I just take the original and my it my own. Meaning, i use the essential parts that defines the track, like melodies etc etc, and the make the track as i would make any of my own productions... No specific rules from my point of view..

If its woth your time? well, i think thats only you who can decide that. Meaning, if you think you have a shot on making it, i think its worth it. Its a good way to get a foot in the scene and make a name, and mainly the purpose with a competition. But dont expect to get any money from it, cus from what i have experienced your main "price" is the release.

Good luck
C

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alright, so let's say that you create a "very kick-ass" remix, and you think it might have a shot, but you don't know d#ck about mastering.

i would assume that if the track was one of the best productions, but still needed some additional mastering....that the label would still choose it and do the final mastering themselves?

labels usually do their own mastering, even if from your point of view that might not be necessary

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I've done plenty of remix competitions over my time and yes, they can lead to some potentially good things. Is it likely that you're gonna get it pressed and distributed across the globe? Well, that all depends on how much the artist likes your remix. Quite often, your remix will appear on a compilation or mixed cd by one of the label's artists.

Most remix competitions are pretty explicit on what your "payment" would be. Usually it's a nice little software package or gear to help your productions along. The nice thing about remix competitions is that it's a potential foot-in-the-door for a label. Providing that you keep in contact with them and pump out your own work that they like. This isn't a guarantee, though. And if you never get picked up by that label may not mean they don't like your work. It may be that they just can't afford to support another artist. This is common with smaller labels.

As for what they look for. That's a tough call. You really have to make a judgement call on that. Generally, I make that call determined on how much they send me to work with. If they send very little (a couple loops and samples) then it's obvious that they want it completely redone. Also, they usually state in the contest rules where you remix will be presented. If it's going to be a label compilation, you might want to stick with just tweaking the track a bit. If it's an artist mix (or artist comp) then you can likely get away with flipping the original upside down.

In my experience, though, I've found that is best to keep the basics of the track in place. Remember, you're "just the remixer". The focus for such a project isn't on what you can do for yourself but what you can do for the original artist. So sometimes, this means sucking it up and just reworking other's music.

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Remix contests seem like a big waste of time. I'd rather spend my time working on my own tracks. Plus, if you don't win the contest, you can't legally release your remix, even as a free download. So you might have a decent track that no one will ever hear. Good things could still happen if you don't win, you might get noticed by the label offering the contest. All in all though, I just don't want to put any time into something that has a chance of going nowhere. That's just me though, some producers seem to like remixing more than creating original tracks.

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