5 rejections back to back so far in a month - sigh

[Rockman]

Hi guys,

1st time posting on this forum. I just rejoined TAXI just 6 weeks ago, after a long hiatus. Never had much luck with it in the past. Yet here I am again. Trying once again.

To be honest, I've been reluctant to post and complain every time I got a rejection. I figured... what possible good would complaining do? Is it going to change the verdict on my submissions? Unlikely. But sometimes, once we get past the pain of rejection, we're left sitting there scratching our head and thinking "why didn't the screener give me a forward"?

Having said that, I'm posting the 2 latest rejections here below (2 separate listings). Any feedback / thoughts would be welcome. Thanks!

U120726RK

A-List Music Licensing Company U-R-G-E-N-T-L-Y needs MID-to-UPTEMPO ROCK SONGS for a NETWORK TV PROMO for Sports Programming. They're looking for “HAIR BAND ROCK,” “STRIP CLUB ROCK,” and “COCK ROCK.” BIG CHORDS, BIG HOOKS, and PURE ENERGY a la DEF LEPPARD, KID ROCK, and MOTLEY CRUE would be great for this. Think FUN, ENERGETIC, and UPBEAT ROCK SONGS that don't take themselves too seriously. MALE vocals only, please!!! Lyrics must be PG-13 rated. Universal lyric themes without specific names, places, or brands are strongly preferred, and NO LOVE SONGS! YOUR ORIGINAL SONG can be OLD or NEW recording, but must sound Broadcast Quality. SONGS with SCREAMIN’ GUITAR SOLOS are a plus. Your PERFORMANCES must be STRONG, and PUMPED UP enough to get the listeners’ ADRENALINE going. It's IMPORTANT that your SONG sounds like an ARTIST/BAND and NOT like a production music library track. NO SAMPLES of other songs or artists can be incorporated into your track. As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artist or song in any way, shape, or form! The ESTIMATED fee for this license is $5,000-10,000. YOU WILL KEEP 70% of the ultimate fee, and you will NOT give up ANY of your Master, Publishing and Writer's share! You must own or control 100% of the Master and Composition rights to submit for this listing. Please submit one to three songs online. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS by a person Hand-Picked by the listing company. ALL submissions must be received no later than Thursday, July 26, 2012, 9:30AM PDT. TAXI #U120726RK

For the above listing, I submitted my song "Wanna be Bad" - listen here: http://www.taxi.com/rockman

The screener (Listener ID # 347) said the following: "Michael, I like the lyrics especially for this listing but I find that the vocal style especially takes the song in a different direction than the referenced artists."


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U120723IR

MAJOR N.Y. AD AGENCY needs UPTEMPO INDIE ROCK INSTRUMENTALS for a TV commercial for a TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY set to air during the OLYMPICS. Quoting the agency rep, "We’re looking for INSTRUMENTALS that BUILD nicely into a ROCKIN' and CELEBRATORY sound. THE RACONTEURS and KINGS OF LEON are good examples. We’re NOT looking off-the-map quirky stuff. Since this will air during the Olympics, it should have a FUN and UPBEAT sound without sounding too emotional or inspirational.” Your INSTRUMENTAL must be a minimum of 2 minutes long. Instrumentation and performance MUST sound TOP-NOTCH, CURRENT, and CONTEMPORARY. Instrumentation must sound NATURAL and AUTHENTIC. It's IMPORTANT that your SONG sounds like an ARTIST/BAND and NOT like a production music library track. Broadcast Quality is needed (excellent home recordings are fine). As always, do NOT copy or rip off the referenced artist or their songs in any way, shape, or form! NO SAMPLES of other songs or artists can be incorporated into your track. The estimated fee for this license will be $15,000-20,000 total. If you ARE chosen, the Ad Agency will contact you DIRECTLY. Please submit ONE to THREE INSTRUMENTALS online. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS by a person hand-picked by the agency rep. NO FULL CRITIQUES FROM TAXI. Submissions must be received no later than Monday, July 23, 2012, 9:30PM PDT. TAXI #U120723IR

For the 2nd listing (here above), I submitted an instrumental called "Can You Hear Me" - Listen here: http://www.taxi.com/rockman

The screener (Listener ID # 352) said "This track is not "CURRENT, and CONTEMPORARY" enough to satisfy this listing's requirements."

