JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Big & Rich

They don't play classic rock songs on top 40 rock radio anymore either. That is why there is a new subgenre called Classic Rock. There is absolutely no sense in lamenting what you can't change. When people complain like this, it just makes them look old to those who like the NEW sound.

There are major superstar artists who still cut neo-traditional country songs (e.g., Alan Jackson, George Straight). These artists can and do top the charts with what they cut so there IS a market for it. But it is a tougher market because, I suspect, more people write (bad) traditional country ballads than (good) New Country up-tempo songs.

The one song I ever submitted to TAXI (which I did several times) was not returned because it was a bad song. In fact, almost everyone who has listened to it or critiqued it has said that they think it is a song that would stand a high chance of getting cut by someone looking for a neo-traditional ballad. The problem is that adds looking for this kind of song are rare and when they get posted, there are thousands of equally good songs competing with your song.

I was told by the TAXI reviewers that the lyrics were not conversational enough (too poetic and reflective) and did not tell a story, and, secondly, but less important, it didn't have a contemporary enough feel to it (which was probably due to my arrangement -- no hard guitars and too many fiddles and steel guitars). I was told that a change of lyrics and a more contemporary arrangement could turn this song into a forward and maybe a hold/cut.

Of course, like an idiot, I though 'what do they know' and kept submitting it over and over again, and it kept coming back with almost the exact same critique. I now believe that it is crucial that every song that a writer is thinking about submitting to a major listing get at least one professional paid critique before the final demo is made. I also think that a writer should spend several hours singing the melody and the lyrics so as to perfect both. I do this hundreds of times which each of my songs and frequently I end up making changes that (I feel) make the song better.

You can complain about it until you turn blue in the face or you can adjust your writing to give Nashville what it wants. Far too many writer have too much 'pride' to compromise with their art, which is perfectly respectable, but you should not complain about getting passes and rejections all the time. Brian makes a point about saying this all the time. You might not like it, but those publishers are artists who carry their wheelbarrows full of cash to the bank every week probably couldn't care less what you think.

Again, this ONLY applies to people looking to score cuts on major labels. If you are an artist writing for yourself or you just do it because you love it, that is perfectly fine and you don't need to change.