DENIED

[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