35 out of 72 and losing faith

[contac]

Quote:Hi everyone.I’ve done a bit of math here and I must say I’m a bit disappointed. Here’s why. During the last one and a half year I’ve submitted tracks to 72 listings and I was forwarded 35 times.Out of these, not even one reply from a US company, yet, I mean, not one. And please note that I’m not chasing that million $ contract here: I mainly submitted to music libraries listings and maybe 7 or 8 to film music listings.I’ve actually had two replies, both from UK companies, of which the first resulted in nothing and the second is maybe leading simply to a couple of tracks accepted in the library with the usual 50/50 splits.Now, I’ve in the meantime submitted music to other companies by myself, simply searching with google and politely mailing them, and I’ve actually obtained slightly better results: 12 tracks with another UK company (which has already paid some money) and 5 tracks with a US one. All this without spending a cent!Sorry, but I must say this is not the way I supposed it’d have worked. I know everybody’s gonna say that one must try and try again, that it’s taking time and patience to succeed but c’mon, two 50/50 tracks out of 35 forwards…either the screeners are a bit too easy to forward or the fact that a track comes from taxi doesn’t mean that much to the company, after all.Actually there’s a third possibility that came to my mind: I’m from Italy, not from US. Do you think that could be a showstopper at all? Especially considering that the only two replies came from European libraries? Perhaps is more difficult for US companies doing business with peoples from abroad?Please forgive the negativity and thanks for any comments and /or suggestions.Ciao,PaoloThat’s basically every other track you submit gets forwarded. That some good shit shawty, but damn none called ya back! I'm still fighting tooth and nail to get one lousy fwd. The dilemma I have with critiques is when they say you should stay with this or change that. I say this because I had one reviewer say: "The hook is catchy" and another (on the same song) "The hook is not catchy." So I am here to debate with my own self if it’s even worth my time to renew and submit. Money is not even an issue, because even if it was all free I would still debate. And I understand that its just one person, shit, I’m one person too, and the more important one at that. Some my tracks get as high as an 8 (I don’t even know if that’s good) and they still don't get forwarded. I guess I would be irritated big time if half my shit was forwarded with no one calling my ass. (35 for 72) try (0 for going on 7 after they read this).Anyways, I have other artists asking me about Taxi because I talk about it a good bit but am hesitant to sway them to enter into this experience. Maybe they will come here and read this and figure it out for themselves. I looked at Taxi for almost a year before I committed to it, and concluded that I had to try it for at least a year. Because one never knows... However, I'm glad that I haven't relied on taxi though, for if I did I would have a ditch to bury myself in. No disrespect to taxi intended, and I read that shit Michael responded to last year about this crybaby crying about the lack of fwd's he posted about...so understand this is not a complaint or a venting, just factual information I'm distributing. Shit, after all I do use Taxi.com as a bullet on my websites. When someone says “I like the direction in which you are headed, and the Southern drawl in your flow is infectious,” one can’t help to use the quotes from respected people, as they say, in the industry.If you wondering about me:www.myspace.com/contacwww.cdbaby.com/co ... comWishing you more success,

[paolob]

Hi ConTac,Thanks for the reply. Just to keep you updated:1) The count has raised to 41/78. 2) A music library actually proposed me a deal for 8 instrumentals. I should probably be more enthusiastic about that. All this time I've been thinking "Ok is really difficult to have a forward and much more to have a reply from the company but then, when you finally get it, you get it BIG" but, at least for this case, the kind of deal they proposed (no production money, 50/50 of the copyright shares when/if they'll place the song) I had already been able to get it myself googlin' around....without spending a cent, so I'm still not totally sold on how TAXI is working for me. Sure, this doesn't mean I will never have a BIG one, but still......3) I must say, though, the critiques so far have been quite useful for me, and probably because of them, my submit-to-forward ratio has dramatically increased compared to what I had in the beginning, 17 months ago. Sometimes two critiques for the same song do say opposite things, but I think that's part of this strange game. I guess you should try and get a big picture out of the small tiles 4) Everyone say you can’t expect to be able to build a career, especially in this field, overnight, and this definitely sounds reasonable to me, so I’m not totally discouraged yet. I’m even thinking to attend the Rally next Nov…we’ll see.All the best,Paolo

[edteja]

That sounds promising Paolo. You are starting to connect. And critiques are just critiques but contracts are contracts. It is hard to make any money off a critique unless you are the one doing the critique. Out of curiosity, was the deal from a recent forward or an older one?

