When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

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LukeIcardMusic
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When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by LukeIcardMusic » Sun Jun 26, 2022 8:54 am

Hi!

I finally am starting to get some feedback back from previous submissions.

What are the taxi A&R reps listening on? Does anyone know?

I would agree with only a few of their statements, BUT I am not even sure they listened to the right file so I think I may disregard most of the critique. I changed the file several times throughout the month and they complained the song was too long so I think they had the first version I submitted which I didnt even think about redoing until later in the month.

I get most of my music professionally mixed and mastered so to say my mixing needs improvement must mean I didnt really nail the production.

what would you do?

For now I'll just keep practicing and concentrating on sound selection, it seems like that is my weak point.

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by admin » Sun Jun 26, 2022 10:46 am

The screeners work remotely, so what they listen on varies. Some listen on studio monitors, some listen on headphones.

It might be a good idea to post the full listing, a link to the song/track(s), and a screenshot of the critique (not just selected comments) in Peer-to-Peer, here on the Forum. You'll likely get feedback from some of our more seasoned members. That's usually a good first step when you don't agree with feedback. Curious to see how that goes!

Michael

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by LukeIcardMusic » Sun Jun 26, 2022 11:01 am

Here is a link to the song on spotify that was reviewed if you wanna check it out. I didnt think 3:30 was that long?

https://open.spotify.com/track/7jGiR1c1 ... z6ucMnUs2Q

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by LukeIcardMusic » Sun Jun 26, 2022 11:02 am

I thought posting the listing was against the rules. It was a custom critique

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by Casey H » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:00 pm

Posting a listing is not against the rules at all. It's encouraged when asking for P2P feedback if you want the feedback with respect to a listing.

Once you make a submission, even for a custom, there is no guarantee that subsequent changes to the mp3 file will result in the screener listening to the updated one. Never depend on that.

I'm not sure how you can disagree with a custom critique. You asked for an opinion and got one. If you post a link to the track and the entire custom critique text, we could give you our input.

Best,
:D Casey

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by LukeIcardMusic » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:10 pm

If I ask for an opinion, that doesnt mean I have to agree with it. If I did that my music would sound like it was made by a crazy person lol

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by cosmicdolphin » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:19 pm

I've had a listen to your track ( on APS Klassik 2020 Speakers )

I think it's got good energy and fairly catchy beats & synths but the main issues that jumped out to me is the vocals are not up to the standard required by the industry , the song itself is VERY repetitive and the hook isn't strong enough to support being repeated that often.

Mix wise it's not bad but if you A/B it with similar commercial tracks it sounds a bit muddy and the kick isn't strong enough.

What did the custom critique say ?

Mark

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by LukeIcardMusic » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:30 pm

It didnt say anything about the mix really except for adding a telephone effect to the vocals. Would be interesting to see what they thing about this version. The club edit was 5 minutes, so yeah kinda long.

Style

The style of this song reminds me of a fusion between indie pop and electronic dance music. I can hear elements of Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Charli XCX. When I hear this song it obviously reminds me of a runway style event, but also I think the energy and rhythm of this song makes me think of a car commercial with a car speeding off into the night with the hook "freedom feels like this"

Melody

The melody in the opening "its gonna be free, your gonna be fast" could be a little more bold. This song has a very empowering message and I think you could be a little more aggressive and bold with the opening melody to really et the tone of the song.

The melody for "freedom feels like this" is solid. I think it has a cool and confident melody that stand out nicely in the song.

For the pre chorus "stop turn pose walk" the melody has a nice rhythm and natural melodic structure. I think it is simple and does a good job setting up the chorus.

The chorus hook could be a little more engaging and memorable. I think the build into the chorus is done nicely but the chorus could have more of a catchy and hooky melody. one thing you can do it double up the melody and deliver it faster or you can simplify it and layer in harmonies to help fill it out in the chorus.

A counter call and response melody might be a cool way top help the chorus stand out also.

