I’ve just had my music tracks rejected as they weren’t “at the quality standard required to move forward”, and since that reason is quite insultingly vague, I wanted to inquire here for further feedback.
Here is one of the tracks:
I’m really quite flabbergasted as to how that isn’t “at the quality standard required” (considering some of the other “Boss Music” I found when searching here), but perhaps I am indeed too naive in mixing and mastering - if anyone has any comments/suggestions/criticisms, do please let me know where I can improve, as I am at a complete loss.
Many thanks, and apologies if this topic appears sordid - the flippant rejection has shaken me up a bit…
I think the time signature and the length is the problem. Something feels out of sync to me, like we have two time signatures. I can’t understand the time signature and something is confusing, maybe the panned right perc sound, which also feels like its the only instrument playing on the right channel and everything else is left!
Thanks for the response - after searching through the tracks already approved by others, it seems there is very little video game music at all on this site (which I find quite staggering to be honest). Perhaps I should join the legion of “Epic Trailer Music” instead … (I think we have enough of those that I would get rejected for “your submission is too similar to existing items”!)
The time signature is 4/4 throughout, though of course as it is battle/boss/combat music, the meter is displaced through a standard 3-3-2 metric grouping, which I would not have thought confusing, but rather, a very common technique for combat music.
The length is in order to allow one seamless loop (due to the 1st-time additional introduction) and one abrupt end, allowing the track to be either looped or timed to conclude dramatically with a cutscene - more “utility”, to use AudioJungle’s terms.
Many thanks for the tips on panning, I think you are definitely right there.
If only the moderator’s comments were as insightful as your responses!
I feel your pain, and I appreciate your ‘sordid’ comment. I’ve just submitted 5 tracks and they’re getting turned down and I’m at a loss too. I will submit mine here for comment shortly. What is painful is the wording about quality - basically saying ‘not good enough’ which is too harsh, or quite probably inaccurate, for a generic response. I’m now scratching my head thinking what’s up with my mastering ‘quality’ etc… when most likely it’s some reviewer who didn’t like the track or thought it wouldn’t sell etc. I don’t think it would hurt to be less generic with the reviewer’s comment, especially for new creators (apart from then people getting upset with one guy’s opinion!).
Anyway…response to your track:
Musicianship wise, I wouldn’t say the quality isn’t up to standard at all, far from it. The only two things that pricked my eyes with a critical head on was a) the EQ at the start seemed a bit too intrusive at the top end, and the glocks about a minute in in the little break, and b) some of the brass melodies sounded a bit too midi and unrealistic, also the melody at 2.40, the same.
But as to what the AudioJungle panel reckons, who knows! My gut feeling for my next group of submissions is to ‘dumb’ down a bit. Make the melodies less intrusive, the structure more predictable (boring), because I fear tracks are being judged more on background music merit, as opposed to music that stands on its own as art.
I’ve read comments and advice that say don’t write for the platform, write for what your own creativity, but my gut says that’s not actually not great advice for AudioJungle! Maybe.
Nice track, but need more work for realism, special in brass. Orchestral vst music is very hard to make sound real, specially in your track context. Really like your musical thoughts and also have feeling that AJ not for that type of music.
I definitely agree that the moderator’s comments should be a little more constructive. If the quality is not at a “commercial standard”, it would be great if they told us what exactly is not at the standard - is it the mixing/balance? The instrumentation? The musical material itself? Otherwise it leaves the mind open to interpret it, which doesn’t help solving the problem identified by the moderator (whatever it was).
And many thanks for the feedback on the track - I am still quite new to mixing/mastering so I appreciate the comments.
Thanks for the feedback as well. I do indeed find brass to be the most challenging to emulate, though I suspect that is down to the samples I use (which, for now, is almost entirely EastWest).
Moderators have so many tracks to approve that they don’t have time to answer in particular whats going on… this is a nice song, again I think mixing is somewhat the problem here, and also the panning . Want to hear more about you though, your music sounds promising!
Hi,
IMHO, which is not worth that much as I’m new to AJ and had 4 rejections out of 4, the main problem is that a few instruments (above all the brass) sound too midi (please consider I listened to your track in the iphone with all the obvious limitations).
This might be due at least in part to the library quality but maybe You might also want to work in the dinamics. I don’t know the eastwest brass, but You might want to try cinebrass as well.
Another consideration: isn’t it too complex for a videogame music? Though I’ve never tried this kind of music I heard that it is supposed to be made by layers triggered by the progression of the videogame. For example: if your character keeps walking in the same room the music will play in loop but when it will enter another room (e.g. a room full of enemies) a new layer is added to make the music more epic/scary or whatever (I hope you got what I mean).
Well actually this sounds more like a question rather than a consideration!
On the other side, a lot of nice musical ideas I like!
(I think we have enough of those that I would get rejected for “your submission is too similar to existing items”!)