Broadjam Pro Song Reviews

Broadjam Artist: MoBack
Song: Because Of You - Studio Demo

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Shawn McKenzie (Producer, Artist)

Pro General Comments: Hi Monique, thanks for submitting your music to be reviewed. I only received 2 songs from you, not sure what happened there? I find the song to be a cool laid back song. If that was your goal then you have accomplished that. But if you were trying to establish a smash hit, this is not the song to do it with. I find the verses are tad bit long a bit too wordy. I can only go from these two songs, but in both those songs the choruses are right on the mark, they are catchy and simple which is what people are looking for now when submitting songs. Depending on the demographics that you are trying to hit, this may or may not work. If you are hitting the European market, it may work. But if you are trying to access the US market then you need to have a rewrite of the verse, and as good as a Producer as Andy Whitmore is the music will not cut it to for the US market. In Europe the vibe is more open to different styles and flavours of music. so you have a better shot with that market, not to say that it may be accepted but on the whole Europe is more open to all types of music. My recommendation is to shorten the verses by 4 bars. As writer, it would do you well to have a stronger vocalist to sing when you are pitching music. As a songwriter you want to hit them strong the first time, and not have the performance come out a little weak. As the saying goes, "first impressions, are lasting impressions". You want the person to get the vibe the first time instead of them trying to feel the vibe as you intended it to be. I am giving you this review to help encourage and not to discourage you, put it this way it took Pharrell 9 tries before Happy was accepted. Rework the song a little bit and you just might make everyone happy. Hope this makes you happy.

Quote From Pro: "Cool laid back song, short simple and sweet Chorus"

Broadjam Artist: Mary Segato
Song: Don't Give Up On Me

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
John Anderson (Publisher)

Pro General Comments: Hey Mary, quality song all around, first thoughts of artists I can hear it for are Don Henley, John Mayer, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Seal, Ed Sheeran, or Sam Smith to name a few. Also reminds me of the Kate Bush & Peter Gabriel duet "Don't Give Up" (In theme only) which came out on 1985. Easily crosses the Rock, Pop, Country and R & B genres, incredibly universal. Works as a Duet or for a solo artist with prominent backing vocals, Male or Female leads. The demo recording and production quality is superior to what I typically hear. GREAT! I personally focus more on film/television/ad placement for artists then getting songs recorded. That said, it would certainly be an appropriate pitch for a wide range of artists crossing several genres. It does strike me as a song that would fit nicely into a film and really enhance the emotion of the scene as well. I'm sure there are song publishers out there that would be proud to submit "Don't Give Up On Me" for a major label or independent artist to record. Do be weary of getting too close to the John Mayer sound, it could turn some artists off. You're good to go with this one!

Quote From Pro: A beautiful heart felt ballad that tenderly pulls you into a damaged relationship with a plea for forgiveness. 1st class songwriting and a track that's ready for the charts.

Broadjam Artist: Mary Segato
Song: Don't Give Up On Me

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
John Anderson (Publisher)

Pro General Comments: Hey Mary, quality song all around, first thoughts of artists I can hear it for are Don Henley, John Mayer, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Seal, Ed Sheeran, or Sam Smith to name a few. Also reminds me of the Kate Bush & Peter Gabriel duet "Don't Give Up" (In theme only) which came out on 1985. Easily crosses the Rock, Pop, Country and R & B genres, incredibly universal. Works as a Duet or for a solo artist with prominent backing vocals, Male or Female leads. The demo recording and production quality is superior to what I typically hear. GREAT! I personally focus more on film/television/ad placement for artists then getting songs recorded. That said, it would certainly be an appropriate pitch for a wide range of artists crossing several genres. It does strike me as a song that would fit nicely into a film and really enhance the emotion of the scene as well. I'm sure there are song publishers out there that would be proud to submit "Don't Give Up On Me" for a major label or independent artist to record. Do be weary of getting too close to the John Mayer sound, it could turn some artists off. You're good to go with this one!

Quote From Pro: A beautiful heart felt ballad that tenderly pulls you into a damaged relationship with a plea for forgiveness. 1st class songwriting and a track that's ready for the charts.