[matto]

Quote:2) A music library actually proposed me a deal for 8 instrumentals. I should probably be more enthusiastic about that. All this time I've been thinking "Ok is really difficult to have a forward and much more to have a reply from the company but then, when you finally get it, you get it BIG" but, at least for this case, the kind of deal they proposed (no production money, 50/50 of the copyright shares when/if they'll place the song) I had already been able to get it myself googlin' around....without spending a cent, so I'm still not totally sold on how TAXI is working for me. One thing to remember is that all music libraries are not created equal. Some are gonna generate you thousands from a backend deal like the one you're being offered, others virtually nothing. It really depends on how well connected the library is and how good their reputation is in the musical field your songs fall under. So comparing a deal you found thru google with a deal you're offered thru Taxi is not *necessarily* relevant, as it all depends on the "quality" of the company in question.It always helps to ask for:-a list of *recent* credits-overall size of their catalog-number of years they have been in businessYou can also do some additional research on the company by googling them and studying the hits you're getting (press releases, distribution, attendance at international broadcast conventions etc...this will give you a better idea on how "active" they are.It's in poor form to ask questions about a company on a public forum like this one (see this post for reasons why http://taxi.proboards27.com/index.cgi?b ... 1153872658), but of course there's always PM... In other words, find out as much as you can about the company before making a decision on the deal...Congratulations on the offer and good luck to you!matto

[davewalton]

Quote:Some my tracks get as high as an 8 (I don’t even know if that’s good) and they still don't get forwarded. I guess I would be irritated big time if half my shit was forwarded with no one calling my ass. (35 for 72) try (0 for going on 7 after they read this).Hi ConTac,When submitting for any listing (not just Taxi), there is always the element of "does the music meet the needs of the listing" in addition to the quality factor. If you're getting 8's, I think that you can not worry so much about the quality and focus more on better matching the song(s) for the listing, kind of an art in and of itself.I think of forwards the same way I might think of any music submissions. If I sent only seven songs or even seven separate submissions directly to Capitol Records, would I expect a return call? Probably not. Seven is a very low number for anything. If you're selling copiers and only called on seven businesses, you probably wouldn't have any copier sales either. Quote:However, I'm glad that I haven't relied on taxi though, for if I did I would have a ditch to bury myself in. I agree and I think that using Taxi exclusively isn't a very good long-term strategy. Personally, I think that Taxi is an indespensible part of an overall strategy, one part of a marketing plan that involves several or many other avenues, including direct contact with the powers that be. I think that there are too many Taxi success stories (including mine) to dismiss Taxi as something that doesn't work. They have the contacts, but that doesn't make it any easier landing deals just because we belong to Taxi. For me, Taxi provides more access to higher-level opportunities and that's all I can ask for. Results will vary with each individual, many times a successful placement being nothing more than the result of a little persistance and having a few things come together at just the right time. That goes for Taxi, direct marketing, having an agent, etc.Quote:If you wondering about me:www.myspace.com/contacwww.cdbaby.com/co ... ds.comWell, I was wondering and so I gave a listen. Now you can look at my little picture and easily conclude that I'm probably not a rap/hip-hop/R&B expert and you'd be absolutely right. Having said that I was pleasantly surprised at what I thought was a high level of professionalism and quality. I can't speak to the lyrics compared to other songs in the genre because I don't know about that, but overall my impression was that I could have been listening to something on the radio or MTV/BET. So no surprise to me that you're getting 8's in your production values. Maybe a more focused effort on really matching the songs to the listings is what's needed for better success. It can only be one of three things. Bad production (which it isn't). Taxi doesn't know what its doing (they've been around with major clients WAY too long for that argument to hold water). What's left is that the songs might not be targeted to the listings as well as the other songs that got forwarded. I've found that overall, the critiques have really improved my music. There are conflicting critiques and there's no way to avoid that, but taken as a whole, the Taxi reviewers helped me deal with major flaws and get much more current. Personally I knew deep inside when they were right, even if I didn't admit it to anyone else. I also knew when they were wrong. If I didn't know, I just followed the suggestions. Like in the Olympics, I threw out the high and low scores (critiques) and what was left in the middle was pretty close to reality. Just keep an open mind about the possibilities. Dave

