New member seeking advice on submission for Josh Groban

[joshhowatt]

Hey everyone,
I'm still trying to master the ropes of what to submit to what.
Would this fall in line with the listing below? And if so, is the production up to snuff?

http://www.soundcloud.com/joshhowatt/until-there-was-u

NEW LISTING -- BIG, SOARING BALLADS with MALE VOCALS in the style of Josh Groban to Celine Dion are needed by a successful South Korean Music Publisher working with a very popular South Korean male vocalist. HE SAID: "Ballads in the range of Josh Groban and Celine Dion are a good starting point for the one, but I'm also open to mild ballad Acoustic Pop, like John Mayer's 'All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye,' which could work as well." MALE vocals ONLY please! This company wants to hear A LOT of material and we'd like to give it to them, so be sure your LYRICS are VIVID and WELL-CRAFTED and your MELODIES are EMOTIONALLY POWERFUL and MEMORABLE. They pay approx. $2,000 when a song is placed with a label and performance royalties are split between the publisher, lyric writer, and you. In this market, according to the company, "typically a song will earn $10,000 in royalties if it's a filler track. If it's a hit, expect $50,000 to $100,000." NO profanity and NO third-party samples! Instrumental and vocal performances must be top-notch! Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than Monday, March 12, 2012.
TAXI # Y120312MB

[rpittelman]

Hi Josh

Nice tune. I'm guessing that you are relatively new to Taxi from your comment. Welcome

Here are my 2 cents on your tune. I think that stylistically this seems to be pretty close to what they are looking for. It appears from this listing that they are really just interested in the song and they will rerecord it if they want to use it. However, that being said, there were certainly elements that felt more "demo-like" about this then, as Taxi calls it, broadcast quality. Again, this might not be valid for this listing but I'll give you my thoughts in case it helps in the future.

The space around the piano and drums sounds thin. I'm not sure if they need better or more reverb or if its the actual samples them self. The strings sound really nice. The vocals, although quite good, are a little out of tune in a few places. Don't take this the wrong way but did you use any sort of "auto tune" or pitch quantize on them? I'm not talking about getting a T-Pain auto tune sound I'm just talking about tightening the intonation and the vocal harmonies. With out realizing it people's ears have become used to perfectly in tune vocals now. Most listeners wouldn't be able to put a finger on what is different but they might feel something was different.

Also, I think the vocals need to be more in your face. Most pop stuff these days have the vocals really out front. I felt like the vocals got lost in the mix in a few places at the end. It seems to me that they could benefit from more compression and possibly a little more high end eq and roll off the bottom. I also think there is too much reverb on the vocals. Is the reverb being added right to the vocal tracks or are you busing prefader to a separate reverb track? Tweaking some of these things should help to bring the vocals out front a little more.

All in all I think this is a really nice song. It has definite potential but I do think it needs a bit of a remix if you want to get placements with it on TV or in movies.

I hope this helps. Keep up the good work!

-Robbie

[joshhowatt]

WOW! Rpittelman!
Thank you for this! A lot of great production help. Which is EXACTLY what I need. Much appreciated.
Best,
josh

[moomy]

Hi Josh,
I'll share a return I had a few weeks ago on a Josh Groban style. It may not be accurate for this listing but at least it gives you an idea of what one of the screeners was looking for in that particular listing.

Here's the listing:
HOT A/C CLASSICAL/CROSSOVER SONGS a la JOSH GROBAN needed by an A&R Exec at a Major Label for a very well known singer whose range is from Classical to Pop. They're going back to his first and second records in style, looking for "You Raise Me Up" type songs. Big hooks, interval leaps, and a soaring CHORUS will help this artist thrill his fans. We recommend using a Verse/Chorus song form that targets current AC radio play. We are told lyrics should have "wisdom" and be "uplifting."

Here's the comments on my return:

I appreciate your passionate vocal performance, solid instrumental flavors and moody feel. Overall, the style is very different than Josh Groban's material. If you take a listen to some of his hit singles, pay particular attention to fresh lyrical imagery that appeals to a wide demographic, BIG, infectious melodies that immediately make you want to sing along and full, lush productions that appeal to AC/Classical Crossover Radio.
These are all key factors they're looking for here and areas that I feel your song could use a bit more development-as it relates to the needs of this listing.


Your song is much closer to the style than mine was. This is also a broader listing than that was. My opinion is it would be a good fit. Only the Shadow (screener) knows

[pedrocosta]

Hey Josh,

I think this one could work. The production would have to be EPIC sounding. Not sure if I am the man for the job.
But I may be willing to at least try if you twist my arm hard enough

[Silversun]

Hey Josh,

Wondering about this listing myself. Agree with alot rpittelman said. Great tune though and the fundamentals are there Youve got time to tweak and get it ready.Reckon the song is a goer though.