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There you have it guys. Thanks again for any feedback / thoughts.

Michael
http://www.taxi.com/rockman

[tordenspyd]

On 'wanna be bad'. I liked the track and your singing on it. The music sounds top shelf stuff to me.
This was a Yes/No listing, but you got the extra bonus of a reason. I was surprised by the reason for the rejection.
But I am only familiar with the most popular songs by the reference artists and I expect the screener to know more what they actually want since she/he is hand picked by the company.

Just joking: On your page you got short hair. They where looking for a 'HAIR BAND' .

Perhaps the typical vocals of Motley Crue (like girls girls girls) is what they want,
then you can say yours are in another direction, (or rather not far enough in that direction)
but then it seems to me that the typical vocal of Def Lepard or Kid Rock would not fit either,
actually they fit less than yours.
(however you could say that their playing and image would fit )

May be.?

At first sight though it seems that by reading the listing carefully you had all the reasons to believe this would fit.
You may have written this and recorded this especially for this listing,
Then you may have wasted a lot of time.
And have the rights to be more than just disappointed.

[Casey H]

Hi Michael
I thought "I Wanna Be Bad" was a really good one for that listing. It could be that the vocal just wasn't “HAIR BAND ROCK,” “STRIP CLUB ROCK,” or “COCK ROCK enough but it definitely was close, at the least. I've noticed that Screener #347 is a really tough cookie.

On the other one, I thought the instrumental sounded fairly contemporary but I didn't hear the build into the "rockin', celebratory sound"... This was a super high bar listing-- something to keep in mind.

You might want to drop a note to the head screener at Taxi (headscreener _AT_ taxi dot com) about the first one. See if you can get some clarification.

Hang in there!

Casey

[Len911]

"I Wanna Be Bad" sounded contemporary country to me.

[marcblack30]

"I Wanna Be Bad" sounded contemporary country to me.

I agree, this sounds like something I'd hear on country radio, you should submit this one to some country listings for sure! Love the tune and the production sounds top notch to me.

I also dug "can you hear me", that listing read like a pretty tall order, a bit confusing to me. I thought you captured a nice KoL vibe and I would've put money on a forward. I think they gave bad examples and weren't exactly sure how to describe what they were looking for. Killer instrumental though, and you should be able to find a home for it.

Marc

[Rockman]

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate the replies and feedback.

Tordenspyd, yea you might be right. Maybe it was the fact that I have short hair that killed my chances. haha

And yea guys, I guess there is some crossover country/rock in "Wanna be Bad". I heard that before. But I gotta tell ya, in my inner circle (meaning, anyone in my presence that has heard the song), the first thing people say when they hear that song is "I could totally hear this at a strip club". Pretty funny actually (cuz that wasn't my intention when I wrote and recorded it - it was just another song on my album).

In any case, Casey, I took your advice and sent an email to the head screener. Hope I get a useful reply.

Thanks again.

Michael

[Len911]

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate the replies and feedback.

Tordenspyd, yea you might be right. Maybe it was the fact that I have short hair that killed my chances. haha

And yea guys, I guess there is some crossover country/rock in "Wanna be Bad". I heard that before. But I gotta tell ya, in my inner circle (meaning, anyone in my presence that has heard the song), the first thing people say when they hear that song is "I could totally hear this at a strip club". Pretty funny actually (cuz that wasn't my intention when I wrote and recorded it - it was just another song on my album).

In any case, Casey, I took your advice and sent an email to the head screener. Hope I get a useful reply.

Thanks again.

Michael

Where were you? In church?