Pro Review from Broadjam.

[nomiyah]

Dave,Thanks for the link. That's an interesting thread.Nomi

[headcoach2]

Ok! Read the tread, thanks for the info.Ok! So you had several of your songs move on. What happen next? Did you get a call from the label? What did they say? I guess I would like to hear your sucess of posting as well.It just hard to believe that it's this hard getting into the Music business. I've head stories of artist's that have submitted recording off their tape deck at home and got signed.Take example Ms. Simpson. She was a Minister daughter with big boobs, who's record company went bankrupt. So the Dad, found an entertainment lawyer in dallas who called several major labels. She took a flight and waited for several hours to be seen. Once she was seen, she was signed.So how do I get a hold of a really good entertainment lawyer?HeadCoachwww.passthepuck.net

[mani]

Quote:Ok! Read the tread, thanks for the info.Ok! So you had several of your songs move on. What happen next? Did you get a call from the label? What did they say? I guess I would like to hear your sucess of posting as well.It just hard to believe that it's this hard getting into the Music business. I've head stories of artist's that have submitted recording off their tape deck at home and got signed.Take example Ms. Simpson. She was a Minister daughter with big boobs, who's record company went bankrupt. So the Dad, found an entertainment lawyer in dallas who called several major labels. She took a flight and waited for several hours to be seen. Once she was seen, she was signed.So how do I get a hold of a really good entertainment lawyer?HeadCoachwww.passthepuck.net99.9% of those "too good to be true" artist stories are just PR stories. Some of them contain small nuggets of truth if you're lucky. The rest is all PR spin.Like the one about Jewel living in a Volkswagon before she "made it". She was living in a van because she could AFFORD to. Her family is loaded yet the "official" PR made out like she was on the breadline. Pure BS. But everyone does it.

[davewalton]

Quote:It just hard to believe that it's this hard getting into the Music business.It's the getting into the music business as a PROFESSIONAL that makes the difficulty difference. Being able to play at the level of Holiday Inn gigs is one thing, being at the level where you're getting signed to a label is another. Like playing league hockey versus a professional team. Somehow that has to resonate. I'm sure you know a lot of players that think they're ready to play for Boston or Toronto but how many players do you know that really are ready? Even so, it's not a "walk on" situation.Now, having said that, SOMEBODY has to make it and lots of people do. Why not your daughter? It won't come easy and it won't be quick (more than likely), but it's certainly not impossible.I use Taxi for the critiques. I think that overall, they are very helpful. Some of the critiques have really changed my style and I'm much more marketable than I was when I first joined Taxi in 2004. I also use Taxi because when I have gotten forwarded, the forwards have been to some really awesome places. Places where I probably couldn't have gotten my music in on my own.I'm a guy that does soundtrack type stuff, music you hear in the background in films and on television. I'm not a performing artist looking for a record deal.Of the songs that got forwarded, I picked up a deal with a music library. It took almost exactly a year from the time my songs were forwarded to the time they contacted me. That's not typical but it's not unusual. Taxi is about 10% of my total marketing effort. I don't see Taxi as some kind of "exclusive agent". They're a small part of my overall effort and so I expect that a small part of my placements will come from Taxi. The placements, when they do come, are usually pretty good ones.Hope that helps a little, Dave

[headcoach2]

Dave,Thanks again for the info. So what other avenues are out there besides Taxi that I could invest in, to get my daughters music out there?One of the problems that I have as a Dad is that I don't want to be one of those Hockey parents and their kids. After doing this for over 30 years, I have seen players that were very good and never made it anywhere. Plus, I have seen parents that have told me that their kid is the next Gretzky, but the kid couldn't even skate two feet. I just don't want to be that Dad that thinks that his child is the next Celine Dion.However, I feel that sometimes it's the level of commitment. Most people start off with a project, it starts getting a little more than they can handle and the first thing they say is...."it's too hard, I guess it's not meant to be."When in reality sometimes sucess is just around the corner, or giving a second effort in the corner will generate scoring opportunities.So on that note, Do me a little favor. Check this out, it was recorded in her dorm room with bad acoustics. Not that I am making excuses. Plus, she said a four letter word in the song and I told her never to do this again. She said that "Dave" does it in his song and she wanted to stay true to the song. I told her that when she made Dave's money, then she could go out on that limb. However, we are going to re-record this in the studio.Maybe this is not the forum to be asking this, but I thought that after people reading this tread, they might want to hear something different.Here it is: www.passthepuck.net/id1012.htmThank you for your help with all of this info that you have provided me.Rob Lopez - CEOPass the Puck, Inc.www.passthepuck.net

