Should I Stay or Should I Go?

[Razor7Music]

Well, first let me say I'm definitely not trolling.

I've been a member of Taxi for several years. I've been to every Rally since joining and love them. I've met great people that also happen to be great songwriters. There really isn't anything wrong. I believe my songwriting just keeps improving.

My challenge is with my current life schedule, of all good and noble things, I can only produce 2 or three tracks a year AND still enjoy it. I've got volumes of songwriting and production books and I'm thinking of taking a year off to build my catalog a little more and then join Taxi again when I have more to submit.

I'm not sure why I would or wouldn't do this, so I thought I'd post my little pondering moment here.

Thoughts are welcome!

[HenriettaAtkin]

Stephen,

I was in the same boat! Two kids, single mom, full-time music job, and I was beat.

Plus, I need to have a life, my coffee shop time, books, friends, boyfriend, great meals etc.

I took a year off, went part time, and discovered TAXI at the end of that year. What a great discovery!

Now I'm taking another year off (at least) to build up my library of cues (have about 40 so far).

Here's a tip from my long study of intuition:

Put your hand on your heart. Say "If I weren't afraid, I would...." and let your heart fill in the blanks. If your desire to take a year off comes from your Spirit, then trust your Spirit, it's smarter than your ego.

You can also speak out all your fears ("I'm afraid I'll run out of money" "Im afraid I'll run out of time") yada yada. Most fears never come true. We can handle more than we think.

Good luck!

[kova]

I was in a similar situation. I joined Taxi during my second year of law school soon after I put together an album. As I eventually discovered, most of what I had was unsuitable for Taxi listings b/c either the production was terrible (I was the poster child for amateur mixing) or the songs were off genre. I took the little that I had gleaned from my returns, took a couple of years off to learn how to record and mix songs properly, and only came back when.... actually, I came back for the Road Rally last year but I've been super productive since, putting together everything I learned from my time away from here with what I picked up at the Rally.

So really, I think it's about what you can handle. I couldn't handle law school + writing + producing at a high level so the time off did me good b/c there was less pressure for me to try to make the most out of my membership. As a more mature composer now, though, I feel like Taxi is worth it.

[MattCurious]

I empathise - I go through this process almost constantly!

he workload from my main job is heavy (often more than 9-5, often more than 5 days pw) and I get extremely frustrated when I don't have time to write or pitch. Part of that (also not trolling) is that we pay a membership for Taxi - it's extremely worthwhile for things other than listing opportunities but I get a bit itchy when I feel like I'm not using it.

I think you probably have a couple of options.

One is to do as you suggest - take time out to build catalogue. The downside with that is that you won't benefit from screener feedback, although the forums and P2P are obviously still open to you. I've found the forums more beneficial in terms of specific feedback, but the ballparks given by the screeners have often given me the place to start looking.

The other is possibly more challenging and not always possible, depending on what else you've got going on: get up earlier and go to bed later. I'm freelance so it's very difficult to turn work down; I tend to fit extra in between 0700-0930 and after 1800, on either side of my main interim job. When I don't have extra work to do, I try to use that time for music.

I'm very lucky in that my domestic arrangements currently allow this; it's not for everyone (it's something of a lifestyle choice!) and you have to be careful to avoid exhaustion / burnout. But it does accelerate the process, in my view - a lot of this seems to be about practice and experience, so I figure the more I'm writing the better I'm getting.

(We'll see how true that turns out to be!)

[edmondredd]

Seems like we all face the same issues..
I can't but reiterate what Henrietta said above

Put your hand on your heart. Say "If I weren't afraid, I would...." and let your heart fill in the blanks. If your desire to take a year off comes from your Spirit, then trust your Spirit, it's smarter than your ego.

You can also speak out all your fears ("I'm afraid I'll run out of money" "Im afraid I'll run out of time") yada yada. Most fears never come true. We can handle more than we think.

I was actually re-reading The War of Art, and I would recommend reading it, if you haven't yet.

Come to think of it, Taxi membership, is almost 300$ a year.. that's less than a dollar a day..
But again, some people need that kind of motivation ie being registered will make you produce, whereby, if you're not, you might not put that much effort.
That's my personal take on that,
and I really hope it helps in any ways,

[Len911]

My challenge is with my current life schedule, of all good and noble things, I can only produce 2 or three tracks a year AND still enjoy it. I've got volumes of songwriting and production books and I'm thinking of taking a year off to build my catalog a little more and then join Taxi again when I have more to submit.

