Was Your Music Rejected because you were told its not "Broadcast Quality"?

What is Broadcast Quality and How do I make make sure my music is up to Industry Standard? 

There are a few varying definitions for the term "Broadcast Quality"  such as:

1. A song can only be marketed at the commercial level only if it is professionally produced.

2. Broadcast quality essentially refers to a recording--a CD or DVD--that is ready for radio airplay.

3. The material has to sound good on the radio and stand up well alongside commercial records, which in turn means recording a good performance and choosing a suitable range of sounds, then mixing it all carefully so as to avoid unwanted noise or distortion.

I think all three definitions are aiming for the same result.  I believe  the meaning gets muddied because of two variables.  First, there are different types of usages (film, radio, CD, Trailer, Video Game) and secondly are the different genres (live, pop, Americana, Rock, etc.)  There Are also various file types, (mp3, wav, aiff) 

Too find if your track is up to par with other proven broadcast quality tracks run a sound test. Also ask others to play along with ya on the feedback for better insight.

Listen to  a dozen tracks in your genre.  For example you have an Americana track, listen to several others tracks charting in that genre.  Listen to them in at least five different types of speakers (Computer, Car Radio, Studio Speakers, Alexa, Home Stereo)  You get my point.  Compare it to your music.  It should be equal to or better than what you hear.

Pro's: Untrained Ear can hear where lows bottom out, clipping issues, noise problems exist, etc.

Con's:  Untrained Ear can not hear  multiple issues and be unaware of problems.   

My son the certified Audio Engineer defines his job as "I fix problems you didn't know you had in places you don't understand".  This brings me to my next suggestion which is more technical. In order to ensure your music is broadcast quality and can compete with today's market it needs to be mixed and mastered well. Im sure most of you do not have this technical skill set, and that's probably why your reading this blog.   Have  your music professionally mixed and mastered.  These are two different jobs with two different technical skills and each must be respected and addressed.  So whats the difference?  Here is the best definitions I found.  

Mixing Engineer: 

Takes various audio sources through its multiple input channels, adjust levels and other attributes of the sound, then usually combine them to a lesser number of outputs. 

Mastering Engineer

Uses technical expertise and superb ears to make the final adjustments to a piece of recorded music before it's released, heightening its impact and ensuring that it will translate well to the variety of playback systems in use today.

Today you can add the mixing and mastering tasks with a simple additional purchase during the duplication process. Discmakers and others duplicating services offer it with the click of a button. Ya gotta remember though that they are mixing and mastering your files.  If your files have recording and engineering issues then it limits the quality of the mix and mastering.  This situation probably represents 90 percent of the music I turn away for quality.  To break it down to ya,  it's  usually things like microphone placements, interface issues,  room noise, too much or not enough filters, compression and other tracking issues. It's worth it to get your music pre-screened by an audio pro.  The most heart-breaking mistake I find is vocal pitch issues. Ugg. This is 2020 and there are gauges for these issues if your ears are not trained enough to hear it.  On a side note there are apps to help you with pitch as well as cadence issues.  Use a click track!  it saves you time and money.   If you are having issues with broadcast quality then send me an email MusicBizGal-Email and I will try to address it on my Podcast. 

Check out my future blogs where I address these issues.

Poor Song Structure - (Intro too long, needs a bridge, cant decipher verse from chorus)
Not Enough Dynamics (no forward motion, instrumentation does not support vocals)
Not Registered with a Performing Rights Organization (nobody can get paid)
Annunciation (Misunderstood words disconnect audience)
Does not have master recordings on hand (delays a sync deal)
No knowledge of basic sync licensing (fear of being ripped off prevents the buy)
Over-produced (too much going, on the song is lost)
Pitchy-Vocals (too many apps and tools to be submitting a bad vocal, so we move on)
Cadence off  (instruments and vocals obviously out of sync)
Lyrics not Cohesive (audience cant relate and loose interest)
Word-stuffing (too many words in a measure, listener cant catch up)
Sounds too Mechanical, Predictable (loops,  repeating drums, same licks in verse and chorus)
Submission Etiquite (short, too the point, poor networking skills)