SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

It's the 04th January 2021, 01:00 (UTC+1/CET) - the Voting Period has officially ended.

Sadly, not all participants have submitted some final feedback, we therefore have 1 disqualification -- but not due to a lack of participation (@Marius L), but sadly due to technical error.

A server glitch like this shouldn't have happened, as I didn't touch anything back-end related on the homepage since 31st December. So I assume that you were thrown out due to your browser acting up (can happen). I highly recommend clearing your browser cache - and for everyone (hint for the future), white up your feedback in a TXT file first than directly on the forum, just to be sure.

While this tech-mishap definitely hurts... I would still love to see you giving some feedback, even casting a vote, @Marius L . If you manage to do that by the end of today (4th January, 23:59 UTC+1/CET), then I'll still add you to the score sheet. Does that sound like a generous offer?


I will post the results shortly shortly after 4th January, please have an eye on this thread.
(this is not an automated process)

[TheVodouQueen]

@Brunnsqi:

That's actually pretty cool. It's always good to have practical band experience, because that's still music production, especially when making an album in a studio. Far outweighs the little few years of band I had in school. I never really produced music until now. I just love to listen to various genres and artists all the time, especially when drawing. So it's impressive to hear you do have a good deal of experience under your belt.

But meh, guess the lack of know-all is kind of reflective in the pts I got this round... My intent for the song was to be something a bit weird and vapourwave-y, whilst still trying to ground it in new age. New age, to me, borderlines between the soundtrack-style music and jazz/bebop, but I guess I didn't do enough to make it distinct enough. Really unsure what to make of the general votes, but I'll take what comments I can onboard. It's getting to me a bit now that almost everything I produce someone refers to it as lo-fi / jazz, even when, to me, it radically doesn't sound like it and wasn't the intent. . . D:

Really is a bit of a virtual kick in the shins tho. I appreciate you giving me the benefit of a doubt I guess with voting on the basis that half the song was made by samples or heavily modified loops, but it is really depressing to be bottom of the barrel, and I honestly struggled like hell with this one, lol, and was being quite methodical about it in the process, even if it doesn't sound like I was.

[functionform]

10. functionform - Out The Door
This song sounds somewhat closer to an 80's New Age, mostly because of it's lo-fi vibe. Most of the instruments and background effects sounds like a vintage sampler. The overall mix sounds like it is recorded on an old cassette tape.

Great ear VCA! I did mention the Softube Tape in my breakdown, but I forgot to mention the rx950 which I used on vocals and some other sounds to give it that classic Akai sampler vibe.

[Blang]

@Blang
About Paul Speer: I swear I never - ever - heard about him. And yes, I guess my song does sound a little bit like the one you pointed out, but I was completely unaware of it's existence. I like to listen to Vangelis, Jarre and Enya and I know a couple of songs from Kitaro and Yanni. And I remember somebody even forgot an Andreas Vollenweider album at my mom's too, but that's it (I've never even listened to it from the beginning to the end). I've never delved further into the genre either.

Anyway, thank you for pointing out this issue but I assure you it was unintentional. Do you think I should take down my track?

Hey Brunnsqi,
Thanks for your reply. Behind the Waterfall was is the reference list of this SWC, that's the reason I noticed the similarity. Well, good that you haven't heard the song before. Perhaps only if you intend to release your track commercially, you might want to check if others find the melodies too similar. But right now there is no reason take take your track down I think.

[Brunnsqi]

Hey Brunnsqi,
Thanks for your reply. Behind the Waterfall was is the reference list of this SWC, that's the reason I noticed the similarity. Well, good that you haven't heard the song before. Perhaps only if you intend to release your track commercially, you might want to check if others find the melodies too similar. But right now there is no reason take take your track down I think.

Wow, and and he's near the top of that list!

Before the contest I just skimmed through that list because I was already aware of some of the artists, so I didn't even think about listening to them. But now you got me thinking if I ended up checking one or two of them. I'm embarrassed to say I just can't remember, but it's not totally impossible. I may have listened to part of it after all, and then the melody just stuck in my head.

It's interesting, though, because as soon as I finished recording this song I thought it sounded like a blend of Vangelis (Antarctica and Alpha) and Enya (Bard Dance). Now it seems it was none of it.

