Mix Challenge

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Thu May 01, 2025 19:06 CEST

I hope you can handle this somewhat harsh criticism from me.

Hi @A Future in Noise

thank you for your feedback. That's no harsh criticism for me, it's your opinion and everything you said was exactly what I wanted to do. So, it's allright for me and it's part of making music: some share your musical taste and experience, some don't.
By the way, it wasn't my focus to get a great Mix. Your feedbacks confirm more my choice of sounds. And this is a positive feed back for me, thank you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the results of Songwriting Competition 089

The winners podium consists of:

1. @Strange (39 pts)
2. @toadhjo (36 pts)
3. @Marc Fey (34 pts)

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

<4 participant rule is not in use (staff comments and votes, my vote would count as bonus)
We have 00 disqualifications (due to lack of feedback / a final vote)
We have 00 entries outside of competition (but counts as submission within the deadline, yet couldn't be voted for)
We have 00 withdrawn entries (but count as submission within the deadline, yet couldn't be voted for - this participant also stepped away form the community)
We have several users still in the game that tied

• The following ties on the chart happened due to various reasons
  • juhu -- participation vote is 04pts, but this results in a tie with JeroenZuiderwijk. However, the entry was awarded 1x3pts, 0x2pts, 1x1pt -- the participant has otherwise all bonus points
  • JeroenZuiderwijk -- participation vote is 04pts, but this results in a tie with juhu. However, the entry was awarded 0x3pts, 1x2pts, 2x1pt, meaning less overall "high points" compared to juhu -- the participant has otherwise all bonus points is 27pts)
• no (more) users that tied

"Sole (License) Winner" rule does not apply - 3-position Winners Podium (>= 9 participants prior to the deadline)


STATISTICS SHEET:
Overview of Submissions (PDF - updated: 06-MAY-2025, full sheet)
Overview of Submissions - loudness normalization comparison (PDF - updated: 06-MAY-2025, full sheet)

!

Bonus Info

Short info: I am using Wavelab 10 for batch analysis, then I manually port the CSV export to a Microsoft Excel/Open Office Calc sheet with custom layout (this is not an automated process). The "Loudness Penalty" readouts have been created with MeterPlugs Loudness Penalty Studio (build: FEB-2025), slightly altered screenshots (removed boarders, added annotation, exported as PDF). As pointed out in this post from SWC047 / July 2021, Wavelab has different tolerances for dBTP max analysis compared to tools like iZotope RX, Youlean Loudness Meter, NUGEN Audio VisLM, etc. To find a common ground, I've implemented "allowed tolerances" (just like with the Mix Challenge). These are based upon allowed offsets mentioned in the technical papers for EBU R128 and ITU-R BS.1770-4. Since no measurement tool is the same, to be on the save side, please export at -14,1 LUFS ILk max, and -1,1 dBTP max. As usual, I did list/analyze alternative releases (MP3s and FLAC). If you've submitted your entry in multiple file formats, the statistic sheet will focus on the uncompressed material first (WAV), then FLAC, then MP3. The higher the quality, the less possible loss on bonus points for "Loudness Specs" due to offsets introduced by a used CODEC. In this case, FLAC and MP3 are merely for information purposes.

Here are the results as chart in image form:




INTRODUCING:
An additional source of information that will contribute to the learning aspect of our community. The following screenshot shows you a more visual representation of your entry. Additional screenshots (see the second PDF file available with this post, the "Loudness normalization comparison") show how your song/mix would behave if it were "loudness adjusted" (loudness normalized / "matched") on a streaming platform.

This is bonus information. Very dynamic material may not be able to be matched, and material that is mixed too tightly (dense) may result in a lifeless listening experience (due to lack of transients). Limiting dynamic range is a highly subjective topic - there is no right/wrong scenario. But hopefully this gives you a better idea of how complicated the "Modern Loudness War" still is.

This will be the last month that there is a dedicated info section about this. You can now find both Statistic Sheets via the links above.





Thank you so much for your participation.

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	INFORMATION: As of January 2023, we are using a "tiered points system" for the voting mechanic. An extensive Rule Book update with in-depth mechanic explanation is in the making (apologies for the waiting time). Breaking up a tie: There was no unbreakable tie that needed to be addressed. The fall-back mechanics were used. An explanation on the bonus points and penalty points: Due to exceeding the loudness specs, the following users could not acquire all 4pts bonus -- @Arelem for either exceeding the maximum signal strength of -1,00 dBTP or the maximum loudness of -14 LUFS ILk I sadly had to withdraw 1pts bonus from @toadhjo for not using the filename template properly. Please check your white spaces and double-underscores in the future. In case of SoundCloud, you can name your songs different compared to the filename. I could sadly not award 2pts bonus for "feedback for everyone" to @A Future in Noise - as the feedback given was "the bare minimum" (by personal choice!). I had to address -1pt penalts for @Rick Finsta, since this entry is shorter than the minimum song length of 1:30min. (the participant was okay with that). I hope you all had fun and learned something new in the process. Please keep it up for future challenges throughout 2025. See you folks in the next game.

License selection:

We will now perform with the usual. Selecting of licenses is handled in public. In order of the winners podium (top spot to lowest), and only if you want to, please select one license/company out of the pool and mention it in this thread within a timely manner, then (important) please get in touch with me (via PM) with your full name, email address and your license selection. Else, licenses can not be addressed.

