What do screeners mean when...

[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 )

[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?

[Esther]

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.

[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

[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.

[Esther]

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!

[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.

[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

[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