in appreciation for reviews..

[ExcelMusicStudio]

new timer here , but long timer to music , the advice & feedback I get from screeners is helpful & polite. thanks.

a lot of the emphasis seems to be on being current & up to date. I understand that's where the market is.
or the soundalike closeness to listings , not on the bullseye. Doh !>... I can copy stuff no probs , but so far haven't done that ... still new here. pressed for time , I see if my catalog has anything to fit. also , high end studio engineering values are quite a tweek to achieve.

but even that fashionable & trendy stuff will have it's day & be outdated in time.
where's my bubblegum pop cassettes ?... that'll come back... NOT>. ha!.. oh wait ,, that's Gangnam Style in a new guise ,,innit ?

I just read all my 2 dozen 100% returns , & crestfallen , realise I have good material & decent production values , but it's dated.. something I can't help like many others. who have been performing for decades. So I have been submitting my back catalog , as I am writing new songs as well.

Well , back to the blueprints & on with the new material...

the feedback just makes me more focused & target minded .. expect more & better music..
best regards Jules.

[Cruciform]

Hi Jules, (from just up the road a bit)

I have some thoughts that may or may not apply to you, but they will apply to some readers so I will voice them here in a general way.

One of the earliest obstacles we face in media music is getting out of our own way. I find it difficult to think of music as good or bad. That's the leisurely privilege of the casual listener. There is only (1) works or (2) doesn't work for a specific opportunity.

Early in the journey we are attached to our music in a very personal way and we take feedback very personally even though the feedback is usually coming from the perspective of a specific context.

Two perspectives at odds with each other -

1) this music is part of my soul and criticism of it is criticism of me
2) this music doesn't work for this opportunity for this reason

I can submit trailer cues to listings for instrumental underscore, jazz, adult contemporary, top 40 pop, etc and know without a shadow of doubt that they will get returned each and every submission. But I also know that it will be no reflection on my writing and production abilities. It will be because I have not targeted the music to the pitch.

If you (general) want to play in the pool for media music you have to learn to detach from the music and align your thinking with perspective 2. If this music doesn't work for this opp, what can I change now, or do differently next time so the music is more focused for similar pitches? That's where peer-to-peer is invaluable (IMO even more so than the screener feedback which is limited). You can enter into conversation on P2P and engage in feedback that spirals inwards towards the target. Part of the targeting process is also learning about what you don't know that you don't know. We have to wear a lot of hats. Not only do we have to write on-target, but we have to be able to mix genre appropriately, produce genre appropriately, master genre appropriately.

I don't say this shift is easy or happens quickly, but getting there is the only way to stay sane and happy along the journey.

Some people can't make the transition in perspective. And that's ok. If they want to keep making music that makes them happy, that's fine.
But in shifting to an opportunity focused perspective, you learn to be able to create art within a context anyway and without taking the criticism personally. This path *can* be personally fulfilling and commercially usable.

It doesn't and probably can't happen overnight. It's a journey but if one commits to the process of learning to write and produce within the framework of the opportunity, then there will be progress.

[ExcelMusicStudio]

Rob... excellent advice & duly noted.. thanks a heap .. cheers J

I listened to your sound cloud... epic & vast ..

[janbaars]

Try to listen to some of the demo's on websites which sell loops and samples.
They are working very hard to make sure their demo's sound super current.

You often can download demo packs. Most of those are even royalty free so you can immediately start using them in your productions.