Target writing

[hummingbird]

Quote:Just a thought on this target writing idea.I just read the email I received from taxi on this.Yea it's good to have a plan but let's not forget thatmost of the songs we hear on the radio are wanting to put it nicely. I'm a country rock song writer but I have to tell you that I may be compelled to go out and buy 1 or 2 new Cd's a year!!Out of all the top 40 tunes released all year that's not saying much. The point is we all want to make some money but why emulate crap???Nashville is broken and there are big changes in the wind for the music industry future. I'll stick to writing from the heart and sell my music to the people who really believe in it, not to those who believe it fits the flavor of the month cookie mold.Dave PingelSpeaking as one who has been dragged, kicking and screaming, from the altar of “not selling out my artistry” to the reality of “artistry includes networking, marketing and business”… I am far more creative, far more industrious and far more successful now that I focus on making music for the market than I ever was when I made music for the sake of making music. And I challenge anyone to say that the music I make now is any less an expression of my artistry than before. If it’s so ‘easy’ to write the ‘crap on the radio’ and it’s so easy to ‘sell out’ and make money with your music… then show me. Just ‘sell out’ for a year and write cookie cutter songs, and show me how easy it is to get them cut by a top artist and get on the radio. The reality is that if you are in the BUSINESS of making music, then you have to embrace the business part of it. And that means writing commercially viable music that the market is interested in. That is no different from any other business where you are creating and marketing something and looking for the 'buyer'. and.... what Debra said:Quote:And frankly, being intentional in your writing choices, choosing your genre, choosing your subject matter, using language that speaks more profoundly to your particular audience for your lyrics, learning your art and craft and developing your skill level is going to guide you to create much more powerful and effective songs. And isn't that what true artistry is about? Hummin'bird

[squids]

Well, I'd hesitate to say anything in the top 10 right now is gonna impact the world.... but certainly some music has. It's a rare thing.As for the rest, I think there are probably a few lucky, lucky individuals who have the talent and a common 'sense' of what people want to combine them instinctively. There are several examples of that in history, literature, etc. Nearly all of them struggled with cold sweats wondering if they were insane, too, not exactly a comfortable way to live. The rest? Well, the rest can either write what makes their close circle happy and therefore themselves happy too or write what makes a wider majority happy and find happiness in it. That takes homework. Finding your market, staying ahead of it, anticipating, planning, thinking.If we're really lucky, we find success in larger numbers while finding happiness too.

[vicky]

hey there....it seems like there are many great points on these posts....and they all make sense to me.....ping......i see what you're talking about in a realistic way.....first make sure you know the difference between 'music library listings' and 'artist listings'...these are very different animals IMO....for library listings you are emulating others and in the artists listing you are free to do your thang....It literally took me a year to figure this out, because it seems to be assumed knowledge.....Quote: The point is we all want to make some money but why emulate crap???....OK, if that's what you want to do ...I'm not emulating crap...I'm emulating, with my own touch, music I already like....I don't recomend writing anything you think is crap....that sounds un-fun.... Artist listings....although Taxi can help out...in a way, if you don't have other irons in the fire for your cutting edge material, then you've got a tough road ahead...there are many other things that need to happen....On the artist listings, if really interested in your material....they want to know you have a finished cd, a following in your area or region, an image, and whatever else...now if you have these things going, then there will be more opportunities no matter what....also for cutting edge stuff that is new...the grassroots style to seems to be the route, still......the rocket to fame is almost never an artist with a really new sound....unfortunately......with a new sound, it's more like a tortoise with a jet-pack.... hope this helps,vtbpps more than half my music is too strange for Taxi's listings, but I still love it here!!!

[squids]

Quote:it's more like a tortoise with a jet-pack.... Great visual! Effective example too.

[ragani]

Quote:No one says that you cannot do some of both. Write some songs for the 'market'. Write some for yourself.Amen to that!

[squids]

Quote:I think the idea that writing "for the market" is "emulating crap" is a huge misconception. It's simply working within certain parameters.Some of the greatest music ever written was to order, so there's nothing inherently "crappy" about writing for the market.People try so hard to be unique, every artist's bio touts how you "unique" their music is...but, there is NOTHING unique about being unique...everybody is, by virtue of being an individual. Instead of focusing on being unique, why not focus on being exceptional?Whether you write for yourself or the market, your individual stamp WILL be on your music.Bach (as most comnposers of that time) was an "employee musician" his entire life, virtually all his music was written to a target and had to meet very specific requirements. Self expression was not the driving force behind his work, yet his music is not only some of the best, but also most recognizable as his.There's one thing I agree with though in the OP's post. DON'T write something you hate. You will NOT succeed because you will compete with people who love what they do and therefore will almost always be better at it.What I would suggest instead is keeping an open mind, and instead of fucusing on the "crap" you hear, focus on the gems. There ARE gems in every style of music...mattoI want to hear a gem in polka!! No fair countin' the chicken dance!

