Music Industry Blog 05
Commercial Song Analysis
By: Matthew Mazer

No Pressure Song Analysis
At this point you should have an industry standard photo and bio. Also, you should have at least one well recorded song. You are going to need to figure out which song of yours is the best to market. If you only have one song, then it is an easy choice, but I would read the next section anyway.

If you have more than one song, do not try to figure it out yourself. Enroll at least 10 people to spend 15 minutes helping you out. If you have more people who want to participate, even better. Be sure the songs you are using are the clean versions. Many people will be reluctant to judge an artist's music, but this test allows them to help us without judging the music.

1. Provide them a card/paper with the track number, name, and length for each song. This list should be ordered by how they will be played to the listener.

2. Have them listen to all the songs first.

3. Tell them to put a number next to each track starting with 1 (the track they liked the most). Their second favorite will get a "2", and so on...

4. Have them return the card/paper to you.

This is a way to get commercial appeal feedback without the listener feeling pressured. Don't ask what they like or didn't like, just let them sort the list. You may provide a "comments section" for each track, I would suggest it. But, be sure to mention to the participants that it is optional. 

Closing
Obtaining a public opinion on track preference will provide you vital information about which tracks have the most commercial appeal. Remember, commercial appeal is driven by public demand and public opinion, not creativity or originality.