Broadjam: poor streaming consistency?

[andreh]

It seems Taxi members must post their songs on Broadjam for them to be considered for listings.I have a very reliable, high-speed cable internet connection, and I cannot get clean streaming from Broadjam - I get dropouts that require several seconds of rebuffering every 10-30 seconds.I have no problems with any other high-bandwidth websites (including Soundclick.com, Myspace.com, my own websites, and others), and I'm concerned that this inconsistent playback may affecting screeners' perceptions of our songs.Has anyone managed to get clean streaming from Broadjam, or is there any other info that may alleviate this concern for me?Thanks much,Andre

[davewalton]

Hi Andre,You can submit either by Broadjam (very convenient) or submit a CD via snail mail (eliminates any quality problems or perceptions like you mentioned). Because they process tons of songs, they're very strict about how music is submitted and those are the only two options. Generally, I don't have any problems with the Broadjam streaming. I think the huge majority submits via Broadjam. I'd be confident in saying that if there were a problem with Broadjam that affected the reviewers ability to listen to the submitted songs, that the reviewers would be pounding on Michael's door (main Taxi guy) demanding a solution to the problem.I used Broadjam my first year and now submit CD's via snail mail. Both have had good results.Dave

[ernstinen]

Andre,The only time I've had trouble with Broadjam's streaming was due to my computer's firewall intervening. But since you can stream from other sites, this might not be your problem. Broadjam is really good at trouble-shooting over the phone, so I'd recommend calling them.Good luck,Ern

[andreh]

Dave, why did you stop using Broadjam for submissions?Ern, thanks for the suggestion; I'll give the Broadjam folks a call.Andre

[davewalton]

Quote:Dave, why did you stop using Broadjam for submissions?Even though the cost is low, I'm being more selective in the listings that I submit to and so for the moment, the small cost of Broadjam was an extra website that I didn't need. I was submitting to a lot of stuff, anything instrumental, and was also doing the Dispatch service which requires a fast turnaround. Taxi was the only thing I was doing and Broadjam was by far the most cost-effective way of submitting a lot of material. Now I'm busy with smaller projects from other sources and I'm being more selective with my submissions.It does bug me that Broadjam encodes at a low MP3 rate (128kbps). It can't be the same quality as a CD. Others with ears as good or better than mine don't perceive a noticable difference in quality. It's a very minor issue and pretty much just my issue. I've had forwards both ways and my music library placement came from a Broadjam forward. Since almost everyone submits via Broadjam, it's certainly not a problem for anyone.If I can get better at managing my time, I'll probably join Dispatch again, start up a Broadjam account and start submitting to more listings. Dave

[andreh]

Yikes, a 128kbps limit? I suppose that doesn't matter with listings where production quality isn't paramount, but I've already seen listings requiring "broadcast" quality work...and I hardly consider 128kbps MP3's broadcast quality.Of course, "broadcast quality" pop music for the radio and "broadcast quality" orchestral music for a film are two different beasts, with different standards. I can see why you'd prefer to go with a physical CD submission for the higher-end orchestral stuff you do, Dave.Most other free or inexpensive music hosting sites have this restriction as well, so I guess it's just par for the course (as long as these dang streaming issues aren't pervasive).Andre

[andreh]

I really hate to sound like a whiner here, but it also appears you can't move through various parts of a song on Broadjam - I would think this would make critiquing music very time-consuming (in addition to being annoying) for screeners.If hundreds of screeners are working all day long listening to submissions, this could be costing Taxi a lot of dough in wasted time.Or maybe the screeners just listen to each song all the way through one time, write their critiques from memory of the whole tune, and move on?Andre

[mani]

Broadjam now prefers that you send MP3s of 192kb or better! I still send 128kb MP3s coz the program I have doesn't do higher quality encoding. My 128kb files sound better than using Itunes for MP3 conversion at 300+ kb!!!

[roughly]

Hi Andre,You know, i usually don't have problems with the dropping out streaming with Broadjam, but just on a lark I listened to some music today on there and it was dropping all the time. How long have you been having this problem? Maybe Broadjam is having a streaming issue today. If it continues to be a problem lets be sure to write them.I don't like the sample rate either. Though it is up to 192 now which is better than before. I'm not sure if the screeners can skip through the songs or not. I know they can download the mp3's though because it's my understanding they burn all the forwards to a disc for the companies. Theresa

[johnnydean1]

Quote:It seems Taxi members must post their songs on Broadjam for them to be considered for listings.I have a very reliable, high-speed cable internet connection, and I cannot get clean streaming from Broadjam - I get dropouts that require several seconds of rebuffering every 10-30 seconds.I have no problems with any other high-bandwidth websites (including Soundclick.com, Myspace.com, my own websites, and others), and I'm concerned that this inconsistent playback may affecting screeners' perceptions of our songs.Has anyone managed to get clean streaming from Broadjam, or is there any other info that may alleviate this concern for me?Thanks much,Andre I have the same problem.I did contact Broadjam and they were very very helpful.However,The problem remains!