[Brunnsqi]

@Mister Fox

As I am in doubt about the possibility of accidental plagiarism, maybe it would be fair to disqualify my entry. I'm also thinking about removing my track from Soundcloud if you don't mind. According to the contest guidelines I believe I should let the song available for at least 15 more days (until the contest completes 45 days), is that right?

[TheVodouQueen]

@Brunnsqi

Hey.

Honestly I think you're pulling the trigger way too hard on this one. I'm not sure I get the jist of the full conversation happening, but just because something you made was influenced by others' work or has a sample in it doesn't mean you need to throw it out entirely, especially if it's non-commercial. Just state where you got it from (or the inspiration) and leave it as is. It was a really good song and no need to disqualify yourself over it.

Highly doubt it's going to make a difference much either way since voting is over and, again, the song was fine. So I agree with the above--I really don't think removing it is necessary. These challenges (although having prizes) are primarily to learn over, and flex your skill with. So I think there's a bit of overreacting going on and it's not necessary. ^^;

[becsei_gyorgy]

@Brunnsqi
@TheVodouQueen

I agree.
The basic melody of the 2 songs is a bit similar, but it is very far from being an exact match between them.
There are thousands more similar works.

Anyway, it is generally considered that the best song is that subconsciously reminds you of another.

[Mister Fox]

I had to take a deep dive on this one, compared "Vangelis - Alpha" and "David Lanz & Paul Speer - Behind the Waterfall" with Brunnsqi's "Theta". While it is true that the arpeggios and chord progressions sound similar, they are still not 1:1 copying. At least from my perspective, and so far also most of the listeners' perspective.

Personally, I wouldn't disqualify your entry @Brunnsqi, but if you say "please let me withdraw", I will accept your request. Either way, it won't have an influence on the score sheet.

[Mister Fox]

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the results of Songwriting Competition 40

The winners podium consists of:

1. @Blang (106 pts)
2. @Doc Jon (103 pts)
3. @becsei_gyorgy (99 pts)

Apologies for the waiting time, this is not an automated process.

<4 participant rule is not in use (staff comments and votes)
We have 1 disqualification (due to lack of feedback, see overhauled game mechanics)
We have 1 withdrawn entry (requested, concerns of plagiarism)
We have 0 votes after the deadline
We have 0 users that tied
"Sole (License) Winner" rule does not apply - 3-position Winners Podium



Here are the results as chart in image form:


Please note the following:
We are in the middle of testing the overhauled "Voting Process" and Bonus Point Mechanic.

I have been lenient this month. I offered @TheVodouQueen to re-upload the entry and edit the corresponding entry post with more documentation (therefore not resulting in a drastic loss of bonus points). I also I offered @Marius L another 24 hour time window to post feedback after all, despite the server issues (I really recommend to use a text editor for backup purposes), which was not taken advantage of. Else, the winners' podium would have looked slightly different.

I do have to point out though, that a lot of the entries lost some valuable bonus points this months, due to either exceeding the loudness limit, and/or the track went beyond -1dBFS. In one case, the entry went even beyond 0dBFS (clipping!). Please, have an eye on that in the future.

Considering the feedback and recent interaction, I would say that the "bonus point mechanic" has been taken well, and I will proceed to implement that into the official Rules and Guidelines (will be updated by 24th January)

Thank you so much for your participation.



License selection:

We'll now perform with the usual. Selecting licenses is handled in public. Please select one license/company out of the pool (in order of the winners podium) and mention it in this thread, then (important) please get in touch with me (via PM) with your full name, email address and your license selection.

As usual - you're not forced to pick up anything. You can pass and therefore offer more to select for the next person in line (if there is a spot existing / not available for "sole winner" mechanic). Just let all participants/winners/the staff know in a timely manner. Once one company has been selected, it's out of the pool for the next person on the podium.



Feedback about the "Songwriting Competition" is welcome (please do so here).



See you in in the next challenge!


Songwriting Competition 041 / Community Scramble (January 2021) is still in full swing.
Please help spread the word to get the Songwriting Competition to 15-20 participants on average.