Month: February 2019

Broadjam Artist: MoBack
Song: Because of you (home recording)

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
David Weiss (Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: Hi, thanks for your submission! I know the craft of songwriting is important to you. I heard a lot to like, as well as many things to improve (mostly production-wise), in "Because of You." I really appreciate the positive sentiment in the song, and the unbridled joy it projects. The chorus represents such an upbeat embrace for the listener to dig into - it feels like permission to just go ahead and love someone as much as you want, with no boundaries. The world needs more songs like that!Your voice communicates the message very authentically, which only adds to the power of the lyrics throughout the song. Yes, the demo sound of it is definitely there! Thanks for letting me know that. I was honest in my downgrades on the instrumentation, just so you know what I think needs improving. But I understand it's only a demo, not meant for Prime Time. Did you do all the programming and instrumentation yourself? If so, that's pretty impressive -- feven though I believe there's room for improvement, that's a tough feat to pull off and adds to what you can potentially accomplish as a songwriter. There are also four seconds of silence to start the recording, make sure that gets shaved off.If you wind up keeping the song for yourself, I would recommend re-recording "Because of You" with a full band to let its natural exuberance come shining through! Do you know what artist you have in mind for this song? I'm curious if you've got a particular singer/artist that you think would be ideal to pick up on this.

Quote From Pro: An unabashed tribute to the pure joy of love!

Broadjam Artist: Andrea Pasqualetti
Song: Building a dream

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Doug Diamond (Music Supervisor, Engineer, Producer, Composer )

Pro General Comments: Hi Andrea -Thanks for letting me know about your epic instrumental, "Building A Dream". Great work. I really like nearly everything about it.What I run into most of the time with composers who try to do everything themselves (I'm not saying you're doing that) - is that they tend to overuse "MIDI" gear... and therefore the end result is that it sounds too synthetic and fake / not convincing enough that it's a REAL orchestra. If that happens, no music supervisors, directors, producers, or editors I work with would choose to use it because it sounds fake or hokey, and that is not something that most producers would want to convey alongside their visual production.Not your song though. It sounds terrific. I don't get that feeling at all with "Building A Dream". It seems very real - and not contrived or fake in any way. I actually like 'not knowing for sure' if it is or not. I like not being able to tell if it's real or if it's a sample library, you know? That tells me you're on the right track, so good job there.The song is long enough to get the overall feel and point across, but it's also not 6 or 8 minutes long, which is a real deal-killer for what I do (because I can't realistically pitch songs that long unless we're looking to HIRE a composer for a project, which is not usually the case). If it were that long, I'd have to ask for a cut-down version to pitch. But in your case, I would not have to do that, which I appreciate - and that also saves us both time.Your song is definitely ready to go from a sync placement perspective. It's just a matter of finding that perfect place for it (which is sometimes difficult).Right now, I'm thinking video games or music library on this song in particular. Probably more so than a film score - but only because those tend to be situations where a composer is hired to specifically write for that film instead of bringing in outside music. You may already know that. Obviously, you could use this as your demo to show music sups and directors your composition skills, which this song would work well for.There are enough places within the song where a skillful editor could use it, and make edits to it to fit to picture, so I don't want you to think that it would not work for a film. It's just that usually a composer gets hired to do this type of music versus finding an outside source for it, if that makes sense.The only thing I'd change about it isn't really a huge deal for you I don't think.I'd have a second version of this song without the synth pad starting at 1:30 (where I first really notice it) just in case it's too "1980's sounding" for some visuals, which it might very well be. If you're ready to go with a backup version minus that synth (or replace it with a different sound perhaps), I think your chances for placement of this track are really good. You don't want to give people a reason to say 'no', so just be prepared. Have the other version ready.Overall, superb work. I love the arrangements and the strings are beyond excellent.Send me an message if you would and I will pitch your tune to a music library I work with and we'll see if we can get something going on it. Do stay in touch. Looking forward to working with you.Best,Doug

Quote From Pro: Andrea Pasqualetti's "Building A Dream" is an excellent instrumental / filmscore piece that is highly dramatic and emotionally charged. It has an epic sound and "heroic" feel, and could definitely work in the right sync scenario - such as a film or video game soundtrack it's that good.

Broadjam Artist: Doug Mayberry
Song: You Are

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Doug Diamond (Music Supervisor, Engineer, Producer, Composer )

Pro General Comments: Hi Doug -Thank you for letting me know about your song "You Are". I really like it. You've captured a God-given emotional connection that a husband should hopefully have for his wife, and stated it in a way that many men would be able to relate to (I know I do) - and appreciate the true gift a Godly wife really is. Lyrically, you've done an excellent job at making it personal to your own bride, yet universal enough that any husband (especially a Christian husband) should identify with the emotional value put forth in the song, so nice job there.I'd consider this song Country-Rock by the way. The Country genre will be more open to God-based lyrics... Rock... not so much.As a music supervisor, one of the first things I listen for is the main melody or hook in the chorus (because that's generally what most people identify with first) - and you've written a very memorable one from the standpoint of still being able to remember it after the song is over. It's kind of easy-going and smooth with a nice touch, melodically.On the title, I feel that "You Are" is good, but if it were me, in order to give it a little more description and uniqueness, I'd probably call it "You Are (So Precious To Me)" - so there is absolutely no doubt what the song is about. Just an idea... take it or leave it.From a production value standpoint (the technical aspect of the recording itself), I would say it's pretty close. The mix is solid. You can hear everything in its place very well in the stereo field. It's clean sounding and seems like overall it's well done professional.On the performances, the guitar at the beginning (about 7-seconds in) feels a little loose or sloppy and offbeat just for a second or two, but then it locks into the groove just fine after that. Can you move that around in your editor and fix it? I could do that for you if you have the individual tracks. The drums and keyboards are good. The bass is too. The BGVs are good as-is - especially the female vocals. The lead vocal is ok, but to me, isn't *quite* as strong as it could be. It's not bad... not at all. It's just that it could be *better*. To me, it's good, but it's not quite Great yet. See the difference? But I do understand that primarily it's a vehicle to deliver your wonderful message to your own bride, so I get it. I'm not being critical of you, I'm just telling you what I hear and putting myself in the shoes of some of my sync licensing clients (knowing what they look for and like). Likely they would want to hear a completely different singer to give them options. Still, what you have is good and I don't want you to think otherwise. But I always tell people to "remember your competition" because it's fierce out there as far as getting placements goes.I do think this song could work in the right sync context for sure - especially a wedding video. Have you tried contacting some wedding video production houses and playing the song for them? You might find some of them could be interested in licensing usage of the song and recording for some of their wedding video productions. Just an idea. You could work out a blanket licensing deal with numerous wedding video producers, and perhaps have a nice annual check to cash. I'd probably have a simple license on-hand before you approach any of them in case they say 'yes' right away (then, you're ready). Make it simple if you choose to go that route - like an annual fee / then they can use it in any productions they create for that year.That's pretty much everything I wanted to let you know about. I hope that was helpful. Feel free to stay in touch with me via my main site if you like. Thanks again and take care.Best,Doug DiamondDiamondigital Media / Diamondisc Audio

Quote From Pro: Doug Mayberry's song "You Are" is a great testimonial to the loving relationship between a man and his wife in a Christ-centered marriage. This song could easily work in appropriate wedding videos or other music placement type scenarios that evoke similar, needed lyrical content to match picture. It's the type of song that should make a Christian wife feel loved and adored by her husband.