Song length

[nomiyah]

An Instrumental listing says "60 seconds to 2 minutes is the recommended length for this pitch". I want to submit a track that's over 3 minutes (it's the instrumental version to a song) but everyone on this forum says I have to pay attention to the wording in the listing.My question is should I edit it to 2 minutes or just submit it as is? The thing I like about the long version is that there are different mixes throughout so there's more to choose from. Will a Taxi listener see the length and return it on that basis?Thanks in advance,Nomi

[hummingbird]

Hey Nomi, I think if they say "recommended" it means they're willing to listen to something longer. I think they'd word it differently if it was 2 minutes max. That being said, I'd tend to give them something as close as possible to what they ask for - they likely don't want to have to edit bigtime themselves. H

[Casey H]

Hey Nomi I wouldn't submit anything more than 2 minutes whether or not you think it will make it past the TAXI screener. If a recipient sees it has a track length of over 3 minutes, they might not listen at all... And if they won't be hooked in the first 2 minutes, nothing matters anyway. Just like with vocals, you have to wow them pretty quickly, often within 30 seconds.I would edit the piece down to under 2 minutes -or- make 2 segments of about 60-90 seconds each and submit both.Lotsa luck... Caseywww.broadjam.com/hurowitzwww.caseysongs.comwww.myspace.com/charles_p_huowitz(Too many darn URL's !! )

[nomiyah]

Hmmm, 2 contradicting suggestions.Hbird, if they are asking for 1 or 2 minutes, I have to assume they'll be editing it anyway. Otherwise they'd ask for something specific like 45 seconds or whatever.Casey, just because it's over 3 minutes doesn't mean I'm wasting time. If they only listen to the first minute, I think it'll still hold up. I do wonder about your other point though, if they'd reject it without listening because it isn't exactly what they asked for.When I've pitched to various industry types in person, they usually listen to only the first minute or so. I wonder how much the Taxi screeners listen to?

[hummingbird]

Hey, I'm told Taxi screeners listen to the whole thing... but if you get forwarded.... well, I saw A&R/publisher panels at the Rally and 30 secs was about all you got to catch their attention. But that was 99% songs with vocals, too.I think the question we're trying to answer is, 'what does the listee want in this case' - and they've said from 60 to 120 secs... so I'd give them something as close as possible to that. If you decide to send in the whole song, can you let us know if the critique mentions anything about length? It would be good to know for future ref.warmlyH

[davewalton]

Hi Nomi,There's usually no danger in taking the listings literally. Rationalization is the thing that usually gets me in trouble (i.e. "I know they want 'x' but I'm sure they'll accept 'y' because <insert reason here>).If at all possible I'd stick with the recommendation. It might seem "optional" but someone made a point to specify the track length. We're an odd group. We have threads that talk about how sketchy or vague the listing information is sometimes and then when they're specific, we talk about if it's OK to to ignore that. DavePS - I didn't win the $365 million Powerball last night. Bummer.

[matto]

Edit it to 2 minutes or under, in a way that makes musical sense. It would be silly to jeopardize your chances by not following guidelines. If the tune gets forwarded, and you get a callback, then that would be the time to tell them about the long version.mattoQuote:We're an odd group. We have threads that talk about how sketchy or vague the listing information is sometimes and then when they're specific, we talk about if it's OK to to ignore that.Lol Dave

[nomiyah]

Makes sense. Thanks.

[nomiyah]

I'm still curious if Taxi screeners listen to the whole song or just a minute or two. Does anyone know how that works?

[johnnydean1]

Quote:I'm still curious if Taxi screeners listen to the whole song or just a minute or two. Does anyone know how that works?It seems fairly obvious to me that they listen to the whole song.If they can make comments on the song from start to finish the chances are they have listened to all of it.When broadband first started and before I became a Primo Member I wanted to get some Review Credits.I listened to about 400 songs over a period of a couple of weeks and now I have every sympathy with the Taxi Screeners.The songs I listened to ranged from absolutely pathetic to absolutely brilliant.The vast majority were in the first category!I found myself scoring on Production,Arrangement,Recording Quality within five seconds of the song starting.Occasionally I would go back and adjust the score either way.At the risk off sounding conceited I have always been able to pick chart material (writing them is another matter) and in all the time I have been listening I have only ever heard "one" song that could have been a hit and even then that would have needed some work.So for the screeners to listen all day everyday to our sometimes less than wonderful efforts and still make encouraging and helpful comments is something little short of a miracle.J.