The best things in life are free. For some local bands, that means free publicity, eight hours of free recording time in a professional studio and, in the end, free copies of their music.

All of the above is provided by Green Street Records, a student-run record label, to the 10 or so bands that make it onto its annual compilation CD.

Each year, the record label picks bands for its CD based on submissions, and then it provides them with a press kit, buys them eight hours of recording time at a studio and provides them with opportunities to perform at local venues.

Mad Mardigan, a local band that was on the compilation CD last year, says that the opportunity provided it with exposure it wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

“There’s an exposure to a whole market that’s hard to break into because there are not a lot of live music venues for different bands,” said Rory Grennan, bass player for Mad Mardigan. “A lot of places on campus like Joe’s and White Horse book the same bands every week. The ones that don’t have the same bands are the ones we’ve played since we’ve been on the compilation (album).”

Jack Marck, senior in LAS and guitar player for Mad Mardigan, said that a lot of opportunities come directly from Green Street Records itself, while some come from people who trust the judgment of the label.

“Green Street Records pre-screens bands, so people can use bands from that pool,” Marck said. “They know that it’s not the first time they’ve done a serious gig or something like that.”

Mad Mardigan doesn’t plan to pursue a career in the music industry. On the other hand, Butterfly Assassins, a band that is already signed to a professional label, was on the CD last year and is using Green Street Records to increase its following on campus.

“People know how to connect to Green Street Records at this university because it’s run by students, and they can say ‘Oh, Butterfly Assassins are on the label,’ so they know how to connect with us and they’ll know we’ll have shows on campus,” said Bryan Kveton, sophomore in FAA and guitar player for Butterfly Assassins.

In order to submit, 25 percent of the band has to be University students. Songs can either be submitted via the Green Street Records Web site (www.greenstrecords.com) as an mp3 file, or the songs can be turned in personally to any of the Green Street Records staff.

“We also accept video recordings, (any) way for us to listen to the song repeatedly,” said Jeff Smith, junior in Business and vice president in charge of Artists and Repertoire.

As far as preparing a submission, Joe Funderburk, drummer for Mad Mardigan, said it’s not all about practice.

“You have to be cued in with your bandmates. It’s not as much as a meticulous preparation,” Funderburk said.

Marck compares working with a band to being married.

“How do you prepare for marriage? 90 percent of that is working on a relationship and seeing if you can work together,” Marck said. “It takes the same amount of preparation.”