HIT-WORTHY COUNTRY SONGS What genre is this one? Is it "licensable"?

[Horacemix]

Hello people!
I'm about to finish this song (maybe I'll add some female backings for choruses) and release it.
I think it's in the country side but is it licensable for some of the country listing that usually appear in TAXI?

And a listing just appeared and says:

HIT-WORTHY COUNTRY SONGS with Male Vocals are needed by a Nashville-based Music Publisher for a multi-Award-Winning Country SUPERSTAR who’s working on his next album. Give them great Songs in All-Tempos that could be found on the same playlist as artists like:

“Get Along” by Kenny Chesney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LI8X-GhFA8

"I'll Name The Dogs" by Blake Shelton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAsN4lSa7O0

“Drowns the Whiskey” by Jason Aldean ft. Miranda Lambert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9xYYSAo7UU

Please submit great, radio-ready songs that have interesting melodies, fresh topics, and a big, memorable chorus. Your production should be strong, and your arrangement should reflect the instrumentation commonly found in Contemporary Country music.

You’d be smart to have a confident vocal performance with an honest Country vocal delivery if you want to get this legendary artist and his label excited about cutting your song.

NOTE: This artist has been around the Country scene for a while now, so lyrics that are more mature in nature and have a more traditional Country sound would probably work better than something that leans toward the Pop side of the genre. Also, they'd like to hear some fresh topics covered in your lyrics, not the same old, same old. Keep it clever and conversational!

Stripped-Down demos and full productions will both be considered. That said, your demo presentation should be up to the standard of Nashville’s finest for this request.

The specific deal points will be negotiated on a song-by-song basis directly with the Publisher. Please submit as many songs as you’d like, online or per CD, and include lyrics. All submissions will be screened on a Yes/No basis - No full critiques. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59PM (PST) on Friday, January 4th, 2019. TAXI #Y190104CO

Here the secret link to my song in Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/horacemix/horace ... rs/s-0bmUX

I'd love to get your advice and suggestions about any aspect of the song.
Regards and happy holidays!

[ttully]

Hi Horacemix,

The title of the listing says it all...
HIT-WORTHY COUNTRY SONG
They want radio-ready hits with strong production.... that means ultra high bar!!!

While you track is good.... it is not quite country.
Your track has more of a soft rock kind of sound
The vocals do not have the country twang quality.

Your track is a bit mild sounding and the mix is not as good as it could be.
A/B yours with the Blake Shelton track, listen how punchy it is.... your track has to sound that good....

My 2 cent worth,
Tim

[Horacemix]

Hi Horacemix,

The title of the listing says it all...
HIT-WORTHY COUNTRY SONG
They want radio-ready hits with strong production.... that means ultra high bar!!!

While you tracks is good.... it is not quite country.
Your track has more of a soft rock kind of sound
The vocals do not have the country twang quality.

Your track is a bit mild sounding and the mix is not as good as it could be.
A/B yours with the Blake Shelton track, listen how punchy it is.... your track has to sound that good....

My 2 cent worth,
Tim

Hi Tim. Thank you for your comments!
I have to say that this post was edited, since originally I wanted to ask about the genre of my song and if it's useful for licensing. Then I got a TAXI email with this listing so I edited the post to have comments like yours. However, I find that my original question got diluted a little bit.

I'm new to TAXI and I'm still trying to find my niche so thank you again for your helpful words!
Happy Holidays!

[Horacemix]

I see where Tim sees some soft rock in it, but I do hear the country, maybe it can be more emphasized (I don't know how)? "Country vocals" - Ralph Murphy said a few funny things about that on, I think, his last appearance on Taxi TV, would help it a lot, I suppose. The stupid thing seems to be, that superstars just want to hear the ready thing already, and just substitute their voice in. Like, instant gratification, rather than a little imagination, so that is why I understand the bars are so high with these kind of listings. Anyway, very nice song in my opinion. Tom

Hi Tom. Thank you for your words!
I composed this song when I was 19 years old in 1996. I was trying to compose songs in the style of Beatles. Lennon's I'm a loser for instance.
The idea of adding the lap steel guitar was just to increase the Country feeling in the song, but I guess it will be always old fashioned. And I think it's because of my way of singing, not to modern for Hit Worthy Song. But the question remains: is this song licensable or it's just a nice tune for friends and social media postings?

