rejections

[behndy]

we're in the midst of submitting musics, trying to get some of that sweet sweet licensing monies. or find a smaller label to work with.

i LOVE all the responses we get. i really do enjoy constructive criticism or advice, but for some reason peoples get personal and odd. like. yeah. tell me about which BOSS pedal i'm missing from my setup.

....... and for some reason it seems almost like it offends some people we contact that we don't have a singer person?

one of my faves -

"Hey guys - yea wow cool bass riffs and excellent performances. Ive checked out your website and the vids up there. I really like Why wont you hold me computer - very catchy title. You guys definitely have the talent to make the right moves but i think you are off the mark. With this genre of music there's just no way we can pitch you without a singer - i wont even be able to pitch it to find you guys a singer. Doesn't matter how hot you guys smash out the music (which by the way you do) vocals are going to make or break the track. You must get a vocalist. I think if you make moves with Massy and have a vocalist in your team you will be much more marketable. You have the right image and i can imagine you performing at festivals with Circle, Death Punch, and even hanging out with old school heavy metal bands. In your submitter message i can see that you state that the music industry needs something new and interesting. Im not really hearing anything new. However when i saw your vids i could see what you mean (ie bass player smashing out all the cool mean sounds). I like the direction but you're not new sounding - maybe you need to intro something new into your bass arsenal. Check out the BOSS SY-300 that might help yas - or work out a way to link in Nexus2 into your sound (maybe with your drum triggers). Anyways in conclusion - vamp up your sound with new elements and get a singer. Your genre of music isn't selling anymore and really needs something new to stand out (and hopefully bring back real music)"

also also, you have shit spelling and grammar in a professional correspondence? invalidates a lot of your opinion. at least to me.

any good ones cha'all want to shareeeeeee?

[jrmy]

Ugh... nothing printed, but I did have an experience with a promoter who told us we'd never work in his town again (we had to cancel a gig with 24 hrs notice because our singer/rhythm guitar/keys guy was so sick he could barely stand) and then called us a week later to beg for us to fill in on a slot. I told him no.

[behndy]

lol. if you just said no you are a better man than i.

...... i don't Naughty Word people like that, i just like to laugh until they hang up.

[snipelfritz]

also also, you have shit spelling and grammar in a professional correspondence? invalidates a lot of your opinion. at least to me.

Yes, this. But I'm pretentious.

[neonblack]

He's right though...you need more pedals

[Iommic Pope]

So, behnders is going solo and learning how to sing?
That's what's happening here, right?
Because there's no way I'd not do every letter of every word that retread said.

[oscillateur]

Sounds like someone who would like to make music but doesn't really and projects a lot of what he/she wants to do on somebody else's stuff...

[theAntihero]

We got a few funny ones. One told me that they were looking for a band that had an older metal vibe. A lot of our fans say we sound sabbathy so I sent in our album.

Got back a response that said that he liked us but we weren't older metal sounding and I quote here " we are just looking for older metal, like Toad The Wet Sprocket" ....

[Iommic Pope]

That's so funny I nearly spat my gyoza.

[theAntihero]

That's so funny I nearly spat my gyoza.

You mean you don't recognize the classic metal stylings of Toad The Wet Sprocket???????

Sent in an improv song that was rejected for not being sloppy enough for improv too......isn't that mean it's good?

[John]

Behndy, if you want me to sing for your band, just ask! No need to start this thread just to drop me the hint. I'm down.

[goroth]

[behndy]

heh. ALL THE ILF SINGERS.

and. you known. a good Boss pedal or two.

people are so odd. after one shitty show, Rando Rock Dood told me, "wow that is AMAZING. so cool to make music that is still interesting without vocals or guitars.
i play guitar if you want to add some stuff.
and my buddy who sings, he was nodding his head and singing along while you guys played.
some killer stuff BRO. want to jam?"

"but..... but you just.... said.... huh."

I LOVE WHAT YOU DO BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO SPROCKET UP YOUR TOADS.

................. wet.

[DRodriguez]

I'm going to be that annoying asshole that kinda gets where the dude is coming from.

This guy has a job, and his job is to sell music. I'm assuming he is from a smaller label, where they can afford to take fewer bets on the music they support. So regardless of how amazing he personally thinks your music is, he has to try and steer it towards something he is more confident will sell. He does point out a few things that he sees as marketable.

In most genres, vocals are incredibly important to be relatable to the general public. A great amount of people out there will not even consider listening to music without a vocalist. Even major instrumental bands will often bring in a guest vocalist for the singles. It is a piece of the music that a fan can reproduce themselves wherever they are. People connect easily to emotion portrayed vocally, and probably half the audience thinks that the lyrics of a song are the most important part of it.

The rest of the stuff may have not been the best way to put it; but he is trying to encourage you to explore sonically a bit more. He is offering a couple suggestions, likely based off of what some other musicians he is working with are using, whom he personally views as similar, but more marketable.

Best thing you can do is read it, decide if making those changes is something you are willing to change to work with this dude, and then either pass or accept. Take the positives he put in there and double down on those.

As a side note, I often deal with numerous sloppy or grammatically incorrect emails within the industry. Part of that is the casualness of some of the people who gravitate towards a career in music, part of that is due to the sheer volume of emails media people go through. It annoys me greatly sometimes, but then I catch myself being guilty of it too.

[backwardsvoyager]

^ i can totally get that but what lost me in the OP was

"(and hopefully bring back real music)"

constructive criticism is great but you have to be a special kind of close-minded twat to pull out lines like that when you're literally trying to steer people towards doing what will 'sell'. jesus christ.

tbh i've never really seen the point of submitting things to labels directly. labels already scope out for new artists within the styles and circles they're interested in, and will approach people when they really want to work with them (which will make things much sweeter for you). my old bandmates were adamant about it but every time they either said we weren't marketable or that they knew about us and wanted us to develop more before thinking about helping out (which is fair).

people in this industry are a huge part of why the mainstream is what it is. i remember playing one of those stupid battle of the bands type things a couple of years ago, and during our set people were really into it and buzzing afterwards telling us how different and interesting it was, but the judges placed us fifth behind a few of the absolute most horrendous acts i've ever seen (not just stylistically but playing ability, presence, etc, SO bad) because their criteria only focused around marketability. when you construct those kinds of ideas without letting audience feedback change it over time you get what we have now - being that a lot of the bands that are given the most attention by labels are laaaaaaaame.