Rejection Conjecture

[andreh]

Hi All-I submitted 3 songs for this recent Dispatch listing:Quote:AAA/Alternative/Modern Rock TAXI # D061006EMEnergetic, fun, rousing, and exceedingly catchy INDIE ROCK/POP/EMO SONGS [with vocals] along the lines of Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, the Used, etc. are needed by one of the biggest and most successful Music Libraries. Male or female lead vocals are fine. They want “unique, yet accessible” tracks -- material that is a “cut above” the norm - for a couple of shows they are currently pitching to. Truly great performances are needed to be considered. Just some of their recent film & TV credits: Jackass Number Two, Law & Order, Veronica Mars, Jericho, Crash, the West Wing, Without A Trace, etc. + commercials for AT&T, Taco Bell, Volkswagen, Southwest Airlines, Disneyland, etc. Do not submit songs with unclearable samples and/or profanity. Broadcast quality needed. Please submit one to three songs online or per CD, include lyrics. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS ONLY - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI. For ground submissions, please enclose a S.A.S.E. if you would like a response. As always, we will notify everyone via e-mail, whether your submissions have been Forwarded or Returned. Submissions must be received no later than 4:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (California time), Friday, October 6, 2006. TAXI # D061006EMHere are the songs:www.broadjam.com/transmit/transmit.asp? ... bndsq=3All 3 were rejected, but no critiques were offered on this listing so I'm hoping to get some forum feedback about why they may not have passed the mustard.The songs were written for previous jobs so I'm not all torn up about the rejections, but I did think they were a pretty good fit for the listing.Any thoughts?Much Thanks,Andre

[aubreyz]

My guess is that it had more to do with the length than the content or style. Though these would work well as cues, perhaps the library was looking for more complete songs rather than what seems like already edited snippets.Aub

[andreh]

Quote:My guess is that it had more to do with the length than the content or style. Though these would work well as cues, perhaps the library was looking for more complete songs rather than what seems like already edited snippets.AubThanks for listening and responding, Aub. I thought the songs' lengths might be [one of] the reason for their return as well, but there are no song length specifications in the listing and it mentions pitching to shows - in which case cue-length songs could be of value.I wonder if this is always a given for "songs" if no length is specified. Matto, do you have any experience with this?Andre

[spariam]

I had a couple short tracks returned once solely on the fact that they were too short (according to the critique). There was no song length specifications given for that particular listing. The critique said the tracks would be good for cues, but that this particular listing wanted more developed tracks. The critique ended by saying that long tracks could always be edited down and that I should consider developing my compositions. Of course, that was for a specific listing, and the only time I sent in really short tracks (45 secs-60 secs each).On another note - I recently got four tunes placed in a music library and I was told upfront that 2:30 was the shortest they would accept, so I generally try to get at least 2:30 unless a listing specifies that something shorter is acceptable - you see 60 secs to 3 min listings a lot, and I'll send in 1:00 tracks for those. I was also told that some libraries like montage tracks, but also want to hear full tracks so they can hear how you "develop" the compositions.HTH

[edteja]

I had an instrumental that wasn't forwarded (no length specified) and the comment was that it was more like a "cue" than a "song" although from the listing it wasn't clear to me that song length was required. It ran 1:25. So I am assuming that, as Spariam suggests, 2:30 or thereabouts is a sort of expected minimum, unless cues are specified, or Matto says otherwise.

[spariam]

Quote:I had an instrumental that wasn't forwarded (no length specified) and the comment was that it was more like a "cue" than a "song" although from the listing it wasn't clear to me that song length was required. It ran 1:25. So I am assuming that, as Spariam suggests, 2:30 or thereabouts is a sort of expected minimum, unless cues are specified, or Matto says otherwise. I forgot to mention that this particular library I worked with though they had a 2:30 minimum, they really preferred at least 3:00. They took four of my tunes - a couple we're around 2:30-2:45, the others a little over 3:00.

[matto]

Quote:I wonder if this is always a given for "songs" if no length is specified. Matto, do you have any experience with this?Normally when music libraries are asking for songs (as opposed to instrumental tracks) it's regular song length, in other words typically between about 2:30 to 3:30. Like the songs you'd hear on the radio.In the case of instrumentals it varies widely.Andre I think the length may have been a factor here, but probably not the deciding one. I agree the songs are a good fit stylistically, I just don't think they quite clear this particular listing's high bar...remember it says: "Truly great performances are needed to be considered". These are good songs and good performances, nothing wrong with them, but I don't think they're "truly great".matto

[andreh]

Quote:Quote:I wonder if this is always a given for "songs" if no length is specified. Matto, do you have any experience with this?Normally when music libraries are asking for songs (as opposed to instrumental tracks) it's regular song length, in other words typically between about 2:30 to 3:30. Like the songs you'd hear on the radio.In the case of instrumentals it varies widely.Andre I think the length may have been a factor here, but probably not the deciding one. I agree the songs are a good fit stylistically, I just don't think they quite clear this particular listing's high bar...remember it says: "Truly great performances are needed to be considered". These are good songs and good performances, nothing wrong with them, but I don't think they're "truly great".mattoThanks for responding, matto...the info about song length is good to know.I have a few criticisms of the songs (and performances) myself, but are there some particular weaknesses you can point out? I know it's a lot to ask for feedback on 3 tunes at once... Andre