[ragani]

I agree, especially with the part about loving what you do. I do see a small (but noticeable) difference in how I approach writing "for the market" vs. writing for myself... though maybe those two categories are not as distinct as we might expect them to be. For me, I also like what I write for myself to be marketable, and I like what I write "for the market" to be something that is pleasing to me. In my case, I would view the commercially released kirtan chant CD's that I produce as writing more for myself (though yes, it is also a very marketable item), as they are tracks that I would listen to over and over in my off time for pleasure (relaxation, rejuvenation). To distinguish, I would not likely listen to most of my music library tracks in the same way. Maybe some people do? The fact is that I love doing music for different purposes and uses. And each category of music production requires different kinds of expertise, and they each have their own pleasures.On a related note, I hope a music library piece never takes me a year to produce (like my CD's do)! There are indeed gems in every style of music... At the last Rally, I heard a guy in the lobby singing some kind of acoustic heavy metal lullaby song, and it blew me away.So yeah, bring on that polka gem! Raags

[squids]

Quote:I agree, especially with the part about loving what you do. I do see a small (but noticeable) difference in how I approach writing "for the market" vs. writing for myself... though maybe those two categories are not as distinct as we might expect them to be. For me, I also like what I write for myself to be marketable, and I like what I write "for the market" to be something that is pleasing to me. In my case, I would view the commercially released kirtan chant CD's that I produce as writing more for myself (though yes, it is also a very marketable item), as they are tracks that I would listen to over and over in my off time for pleasure (relaxation, rejuvenation). To distinguish, I would not likely listen to most of my music library tracks in the same way. Maybe some people do? The fact is that I love doing music for different purposes and uses. And each category of music production requires different kinds of expertise, and they each have their own pleasures.On a related note, I hope a music library piece never takes me a year to produce (like my CD's do)! There are indeed gems in every style of music... At the last Rally, I heard a guy in the lobby singing some kind of acoustic heavy metal lullaby song, and it blew me away.So yeah, bring on that polka gem! RaagsHey, potential long-lost sista, VERY good points made here. And yet another thing in common too! (we should make a list! )......I listen to my not-commercial stuff to relax sometimes. I don't listen to the commercial stuff at all, once it's done. It gets sent out there, I check on it to see how it does off-leash once and then it's sayonara babeeee!! And whip out the ipod with something really fun and exotic and soothing in it.

[che]

My son mainly creates the music. Together (family & friends) we create songs. We do that as often as time permits. That's automatic. Those songs do not always fit a listing, but we always write in the mindset of marketability. Can't remember the last time we wrote a song just because. It's always "who could sing this song?" and "is it marketable?" If it starts heading down a path of destruction or getting too off target we move on...NEXT We are still trying to balance the Taxi listings. We have managed to ADAPT some of our stuff for Taxi listings with a bit of forwarding success. We have not been able, time wise, to write something specifically for a listing. I envy those who can do that. Maybe one day.....if I dare to dream we'll have time for that.I think it is very different for the Instrumental library stuff. I've been listening to other peoples forwards etc... trying to get a better gauge on what's really getting passed onto the next phase. It seems to me as if some of our music is produced more for a song than and instrumental track and we are learning to adjust that by listening to others. Ours are almost too full. Many instrumentals are much more simplistic in structure and instrumentation. Realistically people might be talking over these tracks so we are trying to keep that in mind also.

[ibanez468]

Well Che,That's kinda' what was told ta' me by my good buddy & grand Wizard, the mazz. He told me "ya' gotta' stop writin' like you're producin' an album". So I stopped. I had been so used to writin' that way for so long, that it took me a while to get used to writin' 30 sec & 60 sec pieces. There's alot you gotta' get done quickly in that amount of time, so that was a bit of an adjustment. But hey, I'm the king of adaptation. It was a challenge I willingly took on, so I'm gettin' used to it. Besides, it's not so bad to write something for a 1 minute or 2 minute piece. You don't have to put a great deal of time & energy into it, like you do for a 3-1/2 or 4-1/2 minute song. So it's got it's pros & cons.I-468