Feedback on Original Classic Adult Contemporary Songs

[Casey H]

Yes, changes only recommended if you want to market a song commercially. If it's something you love and are proud of and are fine with it maybe not being commercially viable, that's OK too! The problem comes in when people feel like that and then get pissed at the screeners for returning their song. I don't get the impression that's you, though.

Best
Casey

[RPaul]

Yes, changes only recommended if you want to market a song commercially. If it's something you love and are proud of and are fine with it maybe not being commercially viable, that's OK too! The problem comes in when people feel like that and then get pissed at the screeners for returning their song. I don't get the impression that's you, though.

I've been approaching the music business for so long now (since at least the mid-80s, I think) that I've got a pretty thick skin. I also know how subjective music can be, and how something that is the big allure of a song or performance for one person or context can be a total deal breaker for another person or in another context.

My first time through TAXI (just one year, back in 2010-2011, owing to big time "life gets in the way" stuff), I started out mostly pitching my song catalog, with songs I felt would be right for major label artist cuts. Some of those had already been cut by indie artists, had past single song publishing deals, and/or even been very localized hits (e.g. one covered by a teenage pop singer in Mongolia had top 5 radio and video play over there -- it also had a single song publishing deal out in Nashville at one point, and was being pitched to "the right sorts of artists" in my vision for the song, but they never got any traction with it; quite a number of other artists had recorded it, but only one other actually ended up releasing it, and only late last year, with a recording I'd produced for her back in the early 2000s). I don't recall all the feedback I was getting from TAXI back then at this point, but the bottom line was only one of my "song" pitches got a forward, and I mostly started writing to the listings, including in some areas I'd never even tried before (e.g. 2 of my 5 forwards were for instrumental meditation music, and another was for a whistling tune; the remaining one was for some kind of folk festival and for a Celtic song I'd co-written in the late 90s). Even though most of the "write-to-order" stuff didn't get forwarded (back then mostly for either production quality considerations or not fitting the listing well enough in the reviewer's view), and though nothing ended up in any deals or placements, I found doing that beneficial for coming up with new material, most of which I was able to personalize sufficiently (e.g. on the lyrical side when writing songs) that the songs "worked for me" in other contexts, such as on the live front and in the recordings I've put out there in the years since.

I'm currently a month shy of a year in this second run through TAXI, and I'm being a lot more selective in what I pitch on the existing material side, and on the opportunities I attempt to target on the write/record to order side. On that latter front, most of my returns have generally been for "other", with reasons relating to the reviewer's feeling on how it fit the listing (e.g. my song for the "Shallow" replacement pitch was returned as not depressing enough and not haunting enough). On the songs front it has generally been for the songs being dated. That is something I am trying to get a better grip on, with the goal of fixing it, be it on my own or possibly via future collaborations. In both cases, though, I have generally found the reviewers' comments useful (and they are generally positive overall, despite rejections). Funnily enough, my one forward this go round was for one of those write/record to order things from last time that got a rejection at that point. Maybe it was just too soon for its time (It was also way outside my comfort zone -- the listing was for an experimental electronica piece, with the earlier listing being for something in the vein of Chemical Brothers.)

This particular listing was one where I have a fairly large number of songs that could potentially have fit, but where none of the existing recordings were a fit, be it due to arrangement or production issues (or both). Had it been one with a significantly longer deadline, I'd have reworked more of the recordings. As it was only a few days, though, I had to pick the song I felt I could remix quickly enough to prioritize. I'd been hoping I could do more than one, but, unfortunately, I ran out of time to even start on a second one beyond getting it reloaded in my DAW.

Rick

[SteveAlton]

Hey I really like everything about this..

You may want to edit out the POOOF on the P at 1:06 on "What's ImPORRRRtant"?

[RPaul]

Hey I really like everything about this..

You may want to edit out the POOOF on the P at 1:06 on "What's ImPORRRRtant"?

Thanks, Steve. Too late for last week's submission, but I'll check this when I get a chance. Right now working on this week's possibility -- one that is decidedly out of my comfort zone.

BTW, I took a quick listen to some of your tracks. Really nice country sound.

Rick

[RPaul]

Thanks again to all who gave feedback on this recording. I'm happy to report it was forwarded. I strongly suspect the vocal tweaks after Cass' report helped in that regard.

RIck

[Casey H]

Thanks again to all who gave feedback on this recording. I'm happy to report it was forwarded. I strongly suspect the vocal tweaks after Cass' report helped in that regard.

RIck

Yes!!!
Congrats! And I'd take the screener's word over mine anytime!!! Best of luck!

Casey

[cassmcentee]

Great News!!! Congrats