Swing-and-a-miss...Thanks & Questions.

[philbrown]

Hey all, Got my first RETURN and it actually feels...ok. Didn't ever expect to hit it outta the park my first time up to bat with Taxi.The screen was very 'real' [THANKS LISTENER ID#226] But it brings up some great questions that I haven'tbeen able to find here on the Forum:1. Would like to hear from the more experienced members if youhave an average Return to Forward ratio, might sound silly atfirst and I understand everybody's music and the listings you are submitting to are different BUT what I'm hopin' to see is a generalpattern; that for every so many Returns you get X amount of Forwards and it will gimme' some perspective.2. Is there a method, to how you submit for listings (besides research, and experience)...What I mean is; When the listingscome out and there are 6 on there that you could submit to,Would you submit one, Your best song, to each listing, OR Pickthe top 2 listings and submit 3 (of your best songs to each) - I know that a lot of you do this differently and want to hear thedifferent ideas and what has worked for you.(I understand that some listings give you options or requirements for how many songs they want to hear.)3. Are any of you involved with [other] companies that actually take your music and try to pitch it directly to these folks....hopeit's ok to talk about other avenues for our music here...we're alljust to tryin' find things that work for us and share ideas and experiences. [ I have read some of the stuff in BizTalk but am more interested in your personal successes with some of thesethings]Thanks for takin' the time.Style not consistent enough from song to song for an artist pitchHard Rock, yes, but not as "radio-friendly" and mainstream as the bands mentioned in the listing, e.g., Hinder, Daughtry etc. Overall CommentsHey Phil, I like the headline of your bio ""Soundgarden meets ZZtop"" - saying that, to me the material sounds more heavily influenced by Alice In Chains - either way I like the vibe a lot. The songs feature cool grooves, riffs, good melodies and musical parts. The strong vocals suit the material well. The musicianship is mostly tight and fitting and the production sounds fine overall.You could revisit the arrangements and melodies to make the material more commercially viable in my view - please see comments underneath the songs for details.I wanted to mention that I really think that you have a strong, soulful vocal quality - something which is pretty rare. Concentrating more on you as a performer/leader of a band as opposed to trying to sell yourself as a producer/engineer for TV/Film might be an idea, as I think that area (production) is not a strong point of the material at the moment - I don't mean that comment to be a downer, but I really enjoyed the vocals, they stand out. Good singers and vocal are worth a lot!I wish you good luck with everything.Bio CommentsThe bio makes stresses the fact that you want to create music for TV and Film etc. It does not present a band or an artist really at the moment - if you want to appeal more to artist listings like this one, you could rewrite the bio, take new, more professional pictures and start gigging live to build a fan base. The main reason(s) you were or were not forwarded for this listing is:The material could be strengthened regarding the melodies and the arrangements. Listener ID # 226

[t4mh]

Hi Phil, I'll bite.I'm sure others will join in. First off I have to say that this is a TAXI forum, set up and paid for by TAXI for all of us. I don't really agree that discussing "other deals" on a TAXI forum would be the correct thing to do although I don't think there are any rules or anything. I just think it would be improper and there are other ways to do that.Sorry you got returned on your first try. Happened to me, happens to most of us. It would be helpful if you posted a link to your track(s) that you submitted along with the listings that you submitted for. This is the only way any of us have to steer you in the right direction. Also, before you submit in the future, you might want to post your track on Peer To Peer and let all of us have a wack at it. Then do the edits and you'll have a better shot at getting forwarded. There are some very excellent folks here that have been doing this for some time and know the ropes better than I. I always appreciate their help.To answer a couple of your questions, I am VERY selective about what listings and what tracks I submit. I do not sing and so all of my work is instrumental. It takes a few knocks to figure out what they are looking for. I have to decide if I can deliver it. The truth is that the TV/Film business is fairly competitive and they don't really forward things that aren't spot on. I don't think in terms of, like you say, of 6 listings where you COULD submit and you might get forwarded. I try to do better than that. I don't have my one best song or my two best songs. I try to make all of my tracks good and they are all different. So there really isn't a formula other than the listing comes out for say a contemporary rock ballad with A LAS blah, blah and blah. You had better listen to the A LAS because THAT is what they are looking for and forwarding. You song may be a great rock ballad but doesn't sound like the A LAS. You get returned... Tough to swallow but that is how it works. The bar is set very high. So if you don't have a song that sounds like the A LAS then you had better write one and record it. If I have enough tracks for a particular listing and I think thet REALLY have chance, I send in all I've got.My one piece of advice as far as writing is be your own toughest critic. The screeners will probably be harder...Looking at your critique I'm guessing you were going the road of Artist Pitching ( which I know nothing of )and your tracks weren't suitable for the listing. Reading a listing is almost a science. This happens more than any of us can guess so don't get bent out of shape over it. Just keep writing and post that stuff on Peer to peer so everyone can help you out.Don't give up. Keep writing. You can do this!Hope this helpsGood Luck!Keith

[fusilierb]

My best advice is to post things your thinking about submitting to Peer to Peer, and post the listing in question with the piece. You'll get some fantastic feedback, which will help you in deciding what to pitch and what not to.Getting rejected is a big part of the learning process around here. I've submitted 46 tracks to listings this year and 24 of them have been forwarded, which means the rest have been returned. It's just a part of learning what works and what doesn't.It's also a good idea to concentrate on submitting to listings that come with critiques. Those can be invaluable when you're still trying to figure out how Taxi works.B

[k o star]

Aug 29, 2009, 9:32pm, fusilierb wrote:My best advice is to post things your thinking about submitting to Peer to Peer, and post the listing in question with the piece. You'll get some fantastic feedback, which will help you in deciding what to pitch and what not to.BFor sure man... half of my forwards went thru this process... P2P's Awesome!!

[markjsmith]

I have to agree as well! P2P is a great way to know if you are on track, if the writing quality is there, if your track is broadcast quality, etc....-Mark

[philbrown]

Thanks All, I have seen all of you on P2P and so much great feedback on there...and will see you all in there soon.Glad to hear that you've all settled to good place with it and that's what I'm workin' on.Appreciate the support.