TAXI # S060802AC

[timejunkie]

Has anyone heard anything back on this listing yet?TAXI # S060802AC It's deadline was Aug 1st and is still showing a "pending" on my broadjam account.Just wondering if there was a tech glitch or something...this seems a long time not to hear anything.Maybe 25 days or more is the norm?Chip

[hummingbird]

HI Chip... it's only Aug 25th. I've waited as long as 6 weeks to hear. I think it depends how many submissions they have, etc.V

[timejunkie]

Well just received the return (gee what a shock...LOL) Yes most of the comments were contructive and useful as always.One concern I have was that they mentioned that I didn't submit a bio or picture which I did? I would take this up with Taxi but it too late anyway. A consistant comment that I am getting with returns is that the sounds are "retro" and "80's. Which is ok for my CD release but appears to be a negative when submitting to most listings.I assume this means clean up the guitars a bit, but my question is what other major arrangment and production items should I be looking at to sound more "modern"Any help is apprecaited as always.P.S. Thanks god most non-inductry people actually like my material or I'd be in big trouble! Cheers,Chip

[davewalton]

Quote:A consistant comment that I am getting with returns is that the sounds are "retro" and "80's. Which is ok for my CD release but appears to be a negative when submitting to most listings.Retroitis. That seems to be common ailment for the over 30, over 40, over 50 crowd (I'm not in that last group... yet). I'm still working on eliminating retroitis, although it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. Mostly I started listening (a lot) to the "new" bands that were being referenced in listings that I was pursuing. I say "new" because they were new to me. In addition to doing a lot of listening I would pick song(s) and try to write something that sounded like that song or use an element of that song to develop something on my own. Ultimately I decided that I'd allow myself a lot more time to develop than I had originally planned. I originally started thinking in terms of months and now I think in terms of years. That seems like almost too long, but I now look back at being a Taxi member and really pursuing this since 2004 and a LOT of changes have come about as a result of mostly patience and a fair amount of grunt work. I've written a lot of "throw away" songs that were stepping stones to more modern stuff.If you don't do this now, start watching shows that play the music styles that you're going after. Dog The Bounty Hunter, Overhaulin, or whatever. I recently received an email response to a request to submit music for a music library. They want "Travel Channel" type music. I'll be watching a lot of "America's Best National Parks" and shows like that before I write stuff and submit it. Quote:P.S. Thanks god most non-inductry people actually like my material or I'd be in big trouble! Amen to that. Those people (family, friends) keep me "up" while I struggle to get where I think I need to be. Dave

[timejunkie]

Thanks Dave,I don't know if I will ever get to the point where I can write and record for specific needs. I have to get over what I "hear in my head" and write what I think "they hear in their's".To my ears some of my music suits a Matchbox 20/Rob Thomas listing but apparently not. My ears hear it differently I guess.Lots to learn and decisions to make.Cheers,Chip

[edteja]

That is a good observation Chip. I know I find it difficult to say where songs of mine fit--according to how other people hear them. I mean I can hear certain groups playing songs of mine and think they fit perfectly, only to be told they don't come close. It is especially hard when a reviewer says that in one case the rhythmic structure is what kept it from being accepted and in another case it is something completely different. Each time I try to learn from the bounce back, and I think I am making progress, but it is tough. Of course if it was easy, anyone could do it. I figure that perserverence and a willingness to try to understand the critiques and rejections will pay off. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

[roughly]

Retroitis... love the term! What used to be cool and fashionable can now be cheesy and corny (to use the parlance of the times). Though you know you just have to hold out a tiny bit longer and it will be completely in style again. But in the meantime, follow Dave's advice of just listening to current music as much as you can. Compare new songs with your songs in a head to head battle of sorts and describe the differences in songs, tones, style, etc. Anything that sounds different. A lot of it (at least for us) boils down to tones.

[spariam]

Dave and I talked about this before...I found myself going out and getting CDs by some of the "a la" artists. If a listing has "a la" artists listed, I'll definitely listen to them before sumbitting.In one case, I got a tune I had originally written to imitate the temp track for an indie film licensed to a corporate video. The tune didn't get acceped for the indie film, but it got me writing in a style I didn't normally do and I made af few bucks off of it

[timejunkie]

I think part of my problem is that I am submitting material I have prepared for the debut CD and not material intended for specific listing or even specific genres.I think once my CD is complete I can concentrate on meeting the specific requirements of the listings and try to loose my retroitis! Cheers,Chip

[davewalton]

Quote:I think part of my problem is that I am submitting material I have prepared for the debut CD and not material intended for specific listing or even specific genres.Ah yes... maybe even more important than the quality of the music is how appropriate it is to the listing. Of course the music has to be good, but yours is so that's not a problem.I always see the listing requirements as the first thing that must be satisfied and then after that I try to satisfy the quality of music requirement. If the first item isn't taken care of, the second item won't matter. Dave