I'm getting too many rejections

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I'm getting too many rejections

Post by glogleemusic » Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:32 am

I could use some feedback to help me improve.

http://www.musicforcommercials.org/film.html

I'm hearing 'not broadcast quality' and 'sounds dated. upgrade your sounds."

I know I can always learn better mastering, but I just updated everything w/ Komplete 9 last year. Have things changed that much already?

Thanks for the input.

Dan G
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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by andygabrys » Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:14 pm

what follows is an opinion to try on for size:

Check some of the recent taxi TV episodes where Michael is talking about Broadcast Quality. like this one: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/59198143

Its a combination of

1) good mix and master - which includes mixes that are well balanced (like listening at a whisper level, can you hear everything you thought was there when your monitors were banging?) and appropriate brightness, clarity, and perceived volume to other music in the same genre that meets the "bar"

2) appropriate compositional ideas, arrangement and orchestration which meet the specifics of the brief and result in a good "Pitch". This might include good form for cues like edit points, stinger / button ending etc.

If you want feedback on why some stuff was returned, you could make a new post in Peer-to-peer and include all the listing text as well as a link to your track (soundcloud is great because people can listen on their portable devices and unfortunately the TAXI site doesn't work on mobile) and ask some questions you are wondering about.

As you know - there is lots of great music out there, but even great music gets returned if its not a good pitch. So get specific!

edit: sounds - well I have Komplete ultimate 8 as well. And it has great sounds. It also has poor sounds for some applications. And it has some presets which instantly conjure up a time in history, which could be good if they are employed well in a creative mix setting, and might just sound like a Bontempi Organ in the wrong setting. So its not just sounds, its how you employ them, and your taste when combining them with other instruments.

I am guessing you play keyboards primarily - as I didn't hear any guitar stuff on your SoundCloud page except for the intro of one song that was a Virtual instrument nylon string guitar. Its harder to make all this stuff work if its all keys based virtual. You need to work harder to fool people.

Good luck! Post some specifics :)
Last edited by andygabrys on Sat Mar 28, 2015 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by Joseph » Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:50 am

+1

-Joseph

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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by mobster85 » Sat Mar 28, 2015 9:57 am

As always Andy is spot on with his analysis. We have to keep writing and submitting and being rejected and learn from the rejections. I know through Andy's help and others here on the forum that my production has improved. Am I there yet? No. But I can see my progress and that has resulted in some forwards. I hope this helps.

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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by sansharbour » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:10 am

Dan

Rejection hurts.
But it can also make you more determined
Andy's suggestions are spot on.
keep on working at it and believe.

Don

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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by mojobone » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:14 am

The only thing I have to add to Andy's post is this; the most common reason for a return is it's off-target for the listing.
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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by andygabrys » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:16 am

mojobone wrote:The only thing I have to add to Andy's post is this; the most common reason for a return is it's off-target for the listing.
so true.

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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by Kolstad » Sat Mar 28, 2015 11:30 am

To me, the sounds sounds just fine. One of the things I hear with your tracks is that everything is pretty much mixed "in your face", so I miss a sense of space and depth in the music. Careful foregrounding and backgrounding is very important, so I think you may need to listen critically to your mix between a first (rough) and second (final) pass.

I would think you are going for the more electronic type of genres/listings. To listen critically, means that you listen with a specific vision and/or criteria in mind. That can be done from different standpoints/perspectives, like engineering, arrangement, performance, mixing ect. And working from specific Taxi listings is a really good exercize to develop a critical ear.

So, Andy's suggestion to work from/on specific listings, is key. From there, you can develop and sculpt your tracks/mixes from feedback in the peer-to-peer forum (and/or Taxi critiques).

That way, you can make sure that your compositions are in demand, and your mixes are developed, before you submit.
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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by Telefunkin » Tue Mar 31, 2015 12:39 pm

Hi Dan G,
I'm a zillion miles from being able to declare any expert knowledge on this and I'm still learning daily, but here's 10 opinions I've already formed based on my brief membership with TAXI and I'm now trying to consider these things about myself, my abilities and my submissions each time:

1) Have realistic expectations - No point thinking I'll write a great country ballad at first go if I've spent all my life trying to make great EDM, for example. Decide what you're best at and focus mainly on that whilst learning about the rest.

2) Settle for nothing less than the absolute best you can do - Anything less is not likely to be good enough. If you can't come up with that rock God guitar solo yourself, get someone in who can and they'll probably thank you for the opportunity.

3) Know when to quit - Once you're pretty sure an ideas is not working stop trying bring it back from the dead and move on.

4) Don't dismiss the doubts - If there's anything at all that your not 100% happy about in a piece, trust your instincts and fix it because you're probably right.

5) Even crappy sounds need great production - That cigar box guitar might look and sound cute, but to a blind screener it might come across like a $10 banjo with rusty strings.

6) Take the brief seriously - listen closely to the examples on Youtube and work out how you can come up with something 'as good' in its own way, but it must compete in terms of audio quality and production values.

7) Compare and contrast - listen to what you came up with, then listen to the examples in the brief again. Would you feel comfortable hearing them back-to-back on TV or radio?

8) Despite all the above, take a risk now and again - Submitting things that take a reasonably novel route to meeting the brief is a great way to learn and it will only cost $5 to find out whether you got it right or wrong, and why.

9) Don't take the rejections personally - You are not your music and a rejection can be for many reasons. You're just helping eliminate some of the things that didn't work for you, but they might in future. Its only an opinion, and maybe another screener might just have given you a forward. The odds will be in your favour eventually, provided you do the rest..

10) Remember the fun - If you had a great time getting your music together, then everything else is just a bonus anyway.

Hope that helps a little, but there are many fantastic musicians here you could give you some more informed guidance. You only have to visit a few Soundcloud pages to discover how great the competion is. As a final thought, how about trying to find a studio, producer, or even Taxi member in your area who might be willing to take one of your tracks and give it a make-over, just for comparison. I'd love such an opportunity myself, becasue I KNOW I'd geta huge amount from that.

Cheers,
Graham.

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Re: I'm getting too many rejections

Post by TimWalter » Wed Apr 08, 2015 1:30 pm

Dan I feel your pain.

+1 on all the comments. I especially enjoyed Graham's 10 points, I found myself nodding my head and also found some inspiration from some of them.

Also, Dan: if I could be so bold, my thoughts are when Andy G takes the time to listen to some of your stuff and make detailed observations, pay really really close attention. He knows what he is talking about. He's helped many folks, myself in front of the line.

I used to get dinged really bad for broadcast quality, and I set out to eliminate the problem, spent money and time learning, studying. Now, that is usually not the reason for my returns (still getting returns, but broadcast quality seems to be ok on most of my submissions). I'd never claim I am ready to mix the next radio #1 hit, but its no longer my weakest point (based on the critiques I get). As Michael said on Taxi TV earlier this week (which I watched yesterday from the archives), its a step by step process. Gotta keep grinding and improvements come.

All the best to you Dan, and hope you reach all your musical goals.
Tim
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