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 (within 5 days of this post). Once one company has been selected, it's out of the pool for the next person on the podium.

Since SWC092 has a 3-position Winner's Podium, we continue to test a possible new game mechanic that offers "low placed participants" a chance to pick up a bonus license - if somebody from the Winners Podium passes on a selection. You can read more about this in SWC083 - post #067. The follow-up post will have a summary to that concept.




I re-open the field for talking some more about each others' productions. If things drift a bit too off-topic, please use the General Gossip thread, or Discord.



See you in in the next challenge!



Songwriting Competition 093 (May 2025) is still in full swing. There is currently 01 entry, asking for feedback. There are 19 days left to participate.

Please have a look.



EDIT: 06-MAY-2025 04:45 UTC+2/CEST - initial post.

A continuation of the "Passing on Bonus Licenses" mechanic...

We've been testing this mechanic since SWC083. So far, this concept has been well received and is still being fine-tuned. Sometimes a bonus license can be the right boost to elevate a production - and with this bonus mechanic, no one feels "left out".

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	INFORMATION: Starting with SWC083 - and depending on how many bonus licenses have been picked - I am now putting "passed on" license selections back into the pool and make a possible selection available for "low positioned participants". Mechanic Idea: This mechanic will be available with a 3-position (or higher) Winners Podium. This mechanic will be tiered Tier 01 (9 to 15 participants) - the Winners Podium has 3 positions. Each passed on license will be added into a drawing pool (remaining participants), and additional winners will be selected at random Tier 02 (16 participants or more) - the Winners Podium will change from 3 to 5 positions. Each passed on license will be offered to up-to two (number: 2) "runner-ups" (position 6 and 7). Should these participants also pass on selecting something, then this passed on license will be added into a drawing pool (remaining participants), and additional winners will be selected at random. The draw is carried out using a tool such as the "Wheel of Names". Each participant is placed 5 times on the wheel and the wheel is spun 5 times. The winner of the bonus license is determined on the last spin. In parallel to the the "Podium"'s decision which route to go, participants in lower positions can decide upfront if they want to "pass on" a license. If this has been made clear before a draw is being done, this particular participant will not be added to the "wheel". if a randomly drawn participant also does not want to pick up a license, the "passed on" license will not be put back into the drawing pool (the offer can only be passed on once). This is to prevent an endless "draw", as this is an additional courtesy. passed on licenses adhere to the same "Bonus License" pickup rules, e.g. please select something within 5 days after the results have been known, and reach out via PM with your credentials within 14 days max. Fine-tuning to this particular idea can still happen with future games.

We're all here to learn, grow from the experience, and spread positivity...

This is still an experimental bonus mechanic. I would love to get some additional feedback on this. If this mechanic is met with interest, it could become a regular implementation for the Songwriting Competition (incl. the Rule Book).

Thank you.

Many thanks to all participants,

I didn't expect that a song in my mother tongue could win this competition. Thank you for that.
Many people rated the mix positively. That makes me happy, because I didn't really pay much attention to it. What was more important to me was the choice of sounds and the arrangement, which should convey the content of the song, the anger and despair in the face of the many conflicts in the world. I think this meant that the mix wasn't a big challenge. For me, a good song doesn't necessarily have to be complex, have lots of harmonies or daringly complicated melodies. It has to be coherent and be able to connect with the listener's experiences and emotions. Sometimes simplicity, authenticity and enough repetition are enough :-)
Thank you!
@Mister Fox : Thank you for your support and guidance! I would like to have the HoRNet HarmoniQ plugin.

greetings
Peter

Congratulations to Strange and toadhjo, and bravo to all the participants, it was a very fun SWC!!
Very happy to be one of the 3 winners, I didn't expect it at all.
And many thanks to Mister Fox for the time spent organizing these challenges.

Congratulations! Thank you all for sharing your art and your feedback, you now have me working on my first ever "electronic music" song for the next one.

Congratulations to strange! I think your track is a great example of powerful, concise songwriting -- you earned the win!

And congrats to Marc Fey as well! Your track is an excellent instrumental piece

Thank you again to Mister Fox for hosting the competition.

Finally, I want to thank everyone for their feedback, but in particular @Strange and @Rick Finsta, who both provided multiple paragraphs of actionable ideas. I'll take those under consideration as I go back and tweak my song.

For my prize, I'd like to claim Luftrum Lunaris 2.

Hope to see you all again this month

toadhjo wrote: ↑

Thu May 08, 2025 03:42 CEST

Finally, I want to thank everyone for their feedback, but in particular @Strange and @Rick Finsta, who both provided multiple paragraphs of actionable ideas. I'll take those under consideration as I go back and tweak my

I'd like to hear your result, cause I really meant what I'd said. You can post it here and if you mention us I will see it and hear it and if you like, I can give you my thoughts about it.

Congratulations

I'm the last, so I'd like the SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle from kv331 audio.
Thanks again Mister Fox!

All license requests have been addressed.

As usual, the thread stays open for further feedback and possible bonus revisions to talk about.


See you in SWC093 / May 2025.
So far there has been 01 entry with request for feedback.