Meaning of "give or take"

[MichaelBears]

Good morning! Being a new member, I wanted to clarify what is meant by "give or take" when used to describe track length - e.g., "90 seconds to 2 minutes, give or take". Is there a commonly understood & reasonable +/- range associated with that phrase? I want to respect such guidance when it arises but avoid fiddling with a track more than necessary just to lock within that range.

[superkons]

I usually regard that as a plus/minus 10 seconds, or even 15, but that is a bit on the edge.

Eg.: 90 sec tune, give or take for me is 90 to 100 sec. 2 min tune becomes 2 min and 10 sec. As I stated above, it could go the other way, too, but I would rather give more, because it is easier to cut off unwanted bits than make up for missing time

[MichaelBears]

Thanks - appreciate your take on things.

[superkons]

Thanks - appreciate your take on things.

Pleasure

[Casey H]

I've seen the "give or take" thing vary from listing to listing and screener to screener. So the best thing to do is not push it. Keep the odds in your favor and don't add another possible reason for rejection. That goes for any pitch you make anywhere in this business, with Taxi or outside. Give them what they want! I agree with superkons that +/- 10 seconds is a pretty safe guideline. Also, learning to edit tracks down to sizes is a necessary skill in this business.

Best of luck!
Casey

[OwenGrech]

Good morning! Being a new member, I wanted to clarify what is meant by "give or take" when used to describe track length - e.g., "90 seconds to 2 minutes, give or take". Is there a commonly understood & reasonable +/- range associated with that phrase? I want to respect such guidance when it arises but avoid fiddling with a track more than necessary just to lock within that range.

I can chime in here to further solidify the comments made from my peers above as I did veer slightly on the edge and got rejected solely for that reason so if I were you, if the listing mentions "give or take 2 minutes" try to give them 2 minutes right on the head or 1:98/2:02 at the most. It's not worth the risk in my opinion.

Over time you will get better at reaching the required target with little to no effort.

Owen