Screener #309, why are you rejecting my hip hop?

[bobadohshe]

Submitted several hip hop tracks to this listing:

HOT, FRESH, UPTEMPO, AUTHENTIC HIP HOP INSTRUMENTAL tracks needed by a popular network launching a new reality show. Your contemporary, bad-ass beats will help immerse viewers in the dope world of mixology featuring the master practitioners. To nail this listing, beats must be LEGIT and UP-TO-DATE with a UNIQUE, ENERGETIC mix of FAT LOOPS and MELODIC RIFFS that can hold interest without the aid of vocals. Vinyl dirt, bouncin' brass, random stabs -- all welcome. MAKE SURE ALL YOUR SAMPLES ARE CLEARED. Broadcast quality needed (great sounding home recordings are fine). Submit one to three tracks online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than Monday, November 29, 2010.

And was once again rejected by screener #309. I had submitted a big batch to a similar listing over the Summer, and gotten a slew of similar returns. The boxes checked seem to be totally arbitrary if they are even checked at all. I remember getting 'lyrics' checked on one submission that was entirely instrumental.

I don't have a problem getting returns. I get tons of them. And I don't usually complain because they are often full of good advice or right about something I missed. But I'd love to know what the problem with these tracks is! Are they worried about them being up to date? Because they are very 2010, all of them. Are they worried about the mixes? Well they sound good to me, but let me know, maybe I'm wrong. Do they not develop well as 'CUES'?, well, I wrote them so they would, introducing elements to bring the cues along as opposed to just being 'beats'. But I'd love to know. Because I've spent about $50 or so in Hip Hop submissions lately, consider myself a very qualified candidate for writing Hip Hop, and I'm being frustrated, and know I can do a better job if they give me more feedback. But I'm starting to question the legitimacy of screener #309 anyway, sometimes not checking boxes, and other times checking boxes that shouldn't be checked, and I'm starting to feel like I'm wasting my money.


http://www.taximusic.com/stream/354891/Swaggertown.mp3

http://www.taximusic.com/stream/354889/ ... y_Dogg.mp3

http://www.taximusic.com/stream/329241/Crunk_Locker.mp3

[fret17]

bobadohshe........I understand your frustration...especially on Y/N listings 'cause there's never a real clear cut reason for the return....I usually get a lot of boxes checked..."cause I suck!.....lol...at least that's how I usually feel afterward....I can't hear your tracks 'cause somebody stole my speakers here at work....and am not qualified to intelligently comment on Hip Hop anyway 'cause I'm old....and white....but not getting any boxes checked at all ....?...what's up with that??....Time to email or call somebody at Taxi to give you clarity and some peace of mind...good luck!

[Eric Bolvin]

Yea. I have never had a forward from 309 and sometimes he doesn't check anything. I wrote the head screener and they reviewed the songs (still rejected).
Maybe if enough people complain about 309, he'll actually start working for our money.

Eb

[bobadohshe]

Sent 'head screener' an e-mail. No reply yet....

[kitchensinkmusic]

Hey man....I feel your pain....I've gotten returns on stuff where I was absolutely sure I nailed the listing. Lots and lots of returns. There's nothing wrong with your craft OR your tracks - they just don't hit the mark for this particular listing. That said I listened to your tracks and since I'm an old white guy too feel free to disregard these observations:

In general the listing sounds like it's looking for a little more excitement than your average instrumental cue:

ie."UNIQUE, ENERGETIC mix of FAT LOOPS and MELODIC RIFFS that can hold interest without the aid of vocals. Vinyl dirt, bouncin' brass, random stabs..."

Swaggertown seems a little light on melodic content. The lead synth on y Dogg sounds very dated to my ears and I don't even listen to electronic music. String/Brass type sounds on Crunk Locker would definitly be more effective with better samples.

Just my uninformed opinion tho'.
Best,

[rnrmachine]

Blank returns... Fishy at best...

When I was younger and did a paper route... some kids would throw the papers in the trash rather then deliver them. They called it "dumping"... I wonder if we have that same scenario going on here? /shrug

I wouldn't blame Taxi for having a bad employee, all companies end up with them. It's what they do about this that matters.

hmmm... Even Y/N listing are supposed to have a main reason for not being forwarded.... whether it be lyrics, production, etc... we definitely have a slacker between us and success if this is an ongoing thing with this screener.

