Ska Instrumental Return "too fast" but slower than reference

[tower888]

If the comment you posted is the entirely of the review you received, then I apologize to you. OK, I can't really apologize, because I don't work for Taxi, but sometimes it's still nice to hear an apology, right? Ha ha! You song is definitely at a slower tempo than some of the reference tracks. Whatever the case may be, I can certainly understand why you might be frustrated. As far as I know, there is no system in place for contesting a review, so it's probably best to forget about it and move on.

[jamesnorth]

If the comment you posted is the entirely of the review you received, then I apologize to you. OK, I can't really apologize, because I don't work for Taxi, but sometimes it's still nice to hear an apology, right? Ha ha! It is a straight-up FACT that your song is at a slower tempo than some of the reference tracks. Either the reference tracks were not chosen to accurately reflect what the listing was seeking, your reviewer did not completely understand the listing, or your reviewer did not accurately express his/her thoughts regarding your track. Whatever the case may be, I can certainly understand why you might be frustrated. As far as I know, there is no system in place for contesting a review, so it's probably best to forget about it and move on. Well, maybe think about it again when your Taxi renewal date is near (and use it as part of your thoughts on whether or not to renew), but until then, best to forget it and move forward. Some returns from Taxi contain useful feedback you can learn from, and others contain a strange lack of knowledge.

Haha cheers Todd - yeah it was the entirety of the feedback.

Listening to the songs that got forwarded for this listing, some of them are half time ska (reggae feel) and some of them don't have horns (that was specified as required in the listing). I reckon the examples probably aren't that good if it was supposed to be slower ska.

I actually did send it through to Andy the head screener and he agreed with me that it was at the slower end of the references. He advised that the reviewer was going to look at the song again as to him, that didn't seem to be a valid reason for a return. I suppose in this case it was just a fact (as you say) not something subjective or taste-based.

I haven't heard back yet (not holding my breath) and have had a handful of other forwards in the meantime, but something does seem up.

Onward and upward of course

[tower888]

Maybe the guy/gal had just listened to a bunch of slow cues, and then yours seemed crazy fast by comparison? Who knows... Best of luck on your re-review!

[jamesnorth]

For completeness - the explanation I received was that 'tempo' was missing from the 'use these references as a guide for' phrase.

Apparently they hadn't quite finished the scenes for the game when the listing came through to Taxi, so didn't know if they needed fast or slow (half-time) ska.

It turns out they must have needed half-time stuff as the pacing of the scene was completed by the time the tunes were chosen to be forwarded.

Hard to pitch for something like this that is unfinished and unclear, and I would've written something entirely different had there been more information provided.