Inconsistent reviews. Getting very dispirited!

[paulkearnsmusic]

I've been with Taxi for about 18 months now - with a few towards BUT ....

Recently, I put a track forward for a second listing - as I thought it may well "fit the bill".
The first attempt had failed because it wasn't quite close enough to the references - which I accept without question. Other than perhaps bringing the drum tracks up slightly, the track, I was told, was interesting and "well crafted".

On the second attempt with the EXACT same track, the review came back with almost EVERY box ticked. The mix was wrong, the samples (some of which were actually real instruments) were "dated" ( I ONLY use Spitfire, East West or Vienna ) and "poor quality".
You name it, it was wrong l! The worst review in 18 months.

I come to Taxi to get a useful critique and, hopefully, a forward and a deal.
Receiving two idiotically different critiques on the SAME bit of music has really annoyed me and made me wonder which one is right!

I fully accept criticism and understand when even a good piece of music might not quite fit the bill, but THIS had left me wondering if I'm just wasting my time.

I'm not referencing the tune - I'm feeling bruised enough already.

I'm feeling very dispirited right now. This has made me very confused, hurt and p*ssed off.

As a musician, I've developed a thick skin over the years but this has REALLY got under my defenses and I'm confused, upset and ready to quit.

Am I wrong???

Sorry to "unload"

[Casey H]

Graham (Telefunkin) said it perfectly.

I think the 2 big things are:

(1) Every listing has different requirements and "bar". What's good for one, might not be good for another.

(2) It's never a perfect world where humans are involved. While the screeners are very, very good they still are human and may hear things differently. I have songs in excellent libraries, pitched for movies and TV shows all the time, that still can get a return because the screener heard some production or performance issue that they felt made it not a fit for the listing. And there is no right or wrong there as the type of library (their primary market) and bar may not be the same as well as the human factor. Dang humans!

I had a song rejected years back by the "Critical" library. I was crushed. I pitched it to another library who signed it and it was used on The Young and the Restless 13 times. My biggest money maker probably. Different libraries, different markets, and... different humans.

Hang in there. The fact that you do get some forwards means you are on the right track. And also as Graham said, many times tracks get rejected for listings and we sign them with libraries on our own.

Best,
Casey

[cosmicdolphin]

It's a tough business , rejection is everywhere ....even when you're with good Publishers you can spend a week working on a track you think fits the brief well and is subsequently rejected.

Or you can sign a bunch of music to a publisher and get zero placements ...or you can get a bunch of placements and royalties don't even buy a coffee. Or a promo that uses you music 50 times that pays nothing at all. Or an Ad that uses your music and none of the publishers have licenesed it and has likely been stolen.

All of the above have actually happened to me ( and Graham who co-wrote that promo with me ) and likely many others. Taxi is a a mere tickle on the industry pain barometer , the only way forward is just to plow through it all.

Mark

[Cameloide]

I come to Taxi to get a useful critique and, hopefully, a forward and a deal.
Receiving two idiotically different critiques on the SAME bit of music has really annoyed me and made me wonder which one is right!

I fully accept criticism and understand when even a good piece of music might not quite fit the bill, but THIS had left me wondering if I'm just wasting my time.

I feel your pain. One of the most annoying things to me is when they fail trying to flex their ear skills on you and start to talking about virtual instruments that aren't virtual or real instruments that aren't real. Even when there is work needed on that part it's hard to get past the, "virtual instruments!?! What virtual instrument?!" I hate to say it, but if you really want a useful critique that could help you figure out how to improve the song you're more likely to get it here in the forums, or through other places on the web where TV composers congregate. Use your Taxi submissions as a way to practice your patience and tolerance for rejection, because as Cosmic said rejection will be a constant thing in this business (though so far in my limited experience not nearly as constant as Taxi's rate). With a little success and confidence you'll know when to disregard critiques that don't make sense, and when to read between the lines.

[paulkearnsmusic]

I'm so very grateful for your input guys .

I KNOW I shouldn't let it "get to me" but, occasionally, one creeps in "under the radar" and hits home.
I'm far too long in the tooth to normally get phased by a bad critique. It was just the radical difference between 2 screeners that I found "confusing".

Knowing it's happened to the best of you helps.
But the fact that you stopped by to tell me means a whole lot more .

Onward and upward - and - thanks again for your kind words.

Cheers
Paul.

[Paulie]

I think it would be good to post the track here. You will get honest and detailed feedback that might be helpful.

[OwenGrech]

Hi Paul,

Not much more I can add to the valuable comments everyone posted above except to reinforce and to maybe stress the point that since the second submission was not written directly for that particular listing, it automatically has less chance to get forwarded for that simple fact that no matter how good, it was not tailor made for the listing! It is POSSIBLE but a little unlikely.

Regarding the "dated" issue, again it depends on the particular listing's requirements. I've got a swamp track signed where I used a virtual bass instrument because weirdly enough that worked best for that track but if that same track was submitted to a more organic sounding swamp listing, nothing but a real and probably acoustic bass would have cut it and as a result a return might be expected even though they fall under the same category but again, every listing is specific. I also have learned (and am still learning) the hard way, that no matter how expensive and great of a sound library you have, it does not matter much until you learn how to tweak it.

As I can see from your last post you are already feeling more positive and that's great That's why we have this forum, to help each other out when we stumble, which in this business happens all the time! The fact that you already have some forwards means that you are on the right track so keep your head up and keep moving forward

Regards,
Owen