Re: 3 songs rejected by 'American Idol'

gitarrero · Post by **gitarrero** » Sat May 19, 2007 12:42 am

Quote:Did the 'American Idol' screeners make a mistake? Does this say something about the current state of the music biz?You be the judge... Your opinions are welcome!I've recently read some books of jason blume - I'd recommend you to read them too and you'll be able to learn some facts about the music industry and the reality of rejection, provided that you're willing to learn.my personal feedback: I just listened to "rhythm boy" and besides that the demo is mediocre (the goove lacks on some points and the vocals are sung quite unsure) the composition itself didn't hit me in any way - it sounds a little "cheep" to me to be honest.having said that, I don't want to discurage you in any way - but since you where asking for opinions, here's mine.cheers,martin

paulallen · Post by **paulallen** » Sat May 19, 2007 8:22 am

I agree, i am a fan of the genre myself! Although I do like to hear all kinds of music...

gitarrero · Post by **gitarrero** » Sat May 19, 2007 11:05 am

Quote:martin, point well taken... after listening to a lot of the other songs posted on the forum, I have to admit that the majority of them sound incredibly better-produced than "rhythm boy"... I must see if I can re-record it better, because it's been my experience that the production can make or break a song (even in the case of demos!)... in short, a deficient production job can even make a great song sound like nothing... thanks for that very important reminder!!Again, since your id is "guitarrero", shall I assume you know spanish?...hi,yeah, the production can make a huge diffrence, especially in genres like dance, pop etc. I know there are piano/vocal demos around in country, but that is quite a diffrent area.no, I don't play flamenco nor am I spanish - I'm swiss and on guitar I prefere rock, pop, blues - that kind of stuff. besides that I work in a couple of genres, but more as a producer and songwriter (rnb, hiphop, lounge, nu-jazz, meditation).ps: comparing your song to the ones that got selected and saying that the selected ones lack in some ways doesn't help you in any way - there can be a lot of reasons why these songs are there. the only sensefull way is to improve your own work so it stands above the rest - that will have an impact, sooner or later.cheers,martin

paulallen · Post by **paulallen** » Sat May 19, 2007 11:44 am

martin, i have to ask you something... I dig all kinds of music, but am a big fan of the "old" disco hits produced by the european producers like giorgio moroder (who did all Donna Summer's hits, recording them in germany!) and jaques morali, who did the Village People. As a matter of fact, I would love to record songs witha that same sound and feel... but would I be shooting myself in the foot? Is there no place in today's marketplace -would it sound too "obsolete"??- if I realesed new songs in that style today? Wouldn't they even be accepted, or find a "niche", in the European dance-club scene?

gitarrero · Post by **gitarrero** » Sat May 19, 2007 10:53 pm

Quote:martin, i have to ask you something... I dig all kinds of music, but am a big fan of the "old" disco hits produced by the european producers like giorgio moroder (who did all Donna Summer's hits, recording them in germany!) and jaques morali, who did the Village People. As a matter of fact, I would love to record songs witha that same sound and feel... but would I be shooting myself in the foot? Is there no place in today's marketplace -would it sound too "obsolete"??- if I realesed new songs in that style today? Wouldn't they even be accepted, or find a "niche", in the European dance-club scene?well I don't know the european dance-club scene much. but I saw several requests for music that sounds like old disco hits for film & tv placements. so if that is the kind of music you ultimately want to do, then go for it. I truly beliefe that there are oppurtunities for almost any kind of music, as long as the music is of superb quality & stands out. find out what equipment was used, how you can achieve this sound today etc - there are plenty of tools on the market, I'm sure you will find what you need.I thought about that during the last few days and I came to conclusion that basically all we need to do is record the music that "comes out of us" - and than find a niche and oppurtunities for it.cheers,martin

paulallen · Post by **paulallen** » Sun May 20, 2007 6:08 am

martin,Would you be interested in a business proposal? If I provide a song, and let you produce it and arrange it ANY way you see fit -to try to make it marketable to the dance-club scene- would you be interested?

gitarrero · Post by **gitarrero** » Sun May 20, 2007 6:54 am

Quote:martin,Would you be interested in a business proposal? If I provide a song, and let you produce it and arrange it ANY way you see fit -to try to make it marketable to the dance-club scene- would you be interested?I did that quite a lot, and also co-wrote songs. quite a lot of my placements with recording artists happened in that way - so defenitly something to recommend if that is your goal.however, I don't have free time to do so at the moment plus I'm quite picky in choosing my co-write partner, of course. a co-write makes most sense when both parties can bring something to the table of which each of them profit - for example: a guy only writes music and finds a great lyricist. also, I'd suggest to find somebody who's on the same stage of development (or ideally a little bit further) then yourself - "writing up the ladder".if I ask a grammy nominated producer to co-write with me, he likely will say "no, thank you", simply because I'm not at the same step as he is (..in most cases, at least... I co-wrote with the producer of snoop dog/coolio's current single, but that's another story..

)"networking in the music business" is a great book for such thoughts and strageties, I think the autor also held a workshop at the last rally (I wasn't there).hope that helps,martin

paulallen · Post by **paulallen** » Sun May 20, 2007 7:33 am

dear martin,So, does your answer to my proposal mean:1) "no"?Or does it mean:2) It can be "yes" or "no", depending on what impression you get after listening to the song first?cheers!

gitarrero · Post by **gitarrero** » Sun May 20, 2007 9:34 am

Quote:dear martin,So, does your answer to my proposal mean:1) "no"?Or does it mean:2) It can be "yes" or "no", depending on what impression you get after listening to the song first?cheers!at the moment it's "no" because I don't have any free time for additional collaborations.

paulallen · Post by **paulallen** » Sun May 20, 2007 9:45 am

Quote:at the moment it's "no" because I don't have any free time for additional collaborations.I see. Well, thanks for all your pointers!By the way, I have been checking out your website, and it is pretty impressive! Keep up the good work!