Rob

[fret17]

Blank returns... Fishy at best...

When I was younger and did a paper route... some kids would throw the papers in the trash rather then deliver them. They called it "dumping"... I wonder if we have that same scenario going on here? /shrug

I wouldn't blame Taxi for having a bad employee, all companies end up with them. It's what they do about this that matters.

hmmm... Even Y/N listing are supposed to have a main reason for not being forwarded.... whether it be lyrics, production, etc... we definitely have a slacker between us and success if this is an ongoing thing with this screener.

Rob

I don't think 309 is a slacker...There's another way of looking at this....I've been told that in the early days of Taxi, there weren't any boxes...just Y/N....people compained because they wanted a clue as to why something got returned....So they came up with these boxes....well I for one feel that all these boxes just create more confusion and more questions....I got a Y/N return once that had almost every box check except 'Lyrics"...this return made me feel like crap...it basically told me "Don't quit your day job"....maybe 309 doesn't want to check boxes because they can be interpreted the wrong way by the taxi member...after careful re analyisis of my submission I had to agree that every box that was checked made sense from the screener's point of view as they know industry standards of excellence and I was way off....Y/N means Y/N...309 said no...end of story...checking boxes in my opinion only creates confusion and sometimes engages the ego to think someone in the position of power and awareness doesn't know what they're doing...it's rather insulting...I don't think 309 has fun shooting down submissions any more than any other screener...I do agree that if you feel strongly about something, you should investigate futher....but I bet my studio it's not going to get you a forward....The industry wants and demands perfection on all accounts with the submission....miss something and it's a no...boxes only piss you off more imo..............

[bobadohshe]

... That said I listened to your tracks and since I'm an old white guy too feel free to disregard these observations:

In general the listing sounds like it's looking for a little more excitement than your average instrumental cue:

ie."UNIQUE, ENERGETIC mix of FAT LOOPS and MELODIC RIFFS that can hold interest without the aid of vocals. Vinyl dirt, bouncin' brass, random stabs..."

Swaggertown seems a little light on melodic content. The lead synth on y Dogg sounds very dated to my ears and I don't even listen to electronic music. String/Brass type sounds on Crunk Locker would definitly be more effective with better samples.

Just my uninformed opinion tho'.
Best,

Thanks for taking the time to listen and trying to help Kitchensink! With sincere due respect, I think your observations are actually a little off the mark for the genre. You gave a disclaimer at the beginning of your observations that you're an old white guy, so I'll chalk it up to that! All the sounds are actually really contemporary.

Thank you though, and I mean it sincerely.

[bobadohshe]

[quote="fret17"
I don't think 309 is a slacker...There's another way of looking at this....I've been told that in the early days of Taxi, there weren't any boxes...just Y/N............................but I bet my studio it's not going to get you a forward....The industry wants and demands perfection on all accounts with the submission....miss something and it's a no...boxes only piss you off more imo..............[/quote]

You could well be right fret17. I just want to MAKE SURE that it's genuine rejection and not a faulty/lazy screener.

Going more in depth with my issue, I've had 12 returns on 3 different listings with my tracks from #309. In a similar listing, a different screener, #53, forwarded 2 out of 3, specifically with the comment 'nice job!' written in one of the boxes. 2 of these tracks were identical to ones submitted to #309's listings.

[fret17]

[quote="fret17"
I don't think 309 is a slacker...There's another way of looking at this....I've been told that in the early days of Taxi, there weren't any boxes...just Y/N............................but I bet my studio it's not going to get you a forward....The industry wants and demands perfection on all accounts with the submission....miss something and it's a no...boxes only piss you off more imo..............

You could well be right fret17. I just want to MAKE SURE that it's genuine rejection and not a faulty/lazy screener.

Going more in depth with my issue, I've had 12 returns on 3 different listings with my tracks from #309. In a similar listing, a different screener, #53, forwarded 2 out of 3, specifically with the comment 'nice job!' written in one of the boxes. 2 of these tracks were identical to ones submitted to #309's listings.[/quote]

.........there's only one explanation for this....309 is an old white guy...
seriously though...the forwards you got were for a listing....the returns you got were for a different listing...no?....It's anybody's guess as to what's up with 309....but I find it extremely hard to believe ML would hire someone to screen who isn't qualified to be the go between of your work and the listings in your style of music....but please let us know what you find out