Since I just released Once He Did
Though, I paid this service called SubmitHub
to have blogs listen to my songs and potentially feature them. While the
morality of paying to have people listen to your music (barriers to entry but
filtering for a hyper saturated market) merits its own blog post, I just want
to share some of the awesome feedback I got.
First the rules. I paid $40 to be able to submit songs to 50
blogs. I selected the blogs based on relevance (I didn't submit to any heavy
metal blogs). Blogs who accepted my offer had to listen to a minimum of 20
seconds and leave feedback or I would be refunded. I didn’t do a tonnnnn of
research into who I was submitting to, after all, I was paying. But you can
sort the blog by preferred genre and a couple other parameters. I first picked
a round of tracks from my new album. But I didn't want to put all my musical
eggs in one cyber basket. So just for kicks, I did a second round of songs from
my first album.
I loved the feedback. I really think the value from SubmitHub
is not potential exposure on blogs but the honest feedback from randos on the
Internet who’s job it is to listen to music. A couple of clear themes for me
emerged.
1) I'm a good song writer
2) I'm a good singer
3) I'm a bad singer
4) I'm a trash producer
3 and 4 obviously conflict, and I basically simplify that to
I'm an interesting singer. Which I couldn't be more pleased with. Regarding Once He Did
Though (the song):
Zero Music Magazine:
"I like the energy, but the singer's voice in this song is kind of an acquired taste. Some people will love it, I guess, and some people will find it rather annoying. I belong to the second group. Sorry. You guys are cool. "
I really really loved the responses from Harold's Song:
Destroy//Exist: "We appreciate the talent and effort behind the fun song, and we particularly enjoyed the vocal harmonies and overall cleverness, however we think it could have been better produced and mixed. Thanks for the overall fine submission and good luck!"
The New Jam: “While it pains me to deny this, the vocals are a bit rough around the edges. That said, Harold seems like the man."
mp3hugger: "Could be a bit of They Might Be Giants going on here, certainly as quirky as they are likely to get. Given the theme you gotta say this is a real bubbly number and it does have a shiny chorus that never breaks that low-ebbed flow that is consistently peddled from the getgo. A few more of these little nuggets could make for a cute little EP."
Purple Melon Music: "Hey man, I like your fish's overall philosophy, but again the production just threw me off."
And my favorite.
Adobe & Teardrops: "This is charming but...I'm not sure why this is happening?"
The one thing I knew I was slacking on, but basically just
accepted it as a necessity, was that the tracks are all very lo-fi or
underproduced. I didn't really understand how necessary it is to have a clean
polished track for it to be accessible for others. I considered my rough, DIY,
campfire aesthetic a relative plus. But after hearing from some pretty
underground bloggers, I probably should not lean so hard on that crutch.
On Polarized
Purple Melon: "Hey, I like the writing here but the production was a bit too rough round the edges for me. "
Crack in The Road: "This is just a little raw for us - there's not quite enough of a more crossover leaning edge to the sound - strong songwriting though for sure."
One Stop Record Shop: "Vocals are a little raw for our liking. The overall production needs tweaking somewhat as it currently feels rather DIY in terms of the finish. Tighten it up a little to make a world of difference. Many thanks for submitting nonetheless! "
Indie U: "Good job on the song I just felt the overall vocals and production could have been improved. Best of luck!"
I only got one blog saying they’d like to feature my song.
Which is amazing by the way, but even with the 39 rejections I didn’t really
feel bad. Frankly, the ones that were especially harsh just didn’t get it and
that’s totally fine. I think, despite the cringey, pay-to-play pitch, SubmitHub
is a handy feedback service. I’d like to leave you with my favorite response.
mp3hugger: "A lot more fuzzy this time, almost drug induced in many respects. Like the Rolling Stones after a particularly ingestful session backstage, even Keith is flaked out but still intent on making music. A bit too warped for my liking unfortunately.”
I’d put that on a CD cover.
