Dear Passengers,
TAXI broke new ground fourteen years ago when we introduced a way for "amateur" songwriters, bands, and artists to get their material on the very same desks that "professionals" do. And over the years, we've watched the line between the pros and the rookies become nearly indistinguishable.
Recording technology has evolved so much, that virtually anybody can make a great home recording these days. And with companies like Disc Makers doing such a great job of manufacturing and packaging CDs, it's become hard to tell the difference between homebound writers and artists, and the musicians signed to major labels and publishers.
But, I've noticed one big difference that I'd like to talk to you about today — many of the so-called "amateurs" don't know a lot of the rules and regulations that the professionals know, and they should.
To succeed in the music business, one must know how the game is played. I often use professional sports as the analogy for this, and today will be no different.
Imagine that you can drive a golf ball three hundred yards every time you step up to the tee. On top of that, you sink your putts on the first try nearly every time you're on the green. Your average score on a difficult course is 68! You could consider going pro (YOU could. I couldn't, because none of the above apply to MY golf game! ;-)
Assuming all of the above were true, one could expect (and rightfully so) that you also know all the rules of golf before you play on the tour, right? Add a stroke for an out of bounds ball, no practice swing when hitting out of a sand trap, furthest from the hole putts first, and so on.
The music business has rules too, although many of them aren't written down. But to succeed, you'll find that the journey will have fewer bumps in the road if you know what they are.
Over the next few issues, I'm going to address some of them for you. Why? Because that's what we do here at TAXI. We help people. We help musicians. And musicians seem to have a ton of questions that end up on my desk, so here's the first Q&A, and I'll see you next week for more.
Q: Why do film & TV people always want the songs I send in to be "Broadcast Quality?"
A: Because they usually don't have the time to ask a songwriter/artist to re-record the song. They typically work on tight deadlines (especially the TV peeps), and can't have this conversation:
"Lenny, it's Joe TV Music Supervisor calling. I love your song, 'If The Dog Cried Wolf'. I'd love to use it in an episode of '24' next week. Do you have a better recording of it?"
"No, but I can book some studio time, call the musicians who played on it, and do a cleaner version for you by Friday."
"Are you sure you can have it done that quickly?"
"Yes!"
Friday afternoon, 4:30 pm:
Ring, ring! "Hi Joe, it's Lenny. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get the drummer that originally played on the track, so I don't have a new version for you yet. I think he's on vacation, but he should be back soon. I'll try and get the song re-recorded by end of next week."
"Lenny, the show airs Sunday night! We're in the final stages of post-production right now, and the director loves your song, but won't use the version that sounds muffled. Sorry, I'm going to have to call TAXI, and see if they can find me something overnight."
End of story!
Do you think the music supervisor will ever call Lenny again? And is it now clear as to why they want to have you submit tracks that are ready to go, and don't have to be re-recorded, or re-mixed? Seems simple enough, but I get tons of complaints from people about that "rule."
Funny thing is, I think more music than NOT, actually is "Broadcast Quality." But for some odd reason, nearly all musicians have a reflex that makes them want to record or mix it all over again. Don't know why, but the syndrome is real.
Just in case you missed it in one of my more recent notes to you, here's a link to a page on our website that has some great examples of just how achievable "Broadcast Quality" is for the home studio enthusiast.
You can do it!
Talk to you next week,
Michael