Structure

One thing I noticed immediately is that the song is very long. I think you can cut out some of the instrumental breaks and still have the same energy and emotion level.

The song starts out with the intro and then goes into another intro B section. The 2 intro parts are not different enough instrumentally to need 2 of them.

The verse could have a more structured melody and lyrics theme. The verse is supposed to set up the story line of the song and this melody and lyric combination could have a more structured purpose in this song.

The pre chorus leads nicely in the chorus and does a good job at setting up the chorus.

The chorus in this song is a little repetitive instrumentally and lyrically, I think you could take this opportunity in the chorus to have a bold and engaging message that resonates throughout the song.

The instrumental break that happens after the chorus is a little long and could be cut down.

Also the song could use a bridge/breakdown section where the dynamic and emotion level changes to help the drama build back up into the chorus without being repetitive.

Overall the song has some sections that could be cut down and could use a bridge. The intro and outro of the song could be cut and ideally the song could be under 3:30.

Lyrics and Title

I like the title Emotions. I think it has a nice ring to it that does stand out.

I think that the lyrics in this song could be a little stronger and the story a little more well crafted. from what I gather the song is about living in the moment and feeling confident enough to enjoy every second of your emotions. I think that is a cool concept and you can continue to build off of the story and go a little more in-depth on changes that "built up to having this much freedom feeling", or "obstacles overcoming" and even freedom feels like this but "I want it to be like...".

Also I think the song could have a bridge where the dynamic not only changes instrumentally but lyrically and in this part of the song could be a revealing moment in the story that comes full circle with the hook "Feel your emotions"

Production

The instrumental production in this song is good. I think it could be stronger by having some more cutting edge instrumental sounds with more contemporary pop elements. Also some changes in the dynamics instrumentally will help the overall instrumental production feel stronger and stand out more.

The vocal production in this song could be stronger. The opening vocals are a little pitchy and overall the vocals could use some Tuner effects and reverb/delay modifications.

Also I believe that if you use a light distortion or tube drive (telephone) effect in the pre chorus for the " stop turn pose walk" it would help the build up the chorus feel even bigger.

You could also add in extra harmonies and doubles I the vocal melody to help the vocals feel more full and supported in the song.

Overall Comments

Hi Luke, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to listen to your song Emotions. I think it has a very energetic and bold feeling.

The song makes me think of slick car commercials or energetic jewelry accessories ads. I think there is a couple things you could do to make this song stronger; You can cut down some of the repetitive instrumentals and sections in the song that don't contribute to the emotional development or supportive growth of the song. For example, the intro and out of the song are very long and the gaps between the chorus and verse sections could be shorter.

Also the melody in the chorus could have more of a memorable and catchy hook that instantly is stuck in the heads of listeners.

The instrumental production could be more dynamic and develop more throughout the song and the vocal production could be tighter and sound more like a billboard topping anthem.

Additionally the lyrics and story could be a little more in-depth and with a more well crafted message to really engage the audience.

Overall I enjoyed the song. I think if you can make some of these changes it could help your chances of having this song in commercials and other licensing opportunities. There is a large market for electronic dance songs and this song has the potential to be competitive in that market.

Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to hear your music and I hope to hear it again in the future!

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by LukeIcardMusic » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:32 pm

I really want to submit again. I think i will do that. The original version was very compressed

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Re: When you dont agree with feedback you recieved from a critique?

Post by cosmicdolphin » Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:03 pm

LukeIcardMusic wrote:
Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:30 pm
It didnt say anything about the mix really except for adding a telephone effect to the vocals. Would be interesting to see what they thing about this version. The club edit was 5 minutes, so yeah kinda long.
I guess mix comes under the umbrella of stronger production. Or at least that's how I interpret it.

But the screener & I seem to have picked up on the several of the same things : Stronger hook needed , could use improved vocals, and needs less repetition.

Which parts of the custom critique did you diagree with ?

Mark

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