Given the dubious quality of some music that gets released I occasionally find myself wondering quite how awful the stuff record companies reject can be. Now I have my answer! New York magazine’s Vulture blog has discovered a tumblr which features demos rejected by an anonymous label. These choice cuts—and I use that term in the most sarcastic way imaginable—range from a none-more-cheesy Christmas song (“So take me to the Santa Claus Parade/I’ve always loved the magic that it made…”) to a diabolically lame cover of "Let’s Get It On". The whole, hilarious, thing reminds me of a passage from real-life British ex-A&R man John Niven’s fantastic recent novel Kill Your Friends in which he describes the average record company demo-listening session in the following words: “Occasionally, if it’s a rainy afternoon and we’re really bored and want something to do, a few of the A&R staff will gather in someone’s office, roll ourselves a couple of thick spliffs, uncork a bottle or red, and go through one of the sacks marked ‘UNSOLICITED DEMOS’. These sessions usually end with two or three of us on our hands and knees on the floor howling, gasping for breath, ribs and facial muscles aching.”
Of course it’s easy—and fun!— to make mock of such hapless stabs at success. But should we—and the whoever made the tracks available—be feeling guilty inbetween our guffaws?
love it love it love it.
I listened to most of them. They aren’t the worst I’ve ever heard. At most, their worst crime is being boring and cliche ridden. Only one is really atrocious. We are talking about really rough demos after all which is where most professionals start with their songs. I mean, listen to any major group kicking ideas around. If you fixed two or three of these songs up with professional studio tricks and side-men they’d actually pass muster with 90% of the crap that gets passed on to mainstream radio that are also boring and cliche ridden. The autotuned “After Midnight” track might actually turn into an interesting reimagining of that song with a really good singer and band behind it. If Kanye, Mr. non-singer extraordinaire, can get away with his Auto-Tune crap, there’s absolutely nothing wrong that that song. I think the studio execs need to get the coke out of their noses and whatever’s in their ears and start really listening.
I’m a songwriter but not a singer. I’m trying to get my demos into the hands of recording artists who need original music. It is virtually impossible. Most sites that accept music from songwriters, actually end up only catering to those who do the singing as well. I don’t want to pay a fortune to create radio ready demos with singers who I cannot promote. I’m just trying to get songs licensed. Is there anyone whose anyone out there who listens to music from songwriters and, if they hear a really great song, actually get it to someone?? Also, I have decent produced demos that I paid alot of money to have produced and when I submit them to publishers who supposedly review material for artists, they tell me they can produce my demos for a reasonable price. If these aren’t good enough to have a singer hear the way they are, only for them to redo them in the end, that is ridiculous.
Any feedback would be welcome. Thank you.