Target writing

[sgs4u]

This is the ticket. Figure out what ratio works for you. That ratio will also change, probably depending on where you start to feel most effective.Quote:No one says that you cannot do some of both. Write some songs for the 'market'. Write some for yourself.

[vicky]

hey there....it seems like there are many great points on these posts....and they all make sense to me.....ping......i see what you're talking about in a realistic way.....first make sure you know the difference between 'music library listings' and 'artist listings'...these are very different animals IMO....for library listings you are emulating others and in the artists listing you are free to do your thang....It literally took me a year to figure this out, because it seems to be assumed knowledge.....Quote: The point is we all want to make some money but why emulate crap???....OK, if that's what you want to do ...I'm not emulating crap...I'm emulating, with my own touch, music I already like....I don't recomend writing anything you think is crap....that sounds un-fun.... Artist listings....although Taxi can help out...in a way, if you don't have other irons in the fire for your cutting edge material, then you've got a tough road ahead...there are many other things that need to happen....On the artist listings, if really interested in your material....they want to know you have a finished cd, a following in your area or region, an image, and whatever else...now if you have these things going, then there will be more opportunities no matter what....also for cutting edge stuff that is new...the grassroots style to seems to be the route, still......the rocket to fame is almost never an artist with a really new sound....unfortunately......with a new sound, it's more like a tortoise with a jet-pack.... hope this helps,vtbpps more than half my music is too strange for Taxi's listings, but I still love it here!!!

[squids]

Quote:it's more like a tortoise with a jet-pack.... Great visual! Effective example too.

[geo]

Quote: The point is we all want to make some money but why emulate crap???Nashville is broken and there are big changes in the wind for the music industry future. I'll stick to writing from the heart and sell my music to the people who really believe in it, not to those who believe it fits the flavor of the month cookie mold.Dave PingelHere, here!!! Get ready to be flexible because this monstrousity of an industry we have all become cogs in is weezing it's last breath... the internet will destroy the present industry because it has become inflexible, unable to be trend setters (and afraid of losing their BMW's) they blindly copy the "latest thing" not trying to discover the next thing.... Seattle was the last time this industry recognised a new trend and pushed it forward... now they are into cloning and packaging... in the last year I've seen one artist listing asking for a unique and original band.... the A&R guy in the back of the club looking for new and original talent has long become a myth.I write for me.... I use the critiques and the valuable info I get here to improve my song writing .... but won't write a "silly love song" just because that's hot right now.... in an industry based on artistic creation there has to be space for artistic growth, creativity and originality.... I still believe a great song is a great song regardless of the market.... Geo

[ragani]

Quote:No one says that you cannot do some of both. Write some songs for the 'market'. Write some for yourself.Amen to that!

[matto]

I think the idea that writing "for the market" is "emulating crap" is a huge misconception. It's simply working within certain parameters.Some of the greatest music ever written was to order, so there's nothing inherently "crappy" about writing for the market.People try so hard to be unique, every artist's bio touts how you "unique" their music is...but, there is NOTHING unique about being unique...everybody is, by virtue of being an individual. Instead of focusing on being unique, why not focus on being exceptional?Whether you write for yourself or the market, your individual stamp WILL be on your music.Bach (as most comnposers of that time) was an "employee musician" his entire life, virtually all his music was written to a target and had to meet very specific requirements. Self expression was not the driving force behind his work, yet his music is not only some of the best, but also most recognizable as his.There's one thing I agree with though in the OP's post. DON'T write something you hate. You will NOT succeed because you will compete with people who love what they do and therefore will almost always be better at it.What I would suggest instead is keeping an open mind, and instead of fucusing on the "crap" you hear, focus on the gems. There ARE gems in every style of music...matto

[squids]

Quote:I think the idea that writing "for the market" is "emulating crap" is a huge misconception. It's simply working within certain parameters.Some of the greatest music ever written was to order, so there's nothing inherently "crappy" about writing for the market.People try so hard to be unique, every artist's bio touts how you "unique" their music is...but, there is NOTHING unique about being unique...everybody is, by virtue of being an individual. Instead of focusing on being unique, why not focus on being exceptional?Whether you write for yourself or the market, your individual stamp WILL be on your music.Bach (as most comnposers of that time) was an "employee musician" his entire life, virtually all his music was written to a target and had to meet very specific requirements. Self expression was not the driving force behind his work, yet his music is not only some of the best, but also most recognizable as his.There's one thing I agree with though in the OP's post. DON'T write something you hate. You will NOT succeed because you will compete with people who love what they do and therefore will almost always be better at it.What I would suggest instead is keeping an open mind, and instead of fucusing on the "crap" you hear, focus on the gems. There ARE gems in every style of music...mattoI want to hear a gem in polka!! No fair countin' the chicken dance!

[geo]

Quote:Some of the greatest music ever written was to order, so there's nothing inherently "crappy" about writing for the market.Instead of focusing on being unique, why not focus on being exceptional?Whether you write for yourself or the market, your individual stamp WILL be on your music.mattoNicely said... Geo

[ragani]

I agree, especially with the part about loving what you do. I do see a small (but noticeable) difference in how I approach writing "for the market" vs. writing for myself... though maybe those two categories are not as distinct as we might expect them to be. For me, I also like what I write for myself to be marketable, and I like what I write "for the market" to be something that is pleasing to me. In my case, I would view the commercially released kirtan chant CD's that I produce as writing more for myself (though yes, it is also a very marketable item), as they are tracks that I would listen to over and over in my off time for pleasure (relaxation, rejuvenation). To distinguish, I would not likely listen to most of my music library tracks in the same way. Maybe some people do? The fact is that I love doing music for different purposes and uses. And each category of music production requires different kinds of expertise, and they each have their own pleasures.On a related note, I hope a music library piece never takes me a year to produce (like my CD's do)! There are indeed gems in every style of music... At the last Rally, I heard a guy in the lobby singing some kind of acoustic heavy metal lullaby song, and it blew me away.So yeah, bring on that polka gem! Raags

[squids]

Quote:I agree, especially with the part about loving what you do. I do see a small (but noticeable) difference in how I approach writing "for the market" vs. writing for myself... though maybe those two categories are not as distinct as we might expect them to be. For me, I also like what I write for myself to be marketable, and I like what I write "for the market" to be something that is pleasing to me. In my case, I would view the commercially released kirtan chant CD's that I produce as writing more for myself (though yes, it is also a very marketable item), as they are tracks that I would listen to over and over in my off time for pleasure (relaxation, rejuvenation). To distinguish, I would not likely listen to most of my music library tracks in the same way. Maybe some people do? The fact is that I love doing music for different purposes and uses. And each category of music production requires different kinds of expertise, and they each have their own pleasures.On a related note, I hope a music library piece never takes me a year to produce (like my CD's do)! There are indeed gems in every style of music... At the last Rally, I heard a guy in the lobby singing some kind of acoustic heavy metal lullaby song, and it blew me away.So yeah, bring on that polka gem! RaagsHey, potential long-lost sista, VERY good points made here. And yet another thing in common too! (we should make a list! )......I listen to my not-commercial stuff to relax sometimes. I don't listen to the commercial stuff at all, once it's done. It gets sent out there, I check on it to see how it does off-leash once and then it's sayonara babeeee!! And whip out the ipod with something really fun and exotic and soothing in it.