I submitted 5 different songs around 10 days ago and I just received rejection emails for all of them. There’s nothing very specific about whats wrong with the files, just this:
“This submission does not meet our commercial production (samples/recording/mixing/mastering) standard, and our commercial composition/arrangement standard, unfortunately.”
However, I can’t tell what exactly needs to be fixed.
Samples: I use some of the best VSTs out there, so probably not this.
Recording: It’s all samples. I didn’t record any source.
Mixing/Mastering: This is probably what could be what’s wrong, just because I mixed/mastered all songs by myself. But I’d like to know for sure since I don’t want to resubmit and wait 10 days to get the same response.
Also, I’m not a 10 year veteran but I do have experience mixing and mastering so it’s not like I just launched Pro Tools for the first time.
I’m not here to tell you I did it right, everything I do is perfect and Envato is wrong. I just want to know what exactly is wrong to fix it and not waste time/money.
Brother, you’re not the only one! As I noted at audiojungle there are certain authors and only for them the green light. And in order to simple authors like us, gave the green light, you need to be well postoratsya. Audiojungle does not respect its authors!!!
I wouldn’t say they disrespect authors. There must be some kind of quality control and quality standards and that’s understandable.
My question is more about the feedback and why it got rejected. I was told “This submission does not meet our commercial production (samples/recording/mixing/mastering) standard, and our commercial composition/arrangement standard, unfortunately.” And they sent that same generic email for all of my submissions.
Even if the same thing is wrong on all 5 of them, I’d rather be told that the mix/mastering isn’t meeting the quality standards or something that gives me a lead on what I need to work on.
I’m just asking for valuable information in order to continue working and not having the same problem the next time I submit my music. (instead of wasting another 10 days to get the same generic message)
hey @RockbellStudios how are you doing? I know rejections are bad…and I think AJ it’s like a roulette sometimes!
About the song, in my modest opinion:
I like the idea and the theme, why not try making the piece longer (2 min at least) so you can develop the rhythm and melody, dynamics …etc?
I would try more dynamic drums, in terms of velocities…and maybe adding variations; for example: from 0:20 the drum pattern is not helping the melody, it could move better
it seems to me that it may need some add layering of strings, for complete voicing
the ending is abrupt
PS- I can’t hear it louder at the moment, so I cannot tell about mixing and mastering
I hope it helps!
good luck with sales!!
agree with @anon67971729 regarding length of the track, pieces like this tend to be at least 90 seconds. When it comes to mixing, it is just my modest opinion and impression that this violins get sort of eaten up once the strings go in. I would try to add more compression, use dynamic EQ and just maybe change the actual sound field so they get their own breathing spot in the mix.
Thanks! I really appreciate your feedback, both of you.
However, I’d like to receive this kind of specific feedback from Envato. I could go ahead and work on all the suggestions you gave me but I don’t even know if that’s what they want, or if those changes are needed to get it approved.
Not all of my songs are this short or in this style. They are all cinematic/orchestral but with different themes, instruments, etc. but they all received the same generic rejection message and I don’t know what I need to do to get them approved.
If my mix doesn’t meet the quality standard I can send it to a professional mix engineer, if the instruments/samples don’t sound ok I can go back and work on them some more.
I just don’t want to invest time or money fixing something that doesn’t need to be fixed just to receive the same rejection message.
According to Envato there’s something wrong with the songs I submitted, I’m completely OK with this. I just want to know specifics! What exactly do I need to fix?
The message they sent pretty much says that “maybe” the mix is wrong but “maybe” it’s the arrangement, or maybe it’s everything. In which case there’s no point in submitting these songs again.
Agree 100%! Same thing annoys me too and it seems whole bunch of people feel the same way. If they really do spend time on reviewing and listening carefully than they should be able to give at least a bit more specific feedback. Only added sentence I got recently was "After much consideration it has been decided that this submission…, same generic message after that. What should be concluded from this? This time you were close, but not close enough lol
Upon comparing my tracks to popular-similar items in AJ I concluded that my tracks are not as loud as the average AJ track.
However, if this is the reason why they were rejected, I don’t see why the reviewer couldn’t just point this out instead of leaving me confused about what I have to fix.
So it might not just be the mastering/loudness, but that’s the only thing I can think of.
I keep suggesting it multiple times but they don’t listen. To solve the problem of both time and feedback, reviewers only need a list of preset buttons they can hit for every file. The buttons, which they could press any combination of, would be easily clickable and paste preset responses in the rejection email that say things like:
“Mixing is inadequate”
“Instrumental plugins do not sound authentic, or machine gun effect is prominent in some instruments”
“Individual sounds/instruments need equalizing”
“Panning it too extreme”
“Genre is too unusual and lacks utility”
“Audio is too cliche and does not stand out”
“There is too much dissonance”
“Arrangement is too simple”
“Some instruments/sounds are too loud and causes distortion”
“Some instruments/sounds are too quiet”
I was about to say that they don’t even have to take a lot of time writing reviews/feedback. The process could be automated by just checking boxes next to the area that needs to be fixed and maybe a comments section at the bottom. I’d love to see a report like the one you described instead of this ambiguous/ generic email I got for 5 different songs.
Honestly, I’m lost right now. I don’t know what I should do before I submit again.
If the issue is utility, it’s more likely the the song is either too cliche or too unique, it’s lacking something distinctive from the hundreds of other songs like it or they’re petrified no one will even view it and it will just take up space. If it’s quality, then it could be any of the other things I suggested.
Well… I’m just asking for specific reviews, even if it’s automated. I don’t think I should keep submitting/waiting for so long after doing a blind “fix” to get the same comments.
My review is that the strings lack a certain mixing and equalizing that makes them sound like they were used from an outdated sample library and even though it’s generally high quality, I’ve also heard a million epic songs exactly like that. My guess is those two factors combined lead to the rejection.
Envato is not going to be specific when it comes to hard reject…that’s for sure…1000s of tunes every week, I don’t think so. and it’s been discussed over and over unfortunately,
Did you ever get a soft rejection? in this case they tell you what’s the specific problem…you fix it and 90% get approved.
I’m not going to get into the review process as it’s already been discussed to the bone. I understand the frustration, but that’s the way it has to be to keep the queue under control. I like PixelLoveLLC’s idea, but that would require the dev to team to coordinate with the review team, and from what I’ve seen at Envato over the year, I don’t see that happening.
Anyway, as for your track, you are not far off. Indeed the length of the track is bit odd, either too long for a logo/sting or too short for a feature track. Mixing is not bad, there is no major issue. Master could be louder. I don’t think these are the reasons for rejection, though.
I’m pretty sure rejection is based on your strings and your drums to a lesser degree.
Envato (one reviewer especially) is very strict when it comes to strings quality. Here they sound a bit stiff and artificially airy. Either change the library, or humanize it and rework on the EQing.
The drums are a bit too repetitive and lack dynamism. Play with dynamics and “ghost” notes. Maybe add other drums to emphasize some of the hits.
In any case, approval is within your reach. I would try to work on it a bit and resubmit.
