New listing

[BradleyHagen]

Hey everyone!
So there is a new listing, and I was wondering if anyone can decipher this a little better than I can??

Lots of MODERN SONGS in ALL GENRES with the lyrical theme "Starting Something" and Male or Female Vocals are needed by a Successful Publisher with an awesome track record of really BIG placements, mostly in TV Commercials.

TAXI's Educated Guess: When companies ask for something as specific as this request, it often means they're pitching to a specific, big-time TV Commercial!

We purposely avoided putting references in this request as we felt they could potentially be more misleading or limiting, than helpful.

This Company is searching for positive, high-energy Songs with lyrics that include the following theme:

"Starting Something"

NOTE: Since this is a lyrical theme, your Songs don't HAVE to include the exact phrase, although they can. Your lyrics DO need to line up with the idea, however. (i.e. "Let's get started", "We start today", and "Ready to start" are all examples of what could potentially work)

They're looking for popular/commercially viable genres, including (but not limited to): Pop, Country, Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Folk, EDM, R&B/Soul, Rap/Hip-Hop, etc. We recommend that you avoid submitting anything in genres that don't have a lot of mainstream appeal!

QUOTING THE COMPANY: "We need something modern, with lots of dynamics and edit points. Looking for tracks that are recent and sound cutting-edge with sounds and production. The style/genre is open as long as it is modern, positive, high energy, and sounds like it could be on the airwaves. Ideally, the above lyrical theme is in the chorus and not just a line in a verse!"

Please submit Modern Songs in any commercially viable genre that use the lyrical theme listed above. Your submissions should have uplifting and positive motifs, catchy melodies, emotionally upbeat energy, modern and high-quality production, well-crafted lyrics, and solid arrangements. Since the listing is open to a wide variety of genres, instrumentation may vary based on which direction you go, as long as your submissions are competitive with other Songs in your chosen style. Please be sure that any virtual instruments or samples you use are high-quality and not dated-sounding. Expressive Male or Female vocal performances will help you get the attention of this Publisher!

TAXI Tip: Songs with simple, yet impactful and universally-relatable lyrics will likely work best for this request. Read that twice, please!

Lyrics should avoid references to specific names, dates, times, places, brands, and profanity. Do NOT submit any material with unauthorized samples of any other artists’ music, sounds, or any other form of media. Broadcast Quality is needed.

This company offers an EXCLUSIVE deal. Any sync licensing fees are split 50/50. You’ll get 100% of the Writer’s share, and the Publisher will get 100% of the Publisher’s share. Please be sure the material you submit for this pitch is NOT already signed to any other Libraries or Catalogs. You must own or control your Master and Copyright. Please submit as many Songs as you’d like, online or per CD. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PDT) on Saturday, March 30th, 2024. TAXI # S240330TG

OK....so NO reference tracks, which makes this a little more difficult to understand (at least for me)... So, "Starting Over" "Lets get Started" etc.... Are they looking for only positive lyrics?? 100% positive? Could it be in the vein of "We have had our issues, but let's start over?" "Begin anew" that kind of sentiment? And what "genres" do not "have alot of mainstream appeal" Would Hard Rock/Metal work for this?? Or would I be better off doing more of a singer/songwriter, stripped down approach?? I apologize you guys, but figuring out what they actually WANT seems to be my biggest obstacle as of late.....THANKS!

[AlanHall]

There have been some excellent Taxi TV episodes with ML interviewing successful AD composers; Kali J comes to mind.

'Starting Something' is really a vague hint, isn't it? New home, new love, new career?

In case you're trying to shoehorn an existing track, I'd think that 'starting OVER' or 'beginning AGAIN' does not match the posted request for a "Let's get started", "We start today", and "Ready to start" vibe. Just sayin'

My advice, regarding style/genre, would be to watch some TV tonight and pay attention to the commercials that have songs as a bed. That's what the agency is looking for, something competitive with what's hot right now. Hard Rock? Maybe for a truck commercial. I rather think I'd find 'luxury' items to be near the top of the list of high-dollar ads with bona fide songs in the budget, with dance-pop songs appropriately appealing to the widest segment. Just a guess. We'll see what others think.

[Casey H]

Actually, this one's pretty easy to decipher. There is a wide open field of any genre.

This Company is searching for positive, high-energy Songs with lyrics that include the following theme:
"Starting Something"

Positive subject, up-tempo, energetic.

NOTE: Since this is a lyrical theme, your Songs don't HAVE to include the exact phrase, although they can. Your lyrics DO need to line up with the idea, however. (i.e. "Let's get started", "We start today", and "Ready to start" are all examples of what could potentially work)

Seeems self-explanatory.

TAXI Tip: Songs with simple, yet impactful and universally-relatable lyrics will likely work best for this request. Read that twice, please!

Universal lyrics is pretty much the norm for Film/TV songs in general. Here I'd go with a hook phrase everyone knows (or instantly "feels") that represents the theme. "It's A Brand New Day", "Start All Over", etc. My own advice is if it's for advertising, you don't need a lot of verse lyrics, but repetition of the hook phrase in the chorus is helpful. I would stay away from love relationship themes if you can, make it more general about life, Think about a song that could fit the widest possible types of ads.

It doesn't matter what genre, but have the whole song be true to what genre you choose.

Suggestion: Print the listing. Read it slowly and carefully, Circle or underline the key phrases.

HTH
Casey

[eandersonmusic]

First thing I thought of was Michael Jackson

[BradleyHagen]

First thing I thought of was Michael Jackson

Ha!!!! I kept thinking Lennon in 1980!! "Starting Over"

[RPaul]

This Company is searching for positive, high-energy Songs with lyrics that include the following theme:

"Starting Something"

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OK....so NO reference tracks, which makes this a little more difficult to understand (at least for me)... So, "Starting Over" "Lets get Started" etc.... Are they looking for only positive lyrics?? 100% positive? Could it be in the vein of "We have had our issues, but let's start over?" "Begin anew" that kind of sentiment? And what "genres" do not "have alot of mainstream appeal" Would Hard Rock/Metal work for this?? Or would I be better off doing more of a singer/songwriter, stripped down approach?? I apologize you guys, but figuring out what they actually WANT seems to be my biggest obstacle as of late.....THANKS!

I think Casey did an excellent analysis. The supposedly genre-agnostic nature, and thus the lack of examples, but with the word "mainstream appeal", would probably advise against heavy metal and other genres that are very niche-oriented. With the genres that were mentioned, I'd guess they are also looking for youth appeal (e.g. if you're going EDM or rap/hip-hop, you're probably not going to appeal to the senior citizen crowd) -- probably something that feels like it could be a hit today stylistically, so references could come from any modern music charts.

While I doubt I'll attempt to come up with something for this listing, I actually do like these lyrical/thematic prompts, having written several songs in the past based on such listings (albeit usually with more specific stylistic notes) that have really worked for me on the live front, even if they got nowhere with the TAXI listings.

[BradleyHagen]

but with the word "mainstream appeal", would probably advise against heavy metal and other genres that are very niche-oriented.

Yeah, after thinking about this, I tend to agree with you. I think that I am going to pass on this one as well for now... I was going to try and "dual purpose" some metal tracks that we are working on for another listing, and submit to both, but that rarely works anyway. I will say that if this listing came along 2 or 3 weeks later? I would definitely go for it via a Singer/Songwriter angle