DENIED

[anne]

I personally like looooooonnnnngggg intro sections - at least 1:30...bring on John Mellencamp Just kidding, I like some of his stuff but some of those intros of his are painfully long.

[viking]

I have heard and read a lot on the forums and on the internet about Taxi being a scam. I recently joined to find out myself. I don't think it is a scam, but it's really not completely professional either. Most of the reviews I have recieved are very positive and encouraging, but the tracks are not forwarded because they are not on target for the post. I really think the postings are all so very vague in description that it is hard to choose which are a good investment of money. I really feel it is ridiculous to be charged 5 bucks to submit a song and have it be a well recieved track but not 'on target' so it isn't FWD'd, where as if we had a better idea of exactly what was required we would all be happier, I (we) wouldn't waste our money and time, and Taxi wouldn't have to wade through unsuitable tracks. For the large amounts of cash generated by the submission fees they should be able to write a more specific criteria for us to make a better educated decision to invest in a listing or not. It really seems so far they like my music but have no use for it. I am willing to give it a year of investment. At that point I really need to look back and see if perhaps my music is not 'for' Taxi's client base. Funny enough I have done a lot of independent contracts outside of Taxi for TV or company promo stuff, as a lot of the music I create is more suited to TV or Movie placement. It would seem the industry reps at Taxi disagree and it would seem that they are in the 'know'. Not every shoe fits every foot. SO is Taxi a scam? in my humble opinion not really, they just aren't giving the paying artist the accurate tools they need to effectively work with.

[anne]

Quote: the tracks are not forwarded because they are not on target for the post. The screening isn't done to find out if you have talent - it is screened to provide that a specific type of song is furnished to a specific listing request.On top of being on target, the song needs to be of a particular quality in recording & performance & songwriting & musicality - otherwise known as "the bar". For all of taxi's client's the bar is higher than many other places, but then there is variance within that bar height based on their clients needs. more to come

[anne]

Quote:I really think the postings are all so very vague in description that it is hard to choose which are a good investment of money.When listings come directly from a production they are even worse! As vague as you can think of in most cases, and the "a la" or "along the lines of" hints are almost non-existent. Most music supervisors / production supervisors / etc etc are not also musicians. When you deal directly with productions someday you will be amazed at how complete a picture you get from Taxi's listings. That being said, there is a lot of interpretation skill in reading the listings. I will post some of those hints here as well later today.

[stevebarden]

Quote:...there is a lot of interpretation skill in reading the listings. I will post some of those hints here as well later today. PLEASE DO THAT! I've only been a member of Taxi for a few months and I think I'm slowly starting to understand how to read between the lines on these listings, but it really does require a crystal ball sometimes to understand what the heck they're looking for!TIA.Steve

[anne]

Jul 16, 2008, 9:30am, viking wrote: Funny enough I have done a lot of independent contracts outside of Taxi for TV or company promo stuff, as a lot of the music I create is more suited to TV or Movie placement. It would seem the industry reps at Taxi disagree and it would seem that they are in the 'know'.This is good! And the previous paragraph that they like your stuff but just don't have a use for it. You may be absolutely correct when you say this if you are getting good critiques but no forwards. Taxi's listings for tv / film are good and this is one step in the long walk of building a career. Part of building that career are gaining experience, diverse exposure and contacts, as well as learning what is needed. The more you get into it, the more you will see how niche-oriented and specific , yet timeless and universal the tracks need to be for film /tv. There is definitely a balance that needs to be found, and a lot of learning that takes place. As far as giving us tools - network with the longer standing taxi members and see what they have done. GO TO THE RALLY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. This will be my 3rd year there. There is about 4 years worth of knowledge that you will gain there.If you can't go to the rally, see what the vets are doing, what books they've read, what placements they have. It is all right here on the boards - trust me; I would not have had any forwards or contacts if it weren't for the knowledge gleaned from the taxi site and these boards. more to come

[anne]