Broadjam Artist: Nabii
Song: Infidel

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Diana Williamson (Songwriter, Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: Dear Nabil:Please note I do not comment on technique- of instruments and vx- my expertise lies in overall presentation, lyrics and marketing.First off, you were right- the home recording is perfectly fine to showcase the song. You have one of the hardest parts down, you have a great vibe in this song and it comes across very clearly.And second you have a great message. It's a message that you're aware of - is a very very tricky one to put across. You've done a great job so far and there is probably some more tweaking you can do to make it realize it's full potential.So let's start with the great stuff first. Your voice and your use of bg vocals is very EASY ON THE EARS! Almost hypnotic- so that is a strength of yours in your arsenal.Most great songwriters have a strong message to impart and this fuels their songwriting, so it's a great topic to chose. And you are right, you have to be very careful with this type of subject matter- but it's an important one. With these types of songs its best to clothe them in an artistic story type way to take away some of the "preachiness" or to make the message more palatable.In Marvin Gaye's "What's Going on" he tackles the brutality of war and senseless violence by asking a question "Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrongOh, but who are they to judge us Simply because our hair is longOh, you know we've got to find a way To bring some understanding here today"Or John Lennon's song gets us involved by telling us to: "Imagine" Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the peopleLiving life in peace...They're two of the very best songs written on the subject of war, violence, religion. It would be good to study them to see how they can take such a "heavy" topic but make it something people want to hear. It may give you some ideas.

Quote From Pro: Artist has a wonderful simplicity and vibe in this track that presents a powerful message.

Broadjam Artist: Nabii
Song: Infidel

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Diana Williamson (Songwriter, Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: Dear Nabil:Please note I do not comment on technique- of instruments and vx- my expertise lies in overall presentation, lyrics and marketing.First off, you were right- the home recording is perfectly fine to showcase the song. You have one of the hardest parts down, you have a great vibe in this song and it comes across very clearly.And second you have a great message. It's a message that you're aware of - is a very very tricky one to put across. You've done a great job so far and there is probably some more tweaking you can do to make it realize it's full potential.So let's start with the great stuff first. Your voice and your use of bg vocals is very EASY ON THE EARS! Almost hypnotic- so that is a strength of yours in your arsenal.Most great songwriters have a strong message to impart and this fuels their songwriting, so it's a great topic to chose. And you are right, you have to be very careful with this type of subject matter- but it's an important one. With these types of songs its best to clothe them in an artistic story type way to take away some of the "preachiness" or to make the message more palatable.In Marvin Gaye's "What's Going on" he tackles the brutality of war and senseless violence by asking a question "Mother, mother, everybody thinks we're wrongOh, but who are they to judge us Simply because our hair is longOh, you know we've got to find a way To bring some understanding here today"Or John Lennon's song gets us involved by telling us to: "Imagine" Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the peopleLiving life in peace...They're two of the very best songs written on the subject of war, violence, religion. It would be good to study them to see how they can take such a "heavy" topic but make it something people want to hear. It may give you some ideas.

Quote From Pro: Artist has a wonderful simplicity and vibe in this track that presents a powerful message.

Broadjam Artist: Daniel
Song: Fall out of Love

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Jonathan Weiss (Music Supervisor, A&R)

Pro General Comments: Solid pop song with a powerful chorus which is complimented by a full background vocal arrangement. Very good sectional contrast between verse, chorus and bridge sections. Think I would make the beginning synth drone a bit shorter and come with the vocal a bit sooner. Lyrically and chord change wise, the verse does a good job in setting up the powerful chorus. When the full chorus kicks in, the fuller sounding arrangement in this section masks a bit that the song to me sounds like its still in demo form. I'm listening to hear if it could be broadcast on TV and at this point, I think its close, but still needs an overall cleaner production sound that could probably be achieved by getting into a better studio and perhaps using a producer. Guitar and synth sounds specifically could be updated to glean a more contemporary sound. The good news is that the basic structure, vocals and lyrics are all in good shape, now its just coming down to enhancing the overall sound and making the arrangement at the beginning a bit more compact. Great use of the pre-chorus, which really sets up the full chorus. Great job in putting together the oohs and aahs of the background vocals during the chorus, really fills out the overall sound.

Quote From Pro: A solidly structured pop rock song that has a strong, identifiable lead vocal and memorable hook.

