DENIED

[hummingbird]

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. 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.Lots of good answers above but I wanted to add one thing. For example, I just got 4 excellent tracks returned. Why? They were forwarded before! Well, I'll tell you why -- I did not "hear" what the listing said and I submitted great tracks that don't have the specific thing they are looking for. Duh. I should know better.Further, I have been at the Road Rally at panels, and they have CDs from members, sorted into genres (and the members choose what genre box their CD is going in) and the panel will choose a genre & they'll pull a CD from the box and I was SHOCKED that 90 PER CENT of the time, whatever is pulled from that genre box ISN'T that genre. Never mind specific things like 'electronica a la so-in-so". Sittin' there helped me appreciate WHY companies will come to TAXI to get submissions screened.H

[aubreyz]

Jul 16, 2008, 10:45am, stevebarden wrote: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.SteveAs Dave mentioned earlier, learning to read the listings is more about understanding the real world than it is some sort of Taxi deficit. I've been a Taxi member for a couple of years, but have made my living as a studio engineer/writer/performer for more years than I'd like to admit to. The hardest part of this business in general is "what the heck are they looking for!" Taxi simply repeats the info they are given by their clients. Sometimes the listings are pretty specific, sometimes they are more vague-- but all in all my experience has been that they are an accurate reflection of what I deal with all the time with clients, both professionals and non-professionals.I just did a track for a project where they gave very specific direction... a genre representation, storyline, etc... but once the track came together the direction changed. That's how it goes. This is not science where there is a formula for this kind of stuff. It's all based on opinion and when opinions are involved the results are not going to be entirely predictable. I can list dozens and dozens of times I've produced something for a client that seemed to be exactly what they asked for, but come to find out they really wanted something different. Compared to other tipsheets and services I know of, Taxi does a great job of being as specific as possible with listings.All that to say, even though listings and opinions are not exact science, there are some rules of thumb I've learned that have helped my forward ratio.1. Be honest about your music and genre. I mean, if you think it's polka music but it has latin tones, then it ain't polka. This forum has been a great tool to help define genres. If they want broadcast quality and you recorded vocals with your iSight camera--- ain't gonna fly. If they want a hit song and it's hard to tell where your chorus starts and what the hook is-- ain't gonna fly. 2. Don't read into the listing. If it is asking for something specific and you think that if they just hear how great your track is that it will work better than what they asked for -- then you are wasting your 5 bucks. If it says modern alt rock and you submit a track that sounds like the 90's, ain't gonna fly. I botched a lot of submissions early on because I wanted to believe that what they asked for was what i wanted to submit. Read listings carefully -- make sure you understand what they really want.3. Don't pigeon hole the ala's -- so they want a classic country song ala Johnny Cash or George Jones... so Johnny has this cool dissonant nine inch nails song he did called Hurt, and I have a cool song like that which could kind of be country if recorded differently-- ain't gonna fly. Just because a listing lists an artist doesn't mean that if you can stand on one foot and lean over sideways and kind of get close to a couple of songs they did---that you should submit. Look for common threads among the ala's -- not just one specific example.4. What/who is the final target. Is this for a movie, a library, a producer, a label, an artist??? One size doesn't fit all. If a label is looking for someone who has a growing fan base and you have 73 myspace friends, then --- ain't gonna fly. If a library is looking for a song with placement potential in TV/Film and your song is all about Susan, then that kind of limits potential to projects about Susan and --- ain't gonna fly. If you don't know the difference between what a producer or a library might be looking for, then ask questions here-- there's lots of experience in this forum for those who are willing to learn.5. TV/radio/youtube is your university. If a library in a listing is noted as having a lot of prime time network TV placements, then ask yourself what kind of tracks get used in those shows. Find things that are similar to the ala's listed that have been placed. honestly, that's harder to do for a specific listing than it is just to have a habit of paying attention. I hardly watch tv anymore-- I listen tv, both to instrumentals and songs. What worked that made that cut fit-- what can i write like that, etc.Bottom line is that even if you learn to read the listings perfectly, this is a numbers game and not so much about individual listings. To be successful at this takes several years and several hundred song placements. Is it impossible? Hardly. Is it easy? Nope. Takes work, work and re-work. Will one forward change your life? Odds are no, but I've seen more people get bogged down over one rejection when the more practical thing to do is keep writing, keep improving, keep submitting--- it just takes time.I've read a lot on the internet about Listerine keeping mosquitoes away too. I even tried it. Deet wins - hands down. I know enough firsthand about Taxi and its member's successes that the whole scam thing is absolutely ludicrous. If Taxi is that, then so is this whole business. Taxi's listings, screeners and clients are just a representation of how things are. You can either spend your time counting the circling black helicopters or spend your time figuring out how to increase your odds of success. Taxi provides some of the best tools out there to learn this game. Sideline quarterbacks who've never taken a snap are quick to point out all kinds of flaws and have wonderful ideas about how to fix every play. Give me the opinion of someone who's been in the trenches--- even if I disagree with it. I know every time that I submit an industry professional will give me an opinion-- at the very least the opinion of yes or no. Do I always agree with the opinions? Not at all. But life is like that. Just because one "pro" has an opinion doesn't mean that's the only one... however if several share the same opinion, I really start paying attention. It's all about numbers and trends--- not individual yes/no's.HTH,Aub

[hummingbird]

Excellent post, Aub.I'd like to add one more thought. I've been a TAXI member for 4 years. I had doubts when I joined. I had to borrow money to join. I had no success submitting music in the first 2.5 years. Return, return, return, return Why do you think I'm still a member? I'm not a fool who parts with her money easily!! I'm here because I saw that there IS a way to get past the gatekeepers & get your music to the decision makers who don't accept unsolicited submissions. I've had forwards to people I would never have access to on my own. In addition, the school of TAXI educated me to the point that I have regular forwards and signed deals. My first Road Rally inspired me to think of writing music for film/tv though I hadn't the tools or the skills to do so at the time. My composition skills are now good enough to gain me entry into scoring films, to write music for video games, to have music considered for major documentaries... the list goes on. I could have quit in disgust after two years of membership but I wasn't willing to give up. I saw other Taxi members getting forwards and getting deals, and I watched, listened and soaked up everything that they posted. I'm one of the few that actually watched every minute of every Matt Hirt video posted on YouTube. I subscribe to newsletters about artist & music marketing, finances, acting - it's all the same stuff, it's about learning your craft, understanding the needs of the market, and targetting your pitches effectively. It's knowing that while you might get an audition you may not get the part, this time. It's knowing that every piece of music you put out there represents you, so if you submit an old time folk song to a contemporary country listing (as I used to do), you are sending the message that you don't understand this business. I wrote for a little indie tv show a few months ago, they wanted a suspenseful track a la so-and-so, I wrote THE best orchestral track I have ever written, and guess what - they didn't want it, didn't fit their vision of the music. That's just how it goes. (Later, I got it signed to a publisher I'd been forwarded to last year.) A long post to explain my educated opinion on the value of TAXI to my career. Put simply, if I didn't think it was an excellent investment, I would not be here.Hummin'bird