Curious about these rejections

[remmet]

"Y080723TVHAUNTING MUSIC IN ANY GENRE/STYLE - similar to the soundtrack for the film "Mulholland Drive" - is needed by an established Independent Music Publisher. This Publisher has tons of Film/TV placements and has signed dozens of TAXI writers. He is open to any genre or style, as long as the overall tone and mood is haunting. Another reference might be "Twin Peaks", but he's not looking for music quite as quirky as what's in that film. He'd like to hear slight overtones of Arabic music, similar to the soundtracks that have been referenced above. Songs with vocals and instrumentals will both be considered. Excellent performances are necessary and the recordings must be broadcast quality. The President of this company will be screening the submissions himself." Man, I really thought these were on target. Since there was no critique, It's hard to know why all three pieces were rejected. http://www.richardemmet.com/Listen_file ... mp3Richard

[sgs4u]

Aug 24, 2008, 10:30pm, remmet wrote:"Y080723TVHAUNTING MUSIC IN ANY GENRE/STYLE - similar to the soundtrack for the film "Mulholland Drive" - is needed by an established Independent Music Publisher. This Publisher has tons of Film/TV placements and has signed dozens of TAXI writers. He is open to any genre or style, as long as the overall tone and mood is haunting. Another reference might be "Twin Peaks", but he's not looking for music quite as quirky as what's in that film. He'd like to hear slight overtones of Arabic music, similar to the soundtracks that have been referenced above. Songs with vocals and instrumentals will both be considered. Excellent performances are necessary and the recordings must be broadcast quality. The President of this company will be screening the submissions himself." Man, I really thought these were on target. Since there was no critique, It's hard to know why all three pieces were rejected. http://www.richardemmet.com/Listen_file ... Quote:He'd like to hear slight overtones of Arabic music, similar to the soundtracks that have been referenced above. This quote above, from the listing, might be what you're missing. There are no Arabic overtones in Lost in the City, Midnight Oasis, or Midnight Abyss. Certainly not to me. Now your music sounds fantastic, really well-arranged and recorded! Excellent soundtrack stuff. But there ain't no Arab in 'em. Arab overtones could include instruments that play minor seconds, in the scales. I could be wrong. Picture a python, dancing & being charmed by a guy with a clarinet... I didn't listen to those a las at all, so I could be off my rocker. But if the guy looking for tunes, heard any of those sounds or scales in the Twin Peaks stuff, then there is your answer. I can't advise you more than that, I write songs more than music pieces.

[rld]

Richard,Your songs sound great. The songs I heard that were forwarded had no Arabic overtones so it's impossible to say why you and others (me) were returned.In fact, your tunes are perfect for the listing i.e. Mulholland Drive, IMO....but,the Pres. of the company was doing the screening so apparently they knew exactly what they wanted.I feel your frustration. P.S. I found your article about the time you spent with Zappa...awesome stuff!

[wodinlord]

Aug 25, 2008, 6:01am, rld wrote:P.S. I found your article about the time you spent with Zappa...awesome stuff!I had the misfortune of spending a couple of days with Frank Zappa on 2 occasions while working as a chauffeur years ago. BIGGEST SPHINCTER I EVER MET!!!Wodinlord

[remmet]

Hmmm. I intentionally included Arabic-sounding elements in Midnight Oasis. Maybe they were too subtle?Wodinlord, I'm curious what Zappa did to provoke such a strong reaction from you. I'm sure people had a variety of experiences with him, but for me, he was the most unique person I've ever known. Richard

[sgs4u]

Aug 25, 2008, 6:01am, rld wrote:Richard,Your songs sound great. The songs I heard that were forwarded had no Arabic overtones so it's impossible to say why you and others (me) were returned.In fact, your tunes are perfect for the listing i.e. Mulholland Drive, IMO....but,the Pres. of the company was doing the screening so apparently they knew exactly what they wanted.I feel your frustration. P.S. I found your article about the time you spent with Zappa...awesome stuff!Well, I went back to listen, 'cause I don't ever wanna steer anyone the wrong way. And I agree, your music sounds really great, bordering on fantastic. Perhaps RLD, you could give me a time marker for where you think there are Arabic overtones, in Richard's piece here. And which songs did you get to hear that were forwarded? I would imagine Zappa had good and bad days like many of us. I loved him, but I heard some stuff about him being pretty ruthless with musicians, and expecting extremely high standards. Then again, were talking about Zappa, and I think he had every right to demand the best!

[remmet]

....but,the Pres. of the company was doing the screening so apparently they knew exactly what they wanted.I feel your frustration. I assumed a Taxi screener did the initial screening and then sent it on to the president of the company. Otherwise, the pres would be deluged with unscreened submissions. If I'm right about that, it's likely that the pres never got to hear the pieces.However, today brought some good news. Three of my pieces (including Lost and Midnight Oasis!) were forwarded on a different listing (S080731DI - DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTALS). The composer's life has its ups and downs. (I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone.) Richard

[rld]

Hey Richard,If you notice the line in the original listing, which you quoted,The President of this company will be screening the submissions himself.Congrats on the other 3 forwards...I got 3 myself.

[hummingbird]

Aug 26, 2008, 3:31pm, remmet wrote:....but,the Pres. of the company was doing the screening so apparently they knew exactly what they wanted.I feel your frustration. I assumed a Taxi screener did the initial screening and then sent it on to the president of the company. Otherwise, the pres would be deluged with unscreened submissions. If I'm right about that, it's likely that the pres never got to hear the pieces.However, today brought some good news. Three of my pieces (including Lost and Midnight Oasis!) were forwarded on a different listing (S080731DI - DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTALS). The composer's life has its ups and downs. (I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone.) RichardThis is incorrect. The screener in this instance would be the President of the company, so you had the ear of the person in charge.

[remmet]

Aug 26, 2008, 5:38pm, hummingbird wrote:[quote author=remmet board=complaints thread=9061 post=84282 time=1219793502]This is incorrect. The screener in this instance would be the President of the company, so you had the ear of the person in charge.Vikki, are you sure about this? You're saying that Taxi just passed the music on without doing ANY pre-screening? There are times when it would be nice if Taxi, even if providing no full critique, would offer at least one sentence about why a piece was rejected. It would be helpful in learning how to avoid similar pitfalls for future listings.Richard