CONSTRUCTIVE OPINIONS NEEDED OF MY REGGEATON SONG..PLZ LISTEN

what the **** was that?

 

That was the world's greatest guitarist.

Shabba Ranks brought Dem Bow to the table over 10 years ago. What can you bring that spices things up a bit?

http://www.reggaetonchat.net/chat/

 

well, i dont know, but some american artists are working with reggaeton artists more specifically the ones from puerto rico, some of them are R. kelly, p. diddy, Ja Rule, and others are working on projects. People listen to it in Europe which I actually found it weird but oh well.

Anyhow, rythm its not great, I specially dislike the part where it switches to the "bam bam" riddim it doesnt do it, also vocals are higher than the music as some people have pointed out. Maybe adding a little more echo or delay to your chorus and some really small delay and adjusts to the lead singer's voice. Also the beginning of the song its a bit too long without any real lyrics 45 seconds, bringing it down to about :30 could be better). A reggaeton song coming at 4+ min is unusual should be shorter total about high 2's or mid 3's.

The lyrics or theme of the song I didn't quite get it at first but then I understood what you guys meant with jeepeta, anyhow there are some sections that sound interesting but its kind of a rehash of lyrics that are already out there. I can point out to around 5-10 reggae (from panama) and reggaeton with the almost the same exact lyrics (funny how the name Josefina comes out a lot in these songs too).

Then again I'm no producer, but I've listen to reggae(jamaican dancehall, soca, roots, etc), reggae(panama) and reggaeton(puerto rico) and I think I can critique somewhat objectively.

Joe

 

What about the 8-measure rule? Without it, 75% of rap wouldn't exist.

 

Same here in Houston. This music seems to appeal to the latino immigrant underclass youth, especially those from central america. There is a lot of great music from latin america, salsa, merengue, cumbia, rock en espanol, but reggaeton is not one of them. Whenever I here that music blasting from some car it is inevitably a beat up 10-15 yr old import with the usual Pep Boys ricer accessories driven by a latino "wigger".

 

If I remember right, the original was an all male vocal and the female component was added later. "Spanglish" versions were added after that, it was remixed on spec and then the song got huge. But that was 10 years ago...my memory's a little rusty. Even Ricky Martin had to Americanize his music, but...

The Latin pop market is absolutely huge. I wouldn't let that stop me from marketing to that sector of the populace at all and, if something really took off, doing a "Spanglish" version. Billboard Mag has a Latin chart if I remember correctly.

I seriously would not worry about the sampling issue unless it "got out of the lab", so to speak. Then you may want to consider getting it licensed (clearance) or having portions of it re-created (mechanicals) to avoid potential lawsuits. If it ever got into the hands of a big enough label, they'd likely take care of all that for you.

Work on the composition, use some GOOD soft synths and a program like Reason for the drums.

For synths, I'd recommend: Absynth (Native Instruments), Z3ta+, Albino, Blue, Atmosphere (for the strings). Reason for the drums.

RMX

 

When you're using a sample taken off someone else's recording, there is no 8-measure rule.

You're right though, if it was all illegal, many if not most rap songs would not have come to be. It was only recently that the 6th Circuit threw down and said, "Get a license or do not sample," busting NWA on a three note riff taken from George Clinton.

Obviously, this is one of the hottest issues in the music industry... people are going to continue to sample until they get caught, especially unsigned 'basement producers' trying to make the break. The record company can have no claim against you if you re-record the rhythym or music with your own instruments, but you'll still have the songwriter and their publisher to deal with on the mechanical license (the recording and the written music have two different copyright holders, and require separate clearances).

 

Umm..your name is not even featured in the title. Forgetting everything else mentioned, at least get your name as a featured artist or you will go absolutely no where.

Testacojones, maybe just tell her Spanish so she understands better.

 

So is there any kind of rule at all like that, or is it all just BS? Because obviously there are a lot of derivative songs out there. Do they all have licensing approval, or is it a case (ala Vanilla Ice) where one changed note makes the difference?

 

I'm not sure. Derivative works are a minefield of different elements - this is an area I'm trying to learn right now. If you can bear lawyerspeak, this is a great resource on music plagarism cases: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/law/library/caselist.html

I know that licenses/clearances are expected if you're going to file for your own copyright on the derivative song. Songs under major labels have licenses when they're released, although from what I've heard from former label employees, often the legal dept is scrambling last minute before a disc's release when the producer finally gives them the final cut and list of samples. They trade back and forth and everything is based on the negotiating power of the parties. Many faded artists are probably negotiated to near nothing if a hot hip-hopper wants to sample from them.

 

I'm no lawyer and I obviously didn't got to Harvard, but my belief is anything that is sampled from someone else's work is off limits. I've heard of the 1 second rule, the 2 second rule, the 1 measure rule, the eight measure rule, etc etc. I usually pose it to someone like this:

Imagine if you had 100 pennies lying on your dresser and someone came along and took one without your permission, would that be constituted as stealing? Sure it would. In the case of music, even something as benign as a snare hit could be constituted as sampling without permission. The real art is in twisting things enough so you don't get caught. Fatboy Slim made a career out of this.

The whole thing is really curious to me because rap music would never have gotten off the ground without all that sampling. One group in particular, The Beastie Boys, sampled a lot of beats and loops on their early albums without proper permissions. Give their label a call and ask if you can sample THEM and see what they tell you.

RMX

 

A bit late to the party, but here goes ...
I kinda liked it. It does need more beat IMO, but I like how the lyrics sound (although I understand 0,000001% of it).
Someone mentioned BEP (they haven't been popular for more than 2 years, have they?) ... that's the definitely the kind of music that needs some video to go along (or some party already well started).
There again, that's not necesserily the music I listen to ...
Half brazilian half lebanese? How 'bout sharing some pics of that beauty night with a fellow montrealer? Better yet, forget the pics let's go for a drink ...