Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

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rubey
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Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by rubey » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:44 am

My partner is the Taxi member but I would like to share my thoughts, (since he won't) - and hope ok on this thread..?
His 1st year's membership will expire soon but he has decided not to renew, due to zero success with submissions made so far. I feel the decision is premature but I also understand his frustration and disillusionment.
He says the industry has changed entirely, that there is no longer a place for him. While living in LA for a long time, he enjoyed a lot of success, earning a very good income solely from making music. He worked with boutique production houses, where demos were submitted and paid for, where he scored to picture, and that if a piece of music wasn't quite right, you'd have the opportunity to resubmit after working on it. Success rates were very high. Obviously this is not possible with Taxi, where generally it has become a numbers game - with hopefully one being 100% suitable.
We now live abroad, and after taking a break, Taxi seemed like a good way to continue working in the industry, while still producing albums for others as well as producing a few of his own albums. He also has not had the benefit of attending the rally etc. Meeting people in the industry face to face is definitely beneficial, as he has experienced.
While the Taxi fees are not excessive in US terms, each 5USD is a meal for two in our currency, add to this the membership fee, and the incentive to keep submitting starts diminishing when there is no return even to cover basic costs. Added to this are the countless hours that he has spent working on these listings - this is disheartening for me too :( Everyone needs some acknowledgement, and it gets harder and harder to keep going when that isn't forthcoming. Right now he's disillusioned and uninspired, and decided its better to watch movies rather than make music!
Up until 3 weeks ago he had a 35% forward rate but not one forward has gone further, not even to a library. Recently he has been resubmitting to listings with the same criteria, with the overall success rate down to 25% - what is interesting is that depending on who is screening, there will be different responses for the same piece of music with the same criteria for the listing - I think this is frustrating him - maybe if 3 people listened to every submission, members would be less inclined to feel that responses are subjective. This is not in any way meant to undermine the screeners, I think its natural that we will all be stimulated differently but it means the process is inherently flawed. We also understand it is not financially viable for Taxi to have 3 screeners listening to each submission. It can also be frustrating when told the submission is great, among other things but not suitable for the scene when you're a diverse composer/musician, yet there is so little to go on and you're not scoring to picture.
The bottom line, is it worth continuing when chances are, nothing will change in a year's time? I know that Michael, and Taxi work hard for members - but is it realistic to be hopeful of any success when far from the action? Is it now an industry for the young and hungry? Is it only possible to be successful if you attend rallies and meet industry professionals etc.?
Thank you - just hoping to understand a little more maybe..

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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by hummingbird » Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:51 pm

Hi Rubey, I can totally appreciate what you are saying. You two hoped TAXI would open doors, but even with forwards and what sounds like good tracks, haven't had any success yet. I can't tell you whether you should stay or go. That really needs to be your decision. TAXI does have a money-back guarantee in the first year.

One of the big keys to writing to listings is to land squarely on the target. You could use this forum to ask, prior to submitting, if the submission fits the bill. I'd also recommend (if you aren't already), checking out TAXI TV, a free resource. You and your partner should get more involved with the community here, as besides sympathizing with your viewpoint there is also advice from people who are doing it too.

One thing I do budget-wise is limit my submissions to one per listing most of the time. I have about a 25% forward rate and one deal for 2016 but I have libraries TAXI hooked me up with whom I have ongoing relationships

But even if your forwards pay off to deals, unless there is an upfront sync fee, you're not going to see any money for some time. Sign a track or track. Then it needs to be placed. Then it needs to be broadcast, and the royalties will show up probably 9 months later. It's a long, slow business, licencing music.

Is there some reason why your partner can't also be scoring films or tv shows where you are? Are there local artists who would like to be produced? Can he teach people to play or record or ?

The amount I get in royalties is slowing increasing, but I've been making my living teaching timid singers to find their voices for quite a while. It's immensely satisfying and it pays the bills.

I think a TAXI membership can be only part of an overall business plan to promote oneself as a composer, musician and creative artist. The biz can be disheartening, that's why a long term view and participation in this forum is important. I'm glad you posted and I hope you will stay connected with the community that can totally relate to these feelings you express. (BTW, you don't need to be a TAXI member to post here.)

HTH
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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by Len911 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:33 pm

Rubey, realistically, if you didn't have the money, you wouldn't have posted. So, you have the option.

In life, if you don't want to do something, there is always an excuse, also if we really want to do something, nothing seems to stop us, we can always rationalize whatever our choices. There is no answer because no one has a crystal ball.

What if I said our path was pre-determined? We just don't know what it is. It might seem like it doesn't make a difference then, though psychologically it probably does. Because if I thought that it was already determined that I was to be a failure, I wouldn't stress out about failing, it's my destiny after all. If I thought I was already pre-determined to succeed, I wouldn't concern myself with whether or not I was too old, or whether something was a numbers game, or about any of the fine details of ways that might cause me to trip and fail.

Anxiety and depression do nothing for us but make us unhappy. It's what causes us to fail, when we don't believe in pre-determination. It's just that if you choose to believe in pre-determination, and I do say choose to believe, because there logically is no such thing,lol, then there's no place for anxiety and depression, there's nothing for it to latch onto.