[nomiyah]

Rob,In my opinion, your daughter has all the talent, looks and age to have a good chance in the industry.It's a good idea to get a more finished demo and I agree about not using swear words, it's not a marketable image.The main thing I'd recommend is that she gets some original songs recorded (I wouldn't waste time on covers). If she can write or collaborate on some of them it would help.The other thing that really helps is if she is performing and building a local fan base, getting some local press.She is lucky to have your support.Nomi

[davewalton]

Quote:Rob,In my opinion, your daughter has all the talent, looks and age to have a good chance in the industry.It's a good idea to get a more finished demo and I agree about not using swear words, it's not a marketable image.The main thing I'd recommend is that she gets some original songs recorded (I wouldn't waste time on covers). If she can write or collaborate on some of them it would help.The other thing that really helps is if she is performing and building a local fan base, getting some local press.She is lucky to have your support.NomiHi Rob,Ditto on the above from Nomi. My "outlets" that I pursue outside of Taxi are different because I'm not an artist looking for a record deal and they wouldn't have any meaning for you or your daughter. Hopefully someone who is in that realm can better answer that question.I do have a suggestion that might help and that is to pick up a book called "Songwriters Market 2006" at any bookstore. The author sends info sheets to all kinds of record labels, music publishers, etc, they fill them out and send them back. The result is a book that describes each company, what they do, how to contact them, what kind of music they work with, etc. In addition to all that, the beginning portion of the book is pretty informative and gives a lot of good information about that various entities in the music industry.I don't know the answer to this question, but outside of Taxi, I wonder how important it is to be doing original demo songs as opposed to cover music. American Idol certainly gives no weight to original music. It's just the performance they're interested in. Taxi is focused on original songwriters doing original material. In terms of performing artists looking for a deal and in light of American Idol, is the focus on original songs something that is industry wide or just something more specific to Taxi? I'm just throwing this out as the devils advocate for a little discussion. Quote:However, I feel that sometimes it's the level of commitment. Most people start off with a project, it starts getting a little more than they can handle and the first thing they say is...."it's too hard, I guess it's not meant to be."When in reality sometimes sucess is just around the corner, or giving a second effort in the corner will generate scoring opportunities.Which is exactly why a couple of returns from Taxi shouldn't be a big setback. Just listening to the song you posted, there is no musical reason why she shouldn't get forwarded when the song you're submitting really meets the needs of the listing. So, is that singing talent inherited directly from you? Dave

[headcoach2]

Dave,Wow, thank you for the book link. I will head down to the book store tonight and pick it up.As far as talent, she get's that from my side. My wife can't hold a note, so she says.Nomi - Maria has 5 originals and 2 covers and 1 classical song that she performed with your school, that is currently on Broadjam. Each original song is costing me about $500.00 in the studio from start to finish. Which is a pretty good price, in my opinion. I would like to get 10 to 12 songs finished on her album before is start to send it or sell it.I was told that there is an independent company that will distribute the album for a small percentage. Do you know of a name?I did get an email from a reader of this thread, that recommended that I check out this site www.filmmusic.net He said that I could submit to movies as well. I'll check it out.Dave, - You wrote:Quote:In terms of performing artists looking for a deal and in light of American Idol, is the focus on original songs something that is industry wide or just something more specific to Taxi? I'm just throwing this out as the devils advocate for a little discussion. One of the things I have noticed on American Idol is that the artists that move on, are artists that sing music from the 60's. This must mean that American Idol has a large following from the babyboomers.Head coachwww.passthepuck.net

[staggerlee]

Hey, headchoach,Understandably you want to pimp your little girl, she can make you a lot of money, just like Beyonce did for her dad.But let me tell you some things about the music and why perhaps ur not getting forwarded. 1. The vocal melodies are monotonous. They are boring. They are not rich, not embellished enough, there is a lot of tone repetition on the highest and lowest notes. This makes the music sound dull. 2. Her voice is too pro. It is almost operatic. It is not suitable for a pop song. You cannot put Pavarotti in a Broadway musical. Its not gonna work. For pop, all she needs to have is correct pitches, passion and a sweet voice, not a voice that can sing The Barber of Seville. She has to downplay her skills. Thats pretty much what I noticed from browsing through the songs on her website. Good luck.

[zowie]

YIKES!Mr.Lopez,Sir your daughter has an amazing voice!And allthough it should'nt matter,she is also beautiful.I'm sorry I cant recomend anything but keeping up the fight,because as far as I can tell she has everything a producer or record company could want.Thanks for the link,she's great!