[paolob]

Hi eveyone,@Traveling Ed: Quote:Out of curiosity, was the deal from a recent forward or an older one?Quite a recent one, actually, something like a month ago.@Matto:Quote:One thing to remember is that all music libraries are not created equal. Some are gonna generate you thousands from a backend deal like the one you're being offered, others virtually nothingYeah, I was probably idealizing a bit too much the kind of deal I was about to be offered thru TAXI. I was expecting the red carpet, from the beginning, you know @Dave:Quote:Well, I was wondering and so I gave a listen. Now you can look at my little picture and easily conclude that I'm probably not a rap/hip-hop/R&B expert and you'd be absolutely right. Having said that I was pleasantly surprised at what I thought was a high level of professionalism and quality. I can't speak to the lyrics compared to other songs in the genre because I don't know about that, but overall my impression was that I could have been listening to something on the radio or MTV/BETAbsolutely with you on this one!

[paolob]

Another update:as Matto suggested, I did a bit of research about the company and found that, although the owner has some very respectable credits, the library per se is brand new, just startin' up. So I don't know if it'll be the case where the fame of the boss we'll be enough to immediately attract attention to the library as well, or....not!The positive thing is the deal they're offering is non-ex. I was thinking (hoping, actually) that maybe a new company is going to reserve a special attenion to its first members?! Could that be, in your opinion?Anyway, I read the contracts and, considering the non-ex clause (and the lack of other alternatives ) i decided to sign.We'll see.Ciao a tutti,Paolo

[davewalton]

Quote:Another update:as Matto suggested, I did a bit of research about the company and found that, although the owner has some very respectable credits, the library per se is brand new, just startin' up. So I don't know if it'll be the case where the fame of the boss we'll be enough to immediately attract attention to the library as well, or....not!The positive thing is the deal they're offering is non-ex. I was thinking (hoping, actually) that maybe a new company is going to reserve a special attenion to its first members?! Could that be, in your opinion?Anyway, I read the contracts and, considering the non-ex clause (and the lack of other alternatives ) i decided to sign.We'll see.Ciao a tutti,PaoloCongrats Paolo. I like the "lack of other alternatives" reason. That's always right up there for me as well. So... one library down, so many more to go. Dave

[matto]

Congratulations Paolo!It's quite possible, even likely, that he'll work his early catalog hard. So it can be an advantage to be onboard early in a new company. Ultimately, if the guy is well connected (which seems to be the case) and good at what he does, this could work out well for you. Besides, since it's non-exclusive you really have nothing to lose... Good luck!matto

[gitarrero]

Hi Paolo,to your question "does it matter where you live":I'm a Swiss guy, my studio is just one room in my flat, though it's not bad equiped.Almost every deal I had so far (TV: 5 placements on MTV Show USA, documentary movie in Switzerland; quite a lot of placement of songs for Newcomer-Artists, though some of them charted (peak: top30)) happened through the internet.In fact, I didn't meet face-to-face a lot of these guys I am writing/dealing with.So it IS possible to get some deals, even for a Swiss Cheese like me;)To your later question of the "balance" (money you need to live, have time for the music), I had the same problem (resulting in dropping late and completly tired in the office...), and I found a solution to solve it: I am used to live quite on the minimum - searched a parttime job (2 days/week), and that job pays all my bills.So I have 5 days a week to spend in music - or whatever else I want to do ( - I have the freedom to even choose which projects I want to do and which not, because music doesn't absolutely necessary need to pay - remember, I get my bills payd from my 2-day-job).Not everybody I know is able to live like that - I don't have a car, my cell phone is a very old model I once got sponsored from I company I used to work for, I eat lots of spaghetti, and things like going to the cinema etc doesn't happen each week;)For everything we do we have to pay a price - mine is that I don't have that much money to spend, but I have lots of time - which means really, really a lot more for me than driving a BMW.PS: All my placement came through own initiative/research, I'm yet not a taxi member - but I think I will join when I'm ready for it.Focus on what you're REALLY want to do and what is really important for you, find a way so you're not stressed due to money-issues, and than just do what you want to do.Martin