One of the common themes I encountered when mentoring is people are not familiar at all with current music as they don't listen to any. Being an almost 70 year old guy, I totally 'get' the challenge. People tend to be stuck in the era they grew up in. For me, it's Beatles and Monkees, etc.
Some tips:
(1) Listen to reference tracks on lots of listings, even ones that you wouldn't be submitting to. What is current in rock, pop, country, etc.? If you are not yet a Taxi member, sign up for the email list to get listings. You do not have to be a member to get those. The reference tracks are the best free education you can get! And if you start to see listings that you think you could submit to, join Taxi and submit. You may or may not get a forward, but you'll learn a ton from the feedback.
(2) When driving in the car, listen to stations, Spotify playlists, etc. that are playing newer songs you wouldn't normally listen to. Forget that classic rock station!!
(3) Look up what's on the Billboard charts right now and find the songs on YouTube. You don't have to listen to everything, especially if the genre is not to your liking. But there's plenty there-- pop, country, singer-songwriter, hip-hop, rock, etc. Partly motivated by teaching my class, this year I listened a lot to songs by Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Post Malone, Luke Bryan, Gracie Abrams, and others.
(4) Seek out collaborators who can help modernize your music. I've been able to take my song ideas and bring them into the current world by working with folks I've met on the forum and the rally.
(5) Regarding collaborations, what can you bring to the table? I can't write female contemporary pop music for sh*t. But I studied and made myself decent at lyrics for the genre. Then I was able to approach other members who do female pop for co-write.
(6) And finally... In general, there are two ways to create songs for placements. One is make them contemporary. The other is "period pieces". If you produce a song that sounds like the 60s or the 80s, for example, make the production completely authentic to the era, as if it could have been on the radio at that time. Lots of TV/Film scenes take place in previous decades and there is a need for music to support that. The important thing is to go 100% that way, leaving no doubt as to what era it represents-- lyrics, structure, melody, music, production techniques, etc.
Hope that is helpful.
Best,
Casey
