US collaborator required

[malcolmdunn]

I'm a UK based composer & producer looking for a US based songwriter with a view to reaching the US market. Although I get some TAXI forwards some of the critiques suggest that some of my submissions are not on target stylistically. In addition some of the references I am unfamiliar with. I'm aiming mostly at producing finished recordings for use directly in broadcast and films although pitching songs is also a possibility.I need someone with songwriting skills and an understanding of the stylistic requirements. You don't need any recording facilities or musical/technical production skills. I have enough of these for both of us. You would need to be serious about the job though and be able to work quickly to a deadline when required.You can check out my TAXI page here www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?userid=9751

[Casey H]

Quote:I'm a UK based composer & producer looking for a US based songwriter with a view to reaching the US market. Although I get some TAXI forwards some of the critiques suggest that some of my submissions are not on target stylistically. In addition some of the references I am unfamiliar with. I'm aiming mostly at producing finished recordings for use directly in broadcast and films although pitching songs is also a possibility.I need someone with songwriting skills and an understanding of the stylistic requirements. You don't need any recording facilities or musical/technical production skills. I have enough of these for both of us. You would need to be serious about the job though and be able to work quickly to a deadline when required.You can check out my TAXI page here www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?userid=9751 HiIn a way, getting familiar with the styles is the easy part... Producing music that sounds like the styles is the harder part. You can get familiar with styles by listening to clips on sites like iTunes or amazon.com. So, when a listing says "a la Group X", check out what Group X's songs sound like. At 99 cents a download, it you think you can emulate a group's song(s), why not just purchase the track(s)? Collaboration is still a great idea and I will go take a listen to your music. You will find some great people here as potential collaborators... I just wanted to see if the concern was understanding the required sound or actually making it. Regards, Casey

[malcolmdunn]

Hello Casey,I think it is a valid point to make that it more difficult to emulate a style than be familiar with it. Intellectually I can analyze and recreate a style but it is likely to be just a Pastiche. My reasoning for looking for a US collaborator is that they are more likely to be able create something more authentic. I reckon the trick is to be sufficiently original within a style but not cross over the boundaries. Given the material to work with I can make it sound right.MALCOLM

[Casey H]

Quote:Hello Casey,I think it is a valid point to make that it more difficult to emulate a style than be familiar with it. Intellectually I can analyze and recreate a style but it is likely to be just a Pastiche. My reasoning for looking for a US collaborator is that they are more likely to be able create something more authentic. I reckon the trick is to be sufficiently original within a style but not cross over the boundaries. Given the material to work with I can make it sound right.MALCOLM Hi MalcolmI hope I didn't come across like I didn't think collaborating was a good idea. It is! I was just trying to see where you were so as to make the best suggestions. I listened to one of your tracks and it sounded really good! I'll try to listen to more later. We get a lot of folks on here who don't understand why their songs are rejected by TAXI for not being on-target but they've never even sampled tracks from the "a la" artists. So, it's hard to know where someone is coming from at first...I'll stop by your site and I hope others do too! Regards,Casey

[sgs4u]

This forum is likely a great source for what you are looking for. Are you looking to pay someone for advice, or are you seeking a co-writer?

[Casey H]

Hi again Malcom...I sampled some songs on your site. Nice stuff! You have a knack for writing catchy pop songs. As you know (and I think you are saying), your songs are retro so you can't target a lot of listings that call for songs resembling modern artists. Two things: You definitely have the talent to, either alone or with a collaborator, crank out more modern material. One key is to target songs for a particular genre or style... but you know that. The second thing is "retro" is not a dirty word anymore with so many film/TV opportunities for songs that sound like past decades, etc. So, your retro work has a market. Are you a Dispatch member? You might want to join if not... Or, at the minimum, contact taxi to get on their e-mailing list so you can see the kind of film/TV requests they get. (You can get the emails without joining... a good teaser and motivator)Looking for collaborator here is a great move. Kudos to you for, instead of bitching as to why your songs aren't getting forwarded for certain listings, seeking a productive solution. Regards, Casey

[malcolmdunn]

Thanks Casey for your favorable comments. I did sign up to Dispatch and have submitted some tracks but I'm yet to be convinced about it's usefulness. There is some discussion over on the dispatch forum about the pros and cons. My beef is that you don't get any critique back and that is one of the major benefits of TAXI.Retro seems to be the new fashion these days which is weird, but I'm not complaining. There is retro and retro however. Jazz funk anyone? No - I thought not.

[malcolmdunn]

To clarify my request - I am looking for a co writer. Any comments are welcome of course.

[sgs4u]

Well I also went to have a listen, before my previous post Malcolm. Something about how you worded your posts caught my attention. I think Casey's input is awesome, and I think he has a better handle on styles/genres more that just about anyone here, and that certainly includes me. But, if you plan to do all the recording work, because you already have the gear and chops, how do you envision including a co-writer's efforts into the copyright of these new creations? And are you thinking about more than one song, with this arrangement, and will you use the same division of ownership/contributions template, for more than one song?50/50 could seem unfair, if you're doing ALL the production work. I'm really interested in how you see things developing. This co-writing is also worth investigating to me, from a philosophical perspective. How much value will you give, and how do you quantify someone's efforts, to basically, consult with you? I'm simply asking this from a learning how you plan to do things POV. curious steveQuote:I'm aiming mostly at producing finished recordings for use directly in broadcast and films although pitching songs is also a possibility.I need someone with songwriting skills and an understanding of the stylistic requirements. You don't need any recording facilities or musical/technical production skills. I have enough of these for both of us. You would need to be serious about the job though and be able to work quickly to a deadline when required.You can check out my TAXI page here www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?userid=9751

[malcolmdunn]

Quote:Well I also went to have a listen, before my previous post Malcolm. Something about how you worded your posts caught my attention. I think Casey's input is awesome, and I think he has a better handle on styles/genres more that just about anyone here, and that certainly includes me. But, if you plan to do all the recording work, because you already have the gear and chops, how do you envision including a co-writer's efforts into the copyright of these new creations? And are you thinking about more than one song, with this arrangement, and will you use the same division of ownership/contributions template, for more than one song?50/50 could seem unfair, if you're doing ALL the production work. I'm really interested in how you see things developing. This co-writing is also worth investigating to me, from a philosophical perspective. How much value will you give, and how do you quantify someone's efforts, to basically, consult with you? I'm simply asking this from a learning how you plan to do things POV. curious steveHello Steve,I have always gone 50/50 on songwriting royalties. Lennon and McCartney did this even when they didn't collaborate on a song at all. I don't know of any other way of doing it.A distinction has to be made however between intellectual and mechanical royalties. That is between the song itself and the recording of it. They are two separate entities. Say I recorded a song that we had written together but you had no part in the recording. In this case I would own 100% of the recording and 50% of the song.There is a possible problem with certain types of broadcast use though where a flat fee is paid to use the recording and the royalties are not separately defined. In this case I might go for something like 66/33 split. I would always come to an agreement in advance about this kind of thing.There might be also be the situation where I record a song (as producer) that I had no hand in writing. This would require a different split but the principle of keeping the mechanical and intellectual rights separate would remain.I hope this makes sense and has cleared up any doubts you might have.