Broadjam Artist: Daniel
Song: Fall out of Love

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Jonathan Weiss (Music Supervisor, A&R)

Pro General Comments: Solid pop song with a powerful chorus which is complimented by a full background vocal arrangement. Very good sectional contrast between verse, chorus and bridge sections. Think I would make the beginning synth drone a bit shorter and come with the vocal a bit sooner. Lyrically and chord change wise, the verse does a good job in setting up the powerful chorus. When the full chorus kicks in, the fuller sounding arrangement in this section masks a bit that the song to me sounds like its still in demo form. I'm listening to hear if it could be broadcast on TV and at this point, I think its close, but still needs an overall cleaner production sound that could probably be achieved by getting into a better studio and perhaps using a producer. Guitar and synth sounds specifically could be updated to glean a more contemporary sound. The good news is that the basic structure, vocals and lyrics are all in good shape, now its just coming down to enhancing the overall sound and making the arrangement at the beginning a bit more compact. Great use of the pre-chorus, which really sets up the full chorus. Great job in putting together the oohs and aahs of the background vocals during the chorus, really fills out the overall sound.

Quote From Pro: A solidly structured pop rock song that has a strong, identifiable lead vocal and memorable hook.

Broadjam Artist: PYSONGS
Song: SKYLIGHTS

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Jonathan Weiss (Music Supervisor, A&R)

Pro General Comments: This song has some well put together, yet familiar sounding chord changes. At some points it sounds like the changes could be something like an early Sheryl Crow song, with horn and synth arrangements that sounds like its from the 70s. Overall the song and production sounds very retro to me. That's not always necessarily a negative thing, however in this case, I felt the chordal structure was inventive and something you don't hear a lot of these days in contemporary pop music. Structurally, the song took quite a while to develop. To kick off the song, it sounded like a stripped down rhythm section and evenutally at 0:51 a full horn and background vocal arrangement came in. It wasn't until after 1 minute in, that the full rhythm section came in. This is a long time to develop for a pop song. In order to grab the listener's attention right off the bat, I would have come in right at the top with a full compliment of the arrangement and instruments, then have the breakdown come in the middle of the song. Pretty inventive background vocal arrangements throughout and a full sounding wall of sound type arrangement once the song gets going. Perhaps with a bit of a restructure, the sectional contrast of the song would work better and have more potential commercially.

Quote From Pro: An inventive retro wall of sound type sound that is reminiscent of an early Sheryl Crow arrangement.

Broadjam Artist: PYSONGS
Song: SKYLIGHTS

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Jonathan Weiss (Music Supervisor, A&R)

Pro General Comments: This song has some well put together, yet familiar sounding chord changes. At some points it sounds like the changes could be something like an early Sheryl Crow song, with horn and synth arrangements that sounds like its from the 70s. Overall the song and production sounds very retro to me. That's not always necessarily a negative thing, however in this case, I felt the chordal structure was inventive and something you don't hear a lot of these days in contemporary pop music. Structurally, the song took quite a while to develop. To kick off the song, it sounded like a stripped down rhythm section and evenutally at 0:51 a full horn and background vocal arrangement came in. It wasn't until after 1 minute in, that the full rhythm section came in. This is a long time to develop for a pop song. In order to grab the listener's attention right off the bat, I would have come in right at the top with a full compliment of the arrangement and instruments, then have the breakdown come in the middle of the song. Pretty inventive background vocal arrangements throughout and a full sounding wall of sound type arrangement once the song gets going. Perhaps with a bit of a restructure, the sectional contrast of the song would work better and have more potential commercially.

Quote From Pro: An inventive retro wall of sound type sound that is reminiscent of an early Sheryl Crow arrangement.

Broadjam Artist: IamLegendBeatz
Song: Choose w/ Chorus Drums

Broadjam Pro Reviewer:
Diana Williamson (Songwriter, Music Supervisor)

Pro General Comments: Please note I do not rate instrumentation as my expertise lies more in overall presentation, marketing, lyrics, etc.Great track. Your vocals work nicely to promote your song and the arrangements are very tasteful, not too much and not too little- so another words you have a great sense of proportion.It has that deep, poignant delivery overall appropriate for the occasion. Song has a really pleasant groove and the keys and synths work well to support your theme.You set up conflict "that you were never going to fall in love again"- which is good. Songs need conflict to keep interest. Maybe suggest something about them that let you know they were the one? The keeper?You are far ahead of a lot of people and lucky that you can not only write but record your own material- which is a very great advantage in today's market.

Quote From Pro: Track would fit nicely for a TV show about weddings and proposals.