Beyond Taxi....

[lieflin77]

What else do you all do besides Taxi? What other organizations have you found helpful? I've been a member of NSAI but don't really find it very helpful. Though they say you don't have to be a country writer to get something out of it, I find most of they stuff they do is geared toward it. I've heard a bit about ___ but haven't joined. So let me know what else you all find helpful in pursuing your craft. I also haven't joined a PRO yet because I don't have anything published yet, though I hear they also have good conferences. Any experience with West Coast Songwriters? I'm in the L.A. area.Thanks!Marissa

[edteja]

We can't really name companies and so on, on this forum. It isn't considered kosher. But most people who are serious follow lots of avenues, and one that is right for me might not work for you and vice versa. For instance, I work closely with some other songwriters who have had success in places I haven't, and I am having luck in places they aren't (although they are working there too). I hear good things about NSAI from people who obviously need what they offer. It is a lot trial and error, I'm afraid, Marissa.

[diogenes]

I'd definitely join a PRO, they offer all sorts of cool things even if you haven't been published. The one-on-one sessions are available, and they're free. Depending on what exactly your looking to do, you can always pick up a phone and call some publishers or A&R people, 9 times out of 10 they will take your call, let you submit music and then tell you what they think...Just find the appropriate people for your genre and your goals.

[lieflin77]

Thanks. Nothing bad about NSAI, they have great resources if country is your goal for sure. But many organizations are costly to join, so it's nice to hear from other songwriters what they found helpful. For instance, I've seen many posts from people saying they are leaving Taxi because they don't feel it's right for them. So I figured I would just get feedback from fellow songwriters. I think it's fine to mention them because Taxi puts out articles on other songwriting resources, I just like to hear from people who are at a similar place in the journey!Thanks for your input.

[edteja]

Sure, they don't mind you talking about certain resources. And people do, like Diogenes talking about the benefits of joining a PRO--which is right on. But when it comes to places or ways of pitching that don't involve Taxi (and that can be quite a gray area) they are (rightfully) touchy. I agree that it is nice to learn from others what works (or doesn't) and why.

[milfus]

well how I did it, which seems to be a minority, I just really focused on the quality of my stuff until I was sure i was like in the top 10% or so locally, and then I started just circulating stuff, course I was using free beats and what not, so the work invested was less, but it still showcased my skills, and most people trying to make moves have a pretty fine tuned sense of being able to make a buck off of ya.but 1, you have to be able to run with whatever gets tossed your way, and 2, it might take a little while, but usually in a deal, theres always someone with more pull than you or the guy, just keep dealing with the people with more pull, and after awhile you will be pretty well dug in, normally if you try to help the people you start with and stick with em, they will stay with ya until they have a reason not to.then again, I might just be really lucky

[squids]

Jul 27, 2008, 8:05am, lieflin77 wrote:Thanks. Nothing bad about NSAI, they have great resources if country is your goal for sure. But many organizations are costly to join, so it's nice to hear from other songwriters what they found helpful. For instance, I've seen many posts from people saying they are leaving Taxi because they don't feel it's right for them. So I figured I would just get feedback from fellow songwriters. I think it's fine to mention them because Taxi puts out articles on other songwriting resources, I just like to hear from people who are at a similar place in the journey!Thanks for your input.I look outside Taxi too. I couldn't join NSAI, not a country writer or singer. But I hear for some folks it's a good deal, friends who do write country a lot. Ed's suggestion about joining a PRO is a good one. I often think people don't use PRO's extra goodies as much as they could.Myself, I don't have as much time right now to market and marketing is one of my weakest areas. I've been told by an astute person here that I have a problem with disbelief concerning my abilities. So naturally, I'd shy away from anything that sounds like I'm cheerleading myself. BUT I can certainly submit stuff online and avoid the one-on-one discussion part that I'm not good at. So between my cowriters, who have contacts sometimes where I don't and me, I might have contacts they don't, we do okay outside of Taxi. Actually, this year I'm doing better outside of it than inside. Maybe next year will be different, hard to know. I'm about to change some direction in my music and that might cost me or not and some of it I'll have to do myself, so I'll have to dig in and work on those areas I'm weakest at.Anyway, it helps to know your strengths and weaknesses (this is boring, I know! I'm sorry!) and goals and then work all three. Are you organized? Are you good at talking about your music, selling it? Are you looking to find cowriters who'll share half the load and the contacts? Are you looking to write solo and find sources on your own? The more we know about ourselves, the more we can narrow down what we're after and use those skills we've developed to chase down those goals.

[lieflin77]

Thanks for your responses Milfus and Squids, this is the first chance I've had to get back to the boards. I think I ust get "restless" once in a while and want to do more. I definitely need to focus more on the business side of things, and lately there have been very few listings. I'm also looking into some local groups and especially the PRO's. I definitely need to get the ball rolling with co-writers. Again, thanks and good luck to y'all!Marissa

[milfus]

well also, the easiest way to get signed, cause you mentioned itstart doing shows, just do them until you get a bit of a following, then alternate with spots in the next town over, and just kind of add towns until you have a ring around your town, and then add a little further when its a full ring, if you can get that second ring done, just invite a&r's to your show, they will ask why they should sign you, and you can tell em you can fill a show anywhere in half the state, signed, right then. A lot of people will play for YEARS at the same 4 venues trying to build a huge crowd, but if you can get an ok audience, and then move, you end up with a lot more people knowing who you are, just cause the people who have seen you are dispersed, it generates buzz a lot faster *shrug*.

[davewalton]

Jul 26, 2008, 8:46am, lieflin77 wrote:What else do you all do besides Taxi? Quite a few things. I'm a serious believer that Taxi is one of MANY things we should do, not just THE thing. It is the last thing that I'd give up though.Throwing out names isn't good and I wouldn't give away stuff that I spent months and years cultivating. One thing that really helped with the experience of PROFESSIONALLY approaching companies outside of Taxi is a book called "The Songwriter's Market". The information on the process of contacting places in a professional way is required reading IMHO. In addition to the information on marketing yourself, there's a good number of companies that provide their names, contact information, and the kind of music they deal with. I don't know how well those leads would pan out for anyone, but I got a good start by practicing the approaches given in the book, using those contacts. No deals from those but some responses and a good deal of experience following submission policies (which all vary quite a bit). It's like dating... your first one is a nightmare usually. After that they get a little easer. Once I started to venture out a little, I've had a much better appreciation for how Taxi works, what it does and doesn't do, what's a "Taxi thing" and what isn't. A little experience can go a long way and make a big difference in confidence inside and outside of Taxi. A "bigger picture" of everything keeps me from going bonkers when things don't work out right away. HTH,Dave