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What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:08 am
by Esther
What do screeners mean when they write: "You have a unique approach to your lyrics and melodies."?
Does it mean that
1. this unique approach is a good thing that I should continue doing or
2. it's too unique and nobody's ever gonna wanna cut it? (I know I'm a little paranoid

)
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 10:21 am
by hazineju
hi Esther! I hate to be unhelpful but it sounds like it could mean either way. But I would guess they meant choice 1. If they felt it was "too unique and nobody's ever gonna wanna cut it" I think they would have gone on to say that in the critique, in a more tactful way, hopefully
Do you have any more details of the critique to help us interpret it?
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:33 pm
by Esther
hazineju wrote:hi Esther! I hate to be unhelpful but it sounds like it could mean either way. But I would guess they meant choice 1. If they felt it was "too unique and nobody's ever gonna wanna cut it" I think they would have gone on to say that in the critique, in a more tactful way, hopefully
Do you have any more details of the critique to help us interpret it?
After this sentence they went on to tell me that the chorus should've been in a higher range....how the vocals should be more polished... so nothing else about being unique.
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:25 pm
by ottlukk
Estherr:
You should post a link to your music, and then ask for comments on the peer to peer thread. Welcome to TAXI!
Ott
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 4:51 pm
by allends
I can understand why you might be uneasy about being called "unique", but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the screener was likely admiring something interesting in your writing. I was told by an A&R person that he was always on the lookout for something that stood out from the crowd. So please take to heart whatever specific advice you were given and develop those strengths & more, because if you have the "uniquness" spark you have an edge in this business.
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:47 pm
by Esther
allends wrote:I can understand why you might be uneasy about being called "unique", but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that the screener was likely admiring something interesting in your writing. I was told by an A&R person that he was always on the lookout for something that stood out from the crowd. So please take to heart whatever specific advice you were given and develop those strengths & more, because if you have the "uniquness" spark you have an edge in this business.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 12:01 am
by Len911
Esther, my initial reaction was that unique in a land of ala's couldn't be much of a compliment, but upon further consideration I would have to conclude it to be very positive, because I don't think they would have left you hanging with that word unique, and would have offered a suggestion on how to improve your lyrics and melodies if it weren't meant in a good way. The positives seem to stand on their own, and the negatives seem to take a bit more explanation. In other words, if the unique approach to your lyrics and melodies needed improvement, surely they would have told you how to improve them. Apparently the chorus was unique because they told you it needed to be in a higher range, so in the screener's opinion it was unique in not such a better way. Otoh, I am only speculating, and not actually having the opportunity to listen myself, so I don't really have a clue,lol! Now you are leaving us hanging, by not posting your song.
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 2:12 am
by Casey H
Esther
I'd hard to answer without the whole context. If you post the entire review, folks could give a much more informed opinion.

Casey
Re: What do screeners mean when...
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:14 am
by Esther
Thanks all of you. I re-read the review a couple of times and it's clear now. The "unique" comment was meant to be positive
