disheartened and disillusioned

[twohearts]

Well I've been a member of Taxi about 8 or 9 months now. Started off really excited when my first submission was forwarded but have had nothing since then. What bothers me is a couple of things. First of all, we are songwriters right? Not mix engineers or final production producers, so if taxi hears a great song that could be a real hit, why does it have to be absolutely like the finished product you will hear on the radio to get forwarded? Is it not supposed to be a demo? What is a demo nowadays??! To clarify, I tried to submit a dance song on a dance listing. Part of the reply was "a hard hitting club track under it would help this song become a big dance single." Big dance single. Not just good, BIG. But it was returned because the drum track I used was not a hard hitting club track. I do not know how to do hard hitting club track drums, so this track has sat untouched ever since. I cannot understand why if it was so good, it could not be submitted for a real dance engineer/producer to develop into the final product. So frustrating. Also, the song I did get forwarded was submitted twice. Once it was disliked (not just unsuitable for listing) and the other time it was really good and forwarded. No changes were made to the song inbetween submissions. Therefore I wonder if when I pay the $5 for songs that get rejected, whether I should just resubmit it for someone else to forward it, or give up. Most recently two of my favorite songs were rejected with the reasoning that the lyrics were great as was song structure, but I need to develop the melody more. That is ok feedback but surely that would be changing the whole song and there are loads of songs out there with simple melodies that are really effective! That's my rant over. I don't think I'll have the heart to renew to taxi next year because I can't take the constant rejection and uncertainty between people who review. It's like a gamble everytime you submit!

[billg]

Hey There. There isn't much difference between a demo and a final product these days so you're either gonna have to get better with your productuons OR send some things out so others can help you get it right. I notice this is your first post . . . you really should have been taking advantage of the "peer to peer" section of the forums. Lots of good advice floating around there. Also, this is a great place to find producers, musicians, whatever you need to help kick your productions up a notch.And if all else fails . . . this is also a good place to rant!

[ibanez468]

Well, here's my take on the situation. I suspect that TAXI's clients want top-notch, finished material to come into their possession. They want it to sound professional. I don't think they care how it was done, as long as it's done! As far as film/tv/video is concerned, they take the track and use it as is. I don't think their intent is to re-record, or do any major fixing of material. They just wanna get it, and run with it. It's possible they may edit certain sections of the track, maybe for a loop or somethin'. As far as pitching to artist, well, that has ta' be top-notch too! That's just how it is. One thing is for certain, if you quit, you'll never learn how to turn that one track into a "hard-hitting" club track. With the technology that's available today, the expectations on tracks for whatever is being done through TAXI, is quite high. But the good thing about that is, you come into the game one way, and you develop into this totally different being over time. You discover, with some help, and encouragement, the right tools and alot of practice, that you CAN produce a "hard-hitting" club track.There's people here doin' it all the time. They may not've started out that way either. Besides, it's not about how you start, but about how you finish! If ya' wanna' learn how ta' produce slammin' club tracks or any other kinda' tracks, you'll hafta' stick around and be willing to get re-programmed. In the end, it might just be worth it! Oh, one other thing. Gotta grow thick skin. No doubt. There'll be plenty of rejection, I ain't gonna lie. But it's the kind that makes you roll up your sleeves, and makes you determined ta' lay somethin' down, and TRY ta' knock the socks off of 'em. In other words, it can be GOOD motivation, if you allow it to be. Or it can be just the opposite. That's up ta' YOU! But then pretty soon, rejection turns into acceptance. And it's all because you were pushed a little harder than what you're use to. Got you out of your comfort zone, and made you strive to reach a little higher. That's what it's all about. I think just about everyone here has had ta' go through a bit of a transition period. But it's made us all the better. Ya' feel me?I-468

[rivercitymusic]

Twohearts,(nice name. back in the 60's i was called "two-dogs"; but i'm not going to explain.)Anyway i see it differently.I've asked and asked and asked.According to Taxi. a demo can be a clean clear crisp recording done at home on a basic laptop with a quality mic and wavepad or protools or ?????????They have specifically said:We will want to be able to clearly hear the lyrics and they should follow the melody.They said they know many are not performing artists and are not expecting a radio ready demo except from an artist that is promoting themselves as an artist.Some listings ask for music for artists to perform and some ask for artists performing work.If you're writing and not a performing artist, your demos can be like they told me and if you have a good product, something a label or an artist will consider doing then you'll get a forward.If on the other hand you are doing say an instrumental, then it's gonna have to be radio ready for the most part.so i'm not certain what you are creating but hopefully you'll understand my poor explanation.The saddest tears are those we shed for ourselves.Doc

[hummingbird]

twohearts, I can appreciate where you are - I've been there. I've had my share of returns. I'm glad you are here...So, how can we help? You say you had a piece returned for one listing and forwarded for another. Can you post the listings and a link to the piece? Maybe we can help you figure it out. Was the forward a fluke, was the returned song mistargetted, what?For the one that was recently returned suggesting a rewrite - no one says you have to rewrite that particular song. But, you can take those comments & the knowledge they give you into your next song. Save the song you have for yourself, knowing that it might not be commercially viable.Lastly, you aren't expected to have broadcast quality demos if you are submitting songs for artists