Who picks the ref tracks?

[AlanHall]

Some listings specify "tracks we got from <supervisor, library, etc.>"
For the rest, has it been discussed how the selection gets made? Usually the listing will say "in the general stylistic ballpark of the following". Sometime the ref tracks are all quite similar, sometimes far less so. My personal paranoid theory is that since three ref tracks are the norm, often the third track is picked just as filler and sometimes is quite the outlier from the "stylistic ballpark".

So who picks the ref tracks?
When working on a submission, how many Taxi members use the first ref as a standard, how many use the third? Does it matter?

Looking forward to any/all thoughts on the subject.

[RobertElse]

I've been curious about this too. I've had instances where I struggled with dissimilar reference tracks (what to do? split the difference), or that didn't seem to match the listing in some respect. Next time I have that perception I'll bring it to Admin's attention for clarification.

Any other insights out there?

Robert

[cosmicdolphin]

Often Taxi pick the ref tracks as the Library's have trouble describing what they want

Other times the Libraries send there own ref tracks...I believe sometimes Taxi don't always agree with what the library picks and vice-versa !

When working on a submission, how many Taxi members use the first ref as a standard, how many use the third? Does it matter?

You shouldn't be using any "one" of them to go on, you should be listening to them in the round and also it can help to listen to other tracks by the band/artist if they are a similar style. I would say that making a track " in the style of.." anything is difficult if those ref tracks are your only exposure. Far better to put a playlist on Spotify and binge on it for a week on the commute ( not that most of us doing that at the moment ) to work or during your workout or whatever.

After a week the genre will start to seep into your subconsciousness and you'll instinctively make better decisions.

Mark

[RobertElse]

...I would say that making a track " in the style of.." anything is difficult if those ref tracks are your only exposure. Far better to put a playlist on Spotify and binge on it for a week on the commute ( not that most of us doing that at the moment ) to work or during your workout or whatever.

After a week the genre will start to seep into your subconsciousness and you'll instinctively make better decisions.

Mark

Mark - super-excellent suggestion!! Subconscious seepage is powerful stuff - I'm gonna do exactly what you said.
Thanks for the tip,
Robert

[AlanHall]

You shouldn't be using any "one" of them to go on, you should be listening to them in the round and also it can help to listen to other tracks by the band/artist if they are a similar style. I would say that making a track " in the style of.." anything is difficult if those ref tracks are your only exposure. Far better to put a playlist on Spotify and binge on it for a week on the commute ( not that most of us doing that at the moment ) to work or during your workout or whatever.

After a week the genre will start to seep into your subconsciousness and you'll instinctively make better decisions.

Mark

Always good to hear from you, Mark!
My 'musical panic' probably comes from not knowing the genre inside and out, as you say. I simply hear that the third track (for example) seems to come from some place distantly related to tracks one and two, and I can't find that "missing link" to tie them all together.

...and of course I struggle with my 'inner critic' who sometimes tells me that the ref tracks don't fit my understanding of the listing, as Robert says above. That's when I set myself up to get frustrated by a return: "well, was I supposed to write to the tracks, or to the listing?"

If I could get just some clarity as to how admin weighs their selections when making the listing, and how the screeners handle the listing/ref tracks dichotomy, I think I'd rest easier. But I know that it's not that simple, and any hard work needs to be done by me in order for me to get better at this. sigh.

[Kolstad]

Actually, I wish they would specify the source of the refs with each listing, because if its a supervisor looking for tracks and they have a temp, maybe the film has already been cut to the tempo of the temp track, and it could be important to provide a similar tempo or beat.

[cosmicdolphin]

If I could get just some clarity as to how admin weighs their selections when making the listing

Your only job is to produce something that belongs on the same playlist. That's it.

[AlanHall]

If I could get just some clarity as to how admin weighs their selections when making the listing

Your only job is to produce something that belongs on the same playlist. That's it.

ah, yes. Glad I'm a puzzle-solver!

[AlanHall]

Actually, I wish they would specify the source of the refs with each listing, because if its a supervisor looking for tracks and they have a temp, maybe the film has already been cut to the tempo of the temp track, and it could be important to provide a similar tempo or beat.

I actually see that as a remark in the listings often enough, where it says 'given to us by the library/supervisor/etc'.

For a film, when they say 'provided by the supe', it's not a bad assumption that the track is a temp. So tempo, feel (1/8 vs 1/16 pulse, straight vs swing, etc), phrasing - all that stuff - is important (IMHO) to match if the track needs to lay right in. Other times they specify that it is a temp track, so no question.

[AlanHall]

Subconscious seepage

If I get a hankering to do more ambient tracks in the future, "Subconscious Seepage" will definitely be a title