OK, things in the listings that trip people up when new to submitting to taxi- GENRE!!Genre for music submissions is more organized than it appears at first glance. I'm not looking at any listings now but here is an overview of the genre hazard - 1st you need to know what genre you are in AS IT RELATES to music supervisors. - not your friends, cd collection, napster search, or even the radio. Before people start saying the screeners don't know what rock is, or what downtempo electronica is , or whatever, you need to be sure you are talking the same language. You will quickly find out why your submission has been returned as "not being on target for the listing"Taxi is not the one who has to like the song here folks, thier client - the music supervisor / producer / publisher etc looking to use your music is the client!If you are not willing to take the time to learn to speak the client's language then you should be doing something else. So, this lesson's homework is to go look up some music supervisors and look at the music they place, look at the music they label "rock" or "aaa" or "singer / songwriter" and learn their language. Do it now before you send out any more submissions.That was lesson 1. Lesson 2 will follow. Since I've hijacked this thread (sorry viking) I will go start a new one called pitching f.a.q.sIf you aren't willing to learn to speak the language of the "customer"

[davewalton]

Hi Viking,I'm just a Taxi member and forum member. I'm not a spokesperson, paid or unpaid. I've been a member since 2004. Understanding the relationship between all the "players" (like us, Taxi, publishers, labels) is sometimes like trying to pick up a puddle of mercury with your fingers. The music industry is, well, different than any other business I've ever encountered.Jul 16, 2008, 9:30am, viking wrote:I have heard and read a lot on the forums and on the internet about Taxi being a scam. Emails from Nigerian diplomats offering millions to "park" their money are scams... you can't find them in the phone book, you can't visit their "office" and you can't find anyone that actually has made any money from them. Taxi has been in business for, what, 15 years and their *repeat* clientele are all the major labels, music libraries, music publishers and such for network and cable television as well as music supervisors for Hollywood films. They have an address, phone number and lots of people that have made money (and even careers) through Taxi. You can make your way to Calabasas CA and walk into their office at any time. Quote:I really think the postings are all so very vague in description that it is hard to choose which are a good investment of money. I really feel it is ridiculous to be charged 5 bucks to submit a song and have it be a well recieved track but not 'on target' so it isn't FWD'd, Agreed but here's one of those "how things work" issues. It's not a "Taxi thing". Although Taxi does their best to pull information for these listings, the listings are prepared by the listing clients. Not all listings are exclusive to Taxi. Not surprisingly, a listing company looking to reach the broadest number of musicians might run their listing through a variety of companies, listings, and/or tip sheets. When I've seen that happen, the wording has all been identical. Similar to a "want ad", the listing is submitted to Taxi and perhaps other places. The "vague" listing will be vague everywhere... that's a "listing company" thing and actually an industry thing (unfortunately). BTW, "interpreting" these vague reqests (about the only way to do it) gets easier by hanging around the forum and keeping an open mind. We regularly post our music in advance of listing submission to get opinions from others. We also post music that was forwarded and returned... we all learn from each other. Before submitting next time, post the music and the listing and let those that specialize in your style of music comment. You'll find that your journey will involve less guesswork and more certainty. Quote:It really seems so far they like my music but have no use for it. I am willing to give it a year of investment. At that point I really need to look back and see if perhaps my music is not 'for' Taxi's client base.Hopefully you'll re-think that. Since Taxi's client base covers all aspects of record labels, publishers, music libraries, television shows, films... there's not much left. There are certain things that Taxi doesn't get a lot of requests for. Children's Music is one. There's a category for it and they get some listings now and then but if you're primarily writing Children's Songs, you won't have anywhere near the opportunities to submit as do, say, Country or Pop songwriters.Generally, once you find the knack, the "art" of reading the listings and selecting or writing music to REALLY hit the target... then the forwards come and with a little patience, the deals as well.Hang around here for a while, become a "regular" and I'd guess that in short time you'll find that you'll be better able to target your music... the key to this whole thing really.HTH,Dave

[anne]

Dave - your response was again welcoming and well tempered. Mine may not be so nice and so I've started a new thread about interpreting listings.

[anne]

Steve - I just posted another bit - its in a new thread called "how is this not right on target. ITS PERFECT!!!in the general hangout. I didn't want to keep hijacking this one.