“If nothing bad is ever said, Nothing good will ever be done”
In the music 2.0 realm, these two past years have been all about describing what bands should or could do to leverage their fan base, to promote themselves to the outside world, to better their networking tasks and skills etc. Discussions on the web lately are almost only referring to ways bands can use tools to augment their reach, and the Gigdoggy blog is no exception.
One thing I hardly ever come across tough is “how bands can better their music”. It seems to me that discussions on the quality of music are often shadowed by those on the importance of networking, or the importance marketing/promotion. I never stumble-upon blog posts that encourage artists to take a step back and focus on say, the meaning and the originality of their music. Why is that? Is it because we are afraid of asking the tough questions? Is it because the creative process is so “personal” that it should be left untouched, pure and, well, personal?
I find intriguing that our online world that boasts to be infinitely communicative is seldom the place where it is possible to gather real cold-hearted feedback. Everyone involved in social media wants to be friends with everyone else and what is said out loud is hardly what is thought inside. Add that to the fact that art is considered subjective and you will realize that being exposed to constructive criticism is not an easy task.
So, how do you manage to get real feedback for your music on the web? (The only places I can of are SoundOut and TAXI.com.)
Broadjam (http://broadjam.com/) has contests/opportunities for artists to submit songs and gather feedback from “experts.” The new Music XRay(http://www.musicxray.net/) site has a similar program. Both cost money per submission. Oh, the irony of having to pay to be told your music is terrible.
I am a lawyer and i work with bands, songwriters and music artists. If anyone wants honest and constructive feedback on the commercial possibilities of their music and presentation, I will give that for a small fee. I will listen to a group of songs, look at the myspace, etc. I have heard thousands of demos and new bands and am very familiar with popular music over the decades — including rock, folk, rap, etc.
I recently was presented with the best demo music I have ever heard, from a group called Dave Jacobs & The Prodigal Sons — and am now representing them to get them a record label deal. Their music has everything – gifted songwriting with lyrics that are comfortable and yet intriguing, excellent guitar, superb drumming, great bass, and a wonderful voice. This is an extreme rarity.
Most pop music problems fall into several categories. With rap, there is often the problem that the lyrics prevent the song from being played on the radio or being distributed by a legit company. With rock, the problem is often that the whole thing is a rehash of tropes that were fresh 10 or 20 years ago. Usually, the overall problem is that the music is boring to others.
Music is not just for sale. It is for your personal enjoyment and enrichment and for entertaining your family and friends. It is fine for a band to be local for their neighborhood parties only. It is fine to be a folk singer just for yourself. People do not stop exercising just because they will never be in the Olympics. So too, music and the arts are crucial to your well-being. You do not have to sell your music or make it your career. It is a part of who you are as a whole. If you can make music, you will likely be a fuller, happier, more whole person.
Hi, I just thought more about what I wrote and want to add a few more points here. Not all music that is heard on the radio and commercially successful is particularly “good.” And it is possible to create a market for most anything. I saw this very week a young singer-songwriter, who has strong family connections in the music biz and apparently a lot of money to spend on so-called “radio promo.” He was featured as an “Artist to Watch.” I checked out his myspace, and he seems to have part of one song completed, with an album supposedly coming soon. How is he someone to be featured? Meanwhile, dozens of other musicians without the connections or money are ignored.
Another point is that there are thriving niche markets for music that most others cannot stand — such as death metal or screamo. But too, there is good screamo and bad screamo. There is good filthy rap and bad filthy rap.
I guess I could put together a checklist, but it boils down to the 3 Cs- Competence, Charisma, and Catch. Competence is important, because if you cannot really play or sing or write, it catches up to you pretty quick. Charisma is needed to play for an audience, to book shows, to hold a band together, to gather a fan base. And Catch — your music needs to be catchy and so does your persona. If you have all three — you have it.
Thank you all for the comments.
@Thomas: Thanks for the links. I have been checking out Music Xray lately, but only vaguely. Love the doggies on your site! I’ll check out your music when I get a chance.
I’ll also be checking out broadjam. Looks interesting. Cheers.
@Sue. I’ll reply to your comments later on because I have to quickly walk the dog :). Thanks for stopping by and keep in touch.
So, how do you manage to get real feedback for your music on the web?
at one time garageband.com thrived with song submissions for contest. where if you made it through rounds of the contest, your song had better opportunity to be noticed, picked up, etc… the band 10 years is one of the examples of garageband success. to submit a song, you had to complete 15 reviews or pay a fee. the catch here is “real” feedback. half of the people blow through the reviews so that they can upload their own music and half the people took the review seriously – giving objective opinions on structure, production etc…
there are other forums out there that have their review sections.
Just Plain Folks
iacmusic
ourstage
the key here is definition of “real” feedback. i have gotten worthwhile feedback at all the sites i list – some not so worthwhile. but free feedback is just that – you get what you pay for. but ultimately, these reviewers could be individuals who might be in the right demographic to purchase your style of music.
slicethepie.com has an interesting scouting system that encourages accurate song appraisals/reviews by grading scouts based upon their ability to discern songs and bands that are likely to be popular/not popular with other scouts. It creates incentives for honest reviews – and penalizes fluff or dishonest reviews.
What tamplate do you use in your blog? Very interesting articles
It can definitely be hard to find accurate feedback on your music, as I personally know. Having good friends is probably the best, but the cue I use the most is what songs are being listened to and how they are being listened to. My last EP I recorded I put up on bandcamp.com. I really like this website because it documents what songs are being played AND how long they are played. So as an artist, I know which are most popular. I also know if certain songs tend to be skipped. I have found that the info I receive on the bandcamp website directly coincides with audience responses at live shows. In the end, good songs are good songs, no doubt about it.
If your music is electronic music then the site http://www.thegzp.com has a feedback crew. They also have contests and free unlimited uploads. Tons of free stuff in a small but efficient community.
Soundout is a joke, the site where ratings come from (Slicethepie) is full of 13-year olds listening to music on their laptops and then slating tracks because of their quality or because they can’t hear the vocals properly!!
Not to blow my own trumpet, I have faults as musician just as others do, but I was classically trained for over 20 years, I am a qualified musicians and I have certificates and grades yet, according to Soundout/Slicethepie, I am tone deaf! Yeah… right.. haha!
https://soundcloud.com/protegetgl