Happy holidays!

[ttully]

Hi Horacemix,

Well....I'm not sure if it is could be used or not....
When the vox first come in.....it is not what I am expecting to hear at all..... something is just not right...but I'm not sure what...
maybe it's the register...or the quality of the vox????

But once it gets going.... i like it ....sound like a cross between a band called Fastball and CSN and sometimes Y !!!! ha.....

The mix would need to be fixed up..... it sounds un mastered...it need more punch to it.

As usual.... just my 2 cents worth,
Tim

[Horacemix]

Hi Horacemix,

Well....I'm not sure if it is could be used or not....
When the vox first come in.....it is not what I am expecting to hear at all..... something is just not right...but I'm not sure what...
maybe it's the register...or the quality of the vox????

But once it gets going.... i like it ....sound like a cross between a band called Fastball and CSN and sometimes Y !!!! ha.....

The mix would need to be fixed up..... it sounds un mastered...it need more punch to it.

As usual.... just my 2 cents worth,
Tim

Hi Tim! Thank you for the 2 cents! Although I'd love to know more about the vox issue. I mean, is it my vocal timbre, is it my singing style, is it only a compression problem? I know you've said you're not sure of what's the problem, but could you make it clear for both of us?
Also what do you mean with "it is not what I am expecting to hear at all"? Is it the melody?

Sorry for bothering with questions and thank you for your patience!
Regards!

[ttully]

Hey Horacemix,

If you just listen to when the vox come in on the 3 examples....then listen to yours....you should be able to hear what I mean...maybe.
(you are probably used to your vocals so it may not be as clear to you)
Your vocals are very weak sounding compared to the hit artists vocals....not projecting powerfully...maybe that is what I mean.

When the hit artists are singing.... I believe what they are saying....they are singing with conviction.


Of course, someone else may say that I am completely wrong.....
Maybe someone else can chime and explain it better....... if they hear what I hear.


Tim

[lesmac]

Your track has a nice laid back "country-ish" soft rock indie vibe.
Don't waste your time, money and emotional investment pitching this as modern country.
The vocal phrasing and lyrical subject matter don't align with modern American country.
What they accept as country is really quite narrow and specific these days. You could nearly call it indigenous.
Its a nice track as it is, don't put it where it doesn't belong.
The vocals could come forward more using the usual suspects of volume automation and compression.
My two cents

[VanderBoegh]

Hey man, take this opinion from someone who's been wanting to land a country cut for a looooong time (and would still consider it to be the pinnacle of my musical career if I ever got it). In order to be competitive in the modern hit country market, you really have to live and breathe this stuff. There's such a signature sound to modern Nashville recordings - from the instrumentation, to the vocals, to the lyric phrasing, to the song structure, song sections, length of intro / chorus / post-chorus, vocal registers, note choices etc - that if you don't know all these facets, you're really gonna be facing an uphill battle.

I know this all too well. When I first joined Taxi, I recorded 12 country songs based on what I thought country was. I was a hard rock guy, posing as a country guy, without listening to what the market was doing. As a result, all 12 songs went nowhere....

This song of yours reminds me of myself. A good attempt, but not at all in line with modern hit country.

Best of luck to you. Write more!

~~Matt

[Horacemix]

Hey Horacemix,

If you just listen to when the vox come in on the 3 examples....then listen to yours....you should be able to hear what I mean...maybe.
(you are probably used to your vocals so it may not be as clear to you)
Your vocals are very weak sounding compared to the hit artists vocals....not projecting powerfully...maybe that is what I mean.

When the hit artists are singing.... I believe what they are saying....they are singing with conviction.


Of course, someone else may say that I am completely wrong.....
Maybe someone else can chime and explain it better....... if they hear what I hear.


Tim

Hello Tim. Thank you again! That's what I wanted to know. Now I have a few points to work and improve.
Regards!