Whether to sign up for another year at Taxi, is totally your and your partner's decision. It's obvious you want to make it work. It's an obvious interest.

I hope I've given you something that helps. I don't have a silver bullet, I could agree or disagree with some of your bullet points,lol, but that wouldn't be any help I'm sure. I wish you both the best, whatever you decide or don't decide!

~Len
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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by Telefunkin » Fri Jan 20, 2017 4:49 am

Hi Rubey,
You have to be motivated and love what you're doing to want to carry on doing it. If the joy has gone its will be hard to continue, and if the only motivation was financial reward then it will be even more difficult. One suggestion to get back some optimism would be to read the Forwards and Success stories at the top of this forum. Day after day people share their happy stories of how their music was forwarded, signed, placed and heard through Taxi. It IS happening, so Taxi MUST be working for ALL of those people, the evidence is right there, and not all of them are young and hungry (thank goodness, or I wouldn't stand a chance :) ). Also, the most successful people often say that just when they thought it was never going to happen for them, the first door opened and everything changed. So, you could probably buy a lottery ticket with $5 and accept the astronomical odds of winning anything, or submit some music that was a joyful experience to create and will live forever whether it gets forwarded or not. There are many other ways to get that music to public attention instead of Taxi, but are any of them any more likely than Taxi to achieve the results you want? Maybe so, maybe not, but I hope your partner finds the way that suits him best and really works for him, and that the next piece is the one that changes things for you both.
Last edited by Telefunkin on Wed Jan 25, 2017 11:58 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by hummingbird » Fri Jan 20, 2017 11:01 am

Telefunkin wrote:Hi Rubey,
So, you could probably buy a lottery ticket with $5 and accept the astronomical odds of winning anything, or submit some music that was a joyful experience to create and will live forever whether it gets forwarded or not.
I love that outlook :D
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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by rubey » Sat Jan 21, 2017 1:34 pm

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement - it is appreciated! - Its always good to hear other's thoughts and experiences... I think there are many reasons that compound at some point and drive us to make decisions - my partner is usually very motivated and lives for making music - he becomes obsessive, when really nothing else matters..
He has been at times been very successful in the industry and I think he's still doing fine, producing albums for others etc. so he does have an income :) I think he has become disillusioned with the industry as a whole after submitting to a number of listings and one after another they were rejected, as he does put a lot of heart and soul into every piece, as do most musicians... I think after so many months he thought something would have come through....
I do feel he makes some legitimate points regarding forwards, with regards some pieces being forwarded and others rejected for almost identical listings.. And I think that he is also used to scoring to picture, and finds working with examples frustrating as one just don't know what they're looking for. As he says, its like making a dress for someone without seeing them first.....it becomes guess work..
Anyway, maybe I'll get him to stick it out one more year, and wait and see what happens... will post if something positive happens!

Thanks again!
Rubey

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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by rubey » Sat Jan 21, 2017 1:38 pm

hummingbird wrote:
Telefunkin wrote:Hi Rubey,
So, you could probably buy a lottery ticket with $5 and accept the astronomical odds of winning anything, or submit some music that was a joyful experience to create and will live forever whether it gets forwarded or not.
I love that outlook :D
:P - Yes, absolutely its better to make music!

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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by cassmcentee » Sat Jan 21, 2017 1:54 pm

Hi Rubey!
Has your partner been using the Forum's Peer to Peer when getting ready to submit a tune?
We are surrounded by incredible talent and intuitive ears.
Getting feedback before submitting helps everyone!
Sincerely,
Cass
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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by Len911 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 4:25 pm

dress work/guess work 8-)

There's a learning curve with anything I suppose. Scoring to picture, though it might on the surface seem easier, I'm sure has one as well. I'm not a dress maker,lol, but I'm sure an experienced dressmaker probably can get the measurements and ask questions in an email and get better results than can an apprentice that sees the person face to face. A veteran knows which questions to ask, and what information gets priority, what matters and what doesn't. It should get better in time and more experiences.
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Re: Sharing thoughts - to stay or to go?

Post by Tunesmith » Sun Feb 12, 2017 7:33 am

Hi Ruby,

I'm glad you posted your situation as the response has been great and most encouraging! I also am returning to this world of recording/songwriting after taking a long break (tho I was performing live as a solo all along)..I had a studio and produced Cs's, did songwriter demos, worked for a cutting edge music software company, etc...so now I am back and there is a lot of change! I does get a bit discouraging..I have spent a lot of $5 ...but I find the whole process is worth it...Taxi is kicking me in the butt do do the best I can, and it is providing opportunity!

I find the Taxi community to be very supportive/helpful and fun. I hope that as time goes on I can give back as much as I am receiving! Also I have posted in the peer to Peer before submission and so helpful...

One thing I do know is that if I don't produce, then nothing is produced! And I do know the feeling of putting a lot of time into a piece only to have it returned. I am looking long scale for me with Taxi as I do not expect fast results.

I say hang in..wishing you the best!

Linda

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