Return on Listing S240228GM

[TimWalter]

Hello Taxi Family

I have been away from Taxi for a little over 6 years. In the interim I moved to Nashville and have been working hard on my singer-songwriter artist career. Ive grown my following to a modest amount (7000+ on IG, 5000+ on FB, 3000 to 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, depending on the month.) Artist name is Tim Wolf (TheTim Wolf on socials).

Thought I would give Taxi a try again. While back in 2016=2017 time frame I was writing and producing everything myself, now I have evolved to co-writing and using a veteran producer and on occasion pro musicians for my releases.

This listing is for a Nashville publisher who is looking for 90's country songs for one of their young artists.

While I am not really a country artist (more in the Alternative or Americana vibe), some of my songs I do consider they would work as at least Alt Country. I mean, Tracy Chapman wrote a song in the 90s that went to number one as a country song, so genre barriers definitely have come down.

I submitted 3 songs for this listing. All three were written with pro long time Nashvile writers, and had pro musicians play on them and were produced and mixed by my 30 year veteran pro producer I have been using. These three songs (and others we wrote) were written with the express intent to get cuts from Nashville artists, but of all ones we wrote I liked these three enough to record and put them out myself.

The return that really puzzles is the one for "Red Dirt". https://timwolf.ffm.to/reddirt

I get it if the vibe is not what they are looking for, perhaps its not 90s country enough. Not original enough, not fresh enough, all comments I could understand.
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But Screener 368 had this to say:
I think you could improve your song by:
Part of selling yourself, and your material is putting your best foot forward. That means the music melody, writing, production, and performance all need to be top-notch and professional.

I returned or forwarded this song because
This song is not moving forward because it does not have the polish and professionalism necessary to place it at this time.
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First of all, this listing was for songs, not finished song recordings. The listing even said stripped down demos were ok.

Lets talk about the writing. I co-wrote this song with Brian White, who has had 16 #1's. he's won 2 Dove Awards for Song of The Year, SESAC Country Song
of The Year, Billboard's Most Played Song of The Year, as well as ACM and CMA nominations. With
over 400 cuts to his credit, his songs have been recorded by such artists as Danny Gokey, Kutless,
Mandisa, Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, and Jason Aldean (to name a few).

Brian wrote the melody and a good portion of the song. I was along for the ride and just honored to be writing with a guy like that.

Yes i know pro-writers can write clunkers, like all of us, but I honestly dont know what actions someone like me could ever try to have a more professional song than write with a seasoned pro like that.

Production: my veteran producer produced the song and it had pro musicians play on it.

I completely get returning song for not the right vibe, not '90's enough, not original enough (they did say they wanted subject matter that had never been said before, and Red Dirt has some tried and true country phrases like "John Deere green" etc.). All could be valid.

But to say this is not a professional submission.... what more could a person in my shoes do? shaking my head.

I knew it would be like this when I came back to give Taxi a try, lots of rejection and disappointment. I promised myself I would not stop until i had at least 20 returns. I;m well on my way, 6 so far. When I reach 20 I will re-evaluate.

I am grounded in the quality of my music. I get messages every day from fans gushing about the music I have put out and how it reaches them, etc. Including this song, and this recording. I dont need validation from screener 368. And I know music is subjective. i get that.

One interesting part of the listing is that the publisher him or herself may screen some of the songs. It would be interesting is Screener 368 is the one who critiqued my song! If so, its probably good he/she didnt like it cuz we probably wouldnt get along.

My biggest thought: why go thru the effort if this is how its going to be, that my submissions are not polished and professional enough? this is what i am pondering.

Regarding the other two listings: 1 other one was returned (Road To Nowhere) cuz it was too rock. I get that. I took the country iphone memo from the writing session and made it more my style. But the "road to nowhere" song was written for a country artist. I had hoped that maybe it was possible to see thru the more rock oriented production of my release to see how the song might work for a country artist, but no worries i can understand the return. The other song hasn't been returned yet. we'll see.


So perhaps Taxi is not the right fit for me. I'll wait until I get the 20 returns before deciding. But not off to a great start.

Thanks for letting me rant.
Tim

[macomposer]

Hey Tim. Okay, so I like the first line (always important - needs to be hooky) as I grew up north of Macon... Red Dirt is certainly a Georgia thing, so I'm digging it...

