someone to advertise your music for you; you can just do it yourself!
These days, if the only way you plan to make money off of your music is by selling it to regular people, you're bound to get bitten in the butt because of how many people download any music for free with the internet. However, you can very well use the internet to
your advantage. You can license your music under the Creative Commons and upload it to
Jamendo, which lets people listen to it for free BUT you get half of the ad revenue, any donations, and money from anyone who wants to legally use it commercially. Last.fm has something similar. You are also able to gain hefty exposure through sites like YouTube, imeem, Newgrounds Audio, Facebook, MySpace and other social sites. This one guy, Ronald Jenkees, has
YouTube videos of him playing his songs and at the end of each one he directs viewers to his website where he sells his CD. Each one of his videos get millions of views.
Millions. That is like a hundred thousand garage concerts of exposure, per song. You can bet your ass that he's making quite a few doubloons, even with rampant music piracy. Try to find some internet radios you can send your music to, like
SomaFM. While places like The Pirate Bay can hurt artists who only sell their music, it can only make
you stronger. Upload your music up there! Lots of music lovers hang out there. Hell, you can even try to get your music on Amazon and iTunes, even if you distribute it for free in other places! There is no law against giving out and selling the same music at the same time, and there are bound to be people who find your music at those places where you're selling them first and decide to buy them. Perhaps the most beneficial thing that comes with internet self-distribution over record labels is the ability to communicate with your fans (and non-fans) on a whole 'nother level. If you listen to your fans' voices, you are bound to get better, more popular and richer.
See, if you got an exclusive record deal, you'd be missing out on all of this. Don't wait. Do this now.