hallowken78 Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Just curious if anyone has any experiences they can share from using downwrite.com? I'm thinking about utilizing it to have a song either written or a cover performed for Valentine's Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniegwilliams Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 No. Just no. If you're a musician using this, then you shouldn't consider yourself a musician. If you're not a musician, and you're just looking for something special for someone, talk to a local artist and work with them. Hell, I'll do whatever it is you're wanting to do for a third of the cost. Unless one of the artist is a favorite of yours, then that does make sense, but almost loses the sentimentality by the fact that you are paying for it. eight1echo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowken78 Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 No. Just no. If you're a musician using this, then you shouldn't consider yourself a musician. If you're not a musician, and you're just looking for something special for someone, talk to a local artist and work with them. Hell, I'll do whatever it is you're wanting to do for a third of the cost. Unless one of the artist is a favorite of yours, then that does make sense, but almost loses the sentimentality by the fact that you are paying for it. It's a favorite of hers, so yeah, that's sort of the point. But I guess I'm confused by the disdain for this service - what is so bad about it? stl_ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifeparty Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I had Matt Pryor write a song that I had played for my wife right before I proposed to her. I have no musicial ability myself so me writing a song and playing it for her wasn't an option. The Get Up Kids are one of my all-time favorite bands so I had no problem throwing down some money on having the song written. My wife loved it and in the end that is what matters to me. I feel it isn't too far off from commissioning an artist to make a painting or a sketch for you. Sure some people won't like it but it is your money so do what you want with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowken78 Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 I had Matt Pryor write a song that I had played for my wife right before I proposed to her. I have no musicial ability myself so me writing a song and playing it for her wasn't an option. The Get Up Kids are one of my all-time favorite bands so I had no problem throwing down some money on having the song written. My wife loved it and in the end that is what matters to me. I feel it isn't too far off from commissioning an artist to make a painting or a sketch for you. Sure some people won't like it but it is your money so do what you want with it. This is pretty much my take on it as well. What was the process like for him to write the song? Did you just send an email with ideas of what you wanted in it? Or did you chat with him at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 My friends run this site and I think it's pretty amazing. I also think Ronnie is totally, completely off-base with his negative remarks toward the concept. Duff and stl_ben 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifeparty Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 This is pretty much my take on it as well. What was the process like for him to write the song? Did you just send an email with ideas of what you wanted in it? Or did you chat with him at all? They have you fill out a questionaire. So you would want to be specific with details that you want included. You then get an e-mail later on that has your song. So there isn't really back and forth but that could depend on the artist. I just know how it was with Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowken78 Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 They have you fill out a questionaire. So you would want to be specific with details that you want included. You then get an e-mail later on that has your song. So there isn't really back and forth but that could depend on the artist. I just know how it was with Matt. Thanks for the info - this is exactly the kind of detail I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingTacoMunster Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Never heard of this, but think its awesome. I can play guitar/write a song, but the ole voice just aint having it, so if you could write the lyrics and then have them arrange/record it, that would be a cool option...IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I have done two. One by Steve Soboslai (Punchline) and one by Max Bemis (Say Anything, and he does his on a different site) both were great and they were open to trying different things to make the song I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingTacoMunster Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I have done two. One by Steve Soboslai (Punchline) and one by Max Bemis (Say Anything, and he does his on a different site) both were great and they were open to trying different things to make the song I wanted. out of curiousity, whats the other site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Max just does his directly once a year. They normally sell out pretty fast so it's best to follow him on twitter to find out when. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingTacoMunster Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 gotcha, didnt know if it was another site like this and there were other artist. still a cool idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronniegwilliams Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 My friends run this site and I think it's pretty amazing. I also think Ronnie is totally, completely off-base with his negative remarks toward the concept. No, I'm not off base. I stated that if the artist is one of your favorites, then I completely understand the use of such a site; however, if it's just you getting a song made for a special occasion, why wouldn't you want to pick up a guitar and do it yourself, when there is so much more sentiment involved with such an act? Or, why wouldn't you want to support a local artist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 No, I'm not off base. I stated that if the artist is one of your favorites, then I completely understand the use of such a site; however, if it's just you getting a song made for a special occasion, why wouldn't you want to pick up a guitar and do it yourself, when there is so much more sentiment involved with such an act? Or, why wouldn't you want to support a local artist? Because not everyone can play a guitar or write a song? That seems to be the most obvious reason. And if my options are to pay $50 to a local musician who I don't have a personal connection with or $50 to a national musician who I do have a personal connection with, I'm gonna go with the latter. knifeparty, THE_James_Champ and Duff 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Most people are buying these because they are artist they really like.... And I would imagine most are like me and have 0 musical talent. Why ask some local artist you don't know to make you a song when you can get one made by one of your favorite bands?! Why does it matter if the artist is local or in Chicago (since most of the downright guys are in Chicago.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifeparty Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I think part of why to go with a singer you like also is that you really enjoy their voice as well as the songwriting. I am a fan of Matt Pryor's vocals and that is something I couldn't have a local singer do. They could sound like him perhaps but it isn't the same as him. I also see nothing wrong with wanting to support a singer-songwriter I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajhall04 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I think part of why to go with a singer you like also is that you really enjoy their voice as well as the songwriting. I am a fan of Matt Pryor's vocals and that is something I couldn't have a local singer do. They could sound like him perhaps but it isn't the same as him. I also see nothing wrong with wanting to support a singer-songwriter I like. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajhall04 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Also, on a lighter note, Chris Farren killed it when I had him do one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 btw how a few of my songs went down: I am a giant comic book nerd, so I sent the guys some comics to read. I told them after they read the comic just make a song with those thoughts in mind. Either themes from the comic or whatever. Both Max and Steve did nice songs...but Steve knocked it out of the park. He said he really liked the comic and kept adding more parts to the song. Was much better layered quality than the 2-track song I ordered. He even ended up emailing me a couple weeks after sending the song with an updated version with more to it. So I think if you find a good artist on here and do something they can have fun with you can get a really good product. I have heard some dumb ones too though and have to think at least part of that is because what they were given to work with was pretty poor. aka "Hey I want to ask this girl out, can you write a song to do it for me....." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacredheart Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 My worry with these is that the artists have a general song lying around and just changes the lyrics for each person. Like a Mad Libs song. Where everyone gets the same general song but a few words changed. I also remember on Matt's NTWHA podcast that he was suprised by how much money that Bemis made doing it and kept going back to it, and shortly after opened up his own account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stl_ben Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 You can listen to the songs Here: http://www.studiosputnik.com/music/ To me the sound far from insert word here songs..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallowken78 Posted January 14, 2015 Author Share Posted January 14, 2015 Appreciate all the feedback guys. I'm definitely going to give it a shot in some capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.