I think the real issue is your perspective on time. The real challenge is producing more than 2 or 3 tracks a year and enjoying it. The volumes of songwriting and production books give the impression that you are thinking that once you learn their knowledge it will empower you to write and produce more in a lesser amount of time, that it will take a year to accomplish. If you write to the listings, having a catalog of compositions for submissions isn't necessary.

I listened to your songs on soundcloud, pop/rock. It sounds like you have a handle on songwriting and production. Maybe the challenge is closer to inspiration??

What will probably be most beneficial, is taking a day off to just think and meditate and question the whole process and maybe change the rules you have of yourself. One of my problems have been that everyday there is this gnawing, nagging compulsion that I should be writing songs. It becomes a barrier. It keeps me trying to learn one more thing before I start. I can't say I've cured it, but giving myself permission to write a song or two a year, or never,lol, takes the pressure off and makes songwriting more enjoyable and takes away the burnout and mental exhaustion.

Otoh, you might take a day or a year off to contemplate what you should write a song about, and never write a song. If I wrote songs like I do responding to forum posts, or in conversation,
I wouldn't ever have a shortage!

[sansharbour]

An old friend of mine in the band used to say to his wife when we went on the road "How can you miss me if I don't go away. "

I think you will miss the possibilities of Taxi if you leave.

But you have to do what is right for you.

Good Luck
Don

[hummingbird]

I struggled with this question myself in the past, both financially and time-wise as well as inspiration-wise. I'd say to follow your heart. Even if you take a year off membership, you'll still have access to this forum and TAXI TV, both invaluable. A lot about it, imo, is feeling connected and part of things. That's why I re-upped, even tho it was a crunch. This community is amazing, and it's obvious, when you watch TAXI TV, how much Michael genuinely cares about us.

[Paulie]

What are your goals? Are you looking top place yourself as an aspiring artist? Are you looking to place a song with someone else? Are you looking to generate revenue Are you just looking for personal validation of you musical skills? If you are doing three songs a year I think this is a casual interest at best, your heart is just not really into it.

Everything depends on your goals. People that know me know I am frank and direct. I call it like I see it. If you only write 2-3 tracks a year I don't think Taxi is worth your time and energy. Even such, the forums are free so you can still lurk, post and learn. Taxi is not for everyone, personally I think you need to have a burning desire to write and create if you want to get the most out of Taxi.

I could be totally wrong (it happens all the time!). But I just don't see your output as worth the $300 per year. Take that money and use it to buy a few drinks for people that are doing what you truly WANT to do, and learn from them.

Hope this helps.

[Razor7Music]

I want to thank everyone that has posted a reply (so far). I really appreciate knowing how many of you are or were in the same boat. That means a lot.

I'd like to clarify one thing about my songwriting pursuits, just to get that out of the way--and I hope this doesn't sound defensive. I just want to keep on topic for my situation. I don't think one can use a single ruler to measure how passionate, sincere, committed, or motivated someone is about songwriting as a craft or a pursuit by how many tracks they produce a year. There was a time when songwriting was more important than anything else in my life, but personally, I've grown since then. It is now in the top three--and that's very high.

I am also an extremely disciplined person--sometimes to a fault. I have a regular writing schedule and I stick to it like a pitbull. I'll write for the rest of my life until I can't write anymore-and then I'll find a device that can write for me...

The other item is that I believe I have grown more as a songwriter from these forums than I have from submitting material and getting feedback from the screeners. That's not to say I don't value the screener's feedback--some more than others it's just that I'm trying to get better as a songwriter and producer right now, more than catching the next post before it closes--if that makes any sense. Hence, the gazillion books, etc.

When I put my hand to my heart, my fear--or more accurately, my concern is that I will get the attention of someone who can help me get that next placement, and they will say, "What else have you got?" and I won't have enough material. That is my honest concern, and that is what's also driving me into thinking I need to laser focus on building my catalog, and then come back to Taxi with both barrels blazing.

It's good to get this out there. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about Taxi. Michael is awesome. But $300 a year when I need at least a little larger catalog--that's causing me to pause--like some of you have mentioned.

Anyway, many thanks to you all. I'll still be around one way or the other. This is where I belong.

Cheers!