TAXI.com

hello,
I am new to taxi, I recently got back into song writing and I'm still finding my grove and honing my skills. I am also attempting to learn how to produce and work a DAW.
I recently submitted a song for a country listing. It was returned, and I'm completely ok with that. I understand that its a learning experience and I want to create better songs. However I don't get to ask the reviews more details, and I am not expecting someone else to fix the song. I just need more clarification on somethings.

The listing I submitted for was https://www.taxi.com/listings/S221207AJ

Here is the critique
I think you could improve this song by :
However, the musical feel could hit with some more power. This sounds a bit muddy in the delivery and there could be a more booming and impactful drum groove to carry this idea.

I returned or forwarded this song because
The drums need a boost to really give some power to the pitch and add in a catchier sound and feel to carry this idea.

Other things that were checked
Style
-Not contemporary as requested
Composition
-Melody could be stronger
-Chorus doesn't stand out enough

Here is the song submitted:
https://www.taxi.com/members/8SytlEd5Sf ... -diy-demo-

The recording is a demo. I do not have the skill set at this time to make this sound like a record and I am not going to spend money to hire people and still get a return. I feel like if the submission says a demo is ok and demo didn't get thru then the songs not strong enough yet.

I don't have talented music friends to ask these questions. so I need a little help and direction so I can learn from this experience.

So here are my questions
1. I simplified the melody range in the chorus because what I had felt more poppy, was that a mistake?
2. I am no drum expert, but should I have longer drummer intros, like 4 more beats and more fills or just more heart thumping drums?
3. While "modern" was used in the listing, and my song style was not contemporary enough, could that go back more to the melody being simplified for a country song, or does the song need a better flow rate.

Here is an earlier version of the song before I simplified the melody, but the lyrics were not completed. very very rough demo.
I slowed down the submitted song because I thought it was too much for a country song.
https://www.taxi.com/members/8SytlEd5Sf ... Tt8Bvg-diy

Maybe none of these things matters, and the song is just something that should be set aside and something in my rear view.

I need some direction on what to focus on and how far to go with it.
I have re written this song several times, so I'm ready to do it again, just need to know how far to go with it.

I prefer honesty over courtesy. Telling me soft truths isn't helpful.
I would like to grow this talent, I need honesty.

Thank you for your time and consideration.
I look forward to your valuable feedback.
Happy Holidays
Jerwes

Hey Jerwes

The link to the Listing doesn't show it to us so I am shooting from a more general perspective rather the the specifics of this opportunity.

I agree with you the recording is very much an amateur demo and I think that's the heart of the problem right there. Even so called demos now sound really good, many are good enough to be release quality and even if they don't ask for that your production stadards need to be much higher than they are now to stand any chance. Even on a stripped back guitar/piano type demo you really need to be able to deliver a compelling vocal that really sells the song to the listener.

Your song sounds reasonably okay to me in terms of the writing but the rest is really letting it down. The guitars sound fake, the vocals are not appealing and the whole thing sounds like something I might have made 30 yrs ago when I had a 4 track and a basic home keyboard. In 2022 the bar has been raised massively because we have access to so many better tools now.

So where does that leave you ? The way I see it you have a few options and they're not all mutually exclusive.

1. Update your playing and production skills , there are many courses both online or even in person that can help there but it's a deep rabbit hole and will only happen over time.

2. Collab with people that can fill in the gaps in your skillset

3. Pay to have your song recorded by a bunch of professionals

Of course it depends on your goals as to which route if any is viable. If you speak to CaseyH on the forum he is very knowledgeable on how to get songs produced via collab or professionaly.

Hope that helps and good luck.

Mark

Hi Jerwes
In addition to what Cosmicdolphin said about the production/recording, don't forget it all starts with a great song. All the production in the world won't make a song great if the melody and lyrics aren't there. The screener mentioned how the melody could be stronger and the chorus doesn't stand out. These are critical items. A song needs a killer chorus to compete, especially when the listing says:

CHART-WORTHY COUNTRY SONGS with Male Vocals are needed by a great Music Row Publisher for a Multi-Platinum, GRAMMY Nominated Country Superstar working on upcoming releases!

The bar for something like this is an 11 on a scale of 1-10. New Taxi members often have to get used to reading between the lines in a listing to gauge where the bar is. While it's good to learn your DAW and hone your production skills, I strongly recommend working on your songwriting, using books from some of the gurus like Robin Frederick, Jason Blume, Jai Josephs, and others. (Recommendations for forum-ites welcome here).

Is pitching songs for artists to record your goal? That's a super tough nut to crack. A lot of us started out that way and switched to the Film/TV world because there are many more opportunities. If you want to have a phone chat one day, drop me a private message. Sometimes there is just too much to type.

Wishing you the best for the holidays!
Casey