As I'm listening to the song, I like it! I think it IS well performed, well recorded and well produced, But..... there's just something that is not quite hitting right...

Now, I can't see the listing, so I don't know exactly what they were after. And I am no means an expert on the intricacies of Country music, but I have heard and studied quite a bit of popular music, including Country.. but take what i'm saying with a grain of salt...

You post was a bit triggering for me... because, man I have been there. You're busting your butt trying to this music out there, putting everything you have on the line, and then somebody just says (basically) nope. So I really understand, and I've been with Taxi, taken long breaks, came back, taken more breaks, etc. so I get it.

I just want to say to you to hang in there. Obviously, you have enough going for you for some pretty established people to want to work with you, and (I think) you've been doing this long enough to know that you've got something. So keep going - don't let 6 returns, 20, or 40 stop you. (I don't mean keep with Taxi through 40 though... , but I think you get what I'm saying...)

In terms of this, just a couple ideas. What I've noticed with country over the last few years is that there's traditional country music, there's pop country, then there's like what some people wouldn't even call country, but I think of it as country hybrid - hip hop with country, etc. that type of stuff.

This strikes me as solidly traditional country (and I'm willing to be wrong about that, but that's how I heard it.) Now the hard part: what was the listing asking for? It probably wasn't spelled out, but (I'm guessing) if they were asking for songs for new artists or other artists or whatever, maybe they were looking for more pop country??? Just a thought. Now, could this good song be re-dressed as a country pop song? Sure! It means going through the whole process again, but I think it's a good song. It just sounds like a traditional country song, and maybe since that's not what they were thinking about, they heard it as "not professional" when it is certainly professional..

Just an idea... Hang in there - Mark

[cosmicdolphin]

Hard to say without being able to read the LIsting and listen to the references but for all the big build up you gave it I listened the whole way through the song and thought it was pretty perfunctory. To be honest I've heard better written songs by folks with zero hits and more interesting performances by musicians who've never stepped foot in Nashville. I've also heard songs with better production values made in home studios and mixed by the same person that wrote it.

Having all the advantages you listed doesn't grant anyone the right to a forward, each song is judged on it's own merits in the context of the listing criteria...... as it should be. Otherwise it might introduce an unfair bias.

I wouldn't have pegged this as a top notch song for a young artist if that's what they wanted. It's often said the best approach is to write new material to the listings rather than trying to force an existing square peg into the proverbial round hole of a listing. I don't know if you are doing that or just submitting songs you already have but it's often a differeniator between sucessful and unsuccessful members.

Mark

[Casey H]

Hi
Here is the listing. I think the screener was way out of line with those comments, even if the song wasn't right to forward for the listing. Those comments make it sound like you submitted some rough, crappy iPhone recording. I'd contact Taxi about it, not to reverse the return, but to give feedback to them regarding the screening here. They really do listen and work with the screeners. (Contact Taxi: headscreener AT taxi dot com).

I thought this song was really good!! Well done! However, for an opportunity like this, the song has to be UNDENIABLY GREAT, not even very, very good. The screener should have said (IMHO) that it was a good song but just not strong enough for this listing-- needed a better hook, etc.

I listened to the whole song on Spotify as the link was just a snippet, not enough to critique on.

Best of luck!
Casey

ORIGINAL, '90s-Influenced HIT-WORTHY COUNTRY SONGS with Male Vocals are needed by a legendary Music Row Publisher for a Young Country Star working on his next release!

NOTE: This client is a CMA "Publisher of the Year" Award-winner who has had multiple million-selling singles and #1 hits with major artists, including many current cuts! This is a great opportunity to get your music heard by a highly respected Music Row Publisher!

This Client is looking for Up-Tempo Songs in the general ballpark of the references below. This artist likes the melodies and arrangements found in these references:

"Everything I Love" by Morgan Wallen

"Wheel" by Parker McCollum

"Me To Me" by Morgan Wallen

...but prefers LYRICS that are more in the style of this reference:

"The Finger" by Bryce Leatherwood

Quoting The Client: "I am looking for fun and energetic, up-tempo Songs with a '90s-influenced Country sound in a modern setting. Lyrically, think fresh ideas--nothing that has been covered before (i.e. no drinking Songs, etc.). Nothing that's too Rock-influenced, and no ballads, please."

Please submit original Country Songs with fun and emotionally upbeat energy that could be a chart-topping hit for this young Country Star! Your submissions should have ear-worm choruses, catchy melodies, upbeat rhythms, and unique, well-crafted lyrics. '90s-flavored Country instrumentation that's in the general stylistic ballpark of the references will work best for this pitch. Charismatic and well-executed vocal performances could be just what it takes to get this publisher excited about your Songs!

Lyric Tip: The artist is in his early 20's, so please avoid submitting anything that's lyrically too mature for this request. You'd be wise to avoid lyric themes that relate to things like kids, marriage, etc. The Publisher also specifically asked for originality in the lyrics. Saying something that hasn’t been said before could help your song stand out among the crowd.

TAXI Tip: Although this Publisher is looking for '90s-influenced Songs, they don't want dated-sounding material. They're looking for modern Songs that have a '90's vibe. Listen closely to the references to hear what we mean by that, but don't copy them in any way, shape, or form.

Stripped-down demos and full productions are both okay to submit as long as your Songs are great, and your recordings are clean, clear, and well-balanced! Do NOT copy the references in any way, shape, or form. Use them only as a general guide for tempo, tone, texture, and overall vibe.

The specific deal points will be negotiated on a Song-by-Song basis directly by the Publisher. Please submit as many Songs as you like, online or per CD, and PLEASE include lyrics! Time-permitting, the Publisher (who has been trained as a TAXI Screener) may screen some or all of the submissions! Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 PM (PST) on Wednesday, February 28th, 2024. TAXI # S240228GM

[Telefunkin]

As you've posted your frustrations I assume that you're interested in knowing what others here think. I don't doubt your credentials as you've spelled them out, so my comments here are with respect to all of that. I offer them in the hope that you find an outside perspective useful, but I'm not in Nashville (even though I have written there) and I'm certainly not a country music connoisseur, so take anything that helps and ignore the rest.

If I was in my early 20s and a rising star I would probably want to sing about being optimistic and curious about life and all that it might bring. I probably would not want to be reflecting on my 'story', or recalling when we thought we'd be forever young, or making biblical references to a life of pain as the man that I am now, made of the memories and the scars. Aren't these things the shackles of a man of a certain age? Why would I even have a story?

The lyrics strike me as trying to cram in as many images as possible but in doing so they also pull in many of the less-than-fresh country cliches - river, cotton, Friday night, paycheck, sweat, my old town, trucks, gravel roads, night moves, under the moon. Again, they don't seem to be the concerns or even terminology from the mind of a 20 year old. I think the main lyrical hook is the title at the end of the chorus, but I don't sense any strong musical or melodic hooks, so the catchy-ness is missing for me and there's certainly no 'ear worm'. Its all minor with a 'down' mood.

Even demos in Nashville are radio-ready but this one seems to be a bit 1-dimensional. The vocal is OK but quite plain, with a fair amount of slightly awkward phrasing and sounds like an older man (in keeping with the lyrics), and I'd have to say that the guitar solo is not great. Therefore the demo isn't really helping 'demonstrate' the full potential of the song.

Putting all these things together IMHO the screener was right to return the song, and their feedback makes sense to me too. I'm nobody, and what I think doesn't matter one jot, but there's a bit of a thread developing through the other opinions expressed here. I hope they help in some way.

[Casey H]

-----
But Screener 368 had this to say:
I think you could improve your song by:
Part of selling yourself, and your material is putting your best foot forward. That means the music melody, writing, production, and performance all need to be top-notch and professional.

I returned or forwarded this song because
This song is not moving forward because it does not have the polish and professionalism necessary to place it at this time.
------

While I still think those comments were harsh and not helpful, to be fair, what that the critique in its entirety? What, if anything, was said in other boxes on the form? It's important to post the entire review.

Telefunkin made great points about the song itself. I would hope a screener would mention at least one of those (or similar) such as "Lyrics not compelling enough", "Melody not strong enough", "Hook could be better", etc., etc.

It's also important, if you don't know, to keep in mind just how high the bar is for this type of pitch. Song pitches for country artists are the highest bar there is as far as what it takes to get a forward and thousands higher that than to get interest from the client. Based on your background, you probably know all this.

Casey

UPDATE: I just re-read the thread and saw that the publisher themselves may have done the screening. Well if this review was from the publisher, hard to blame Taxi. Your song was presented directly to them and this was their reaction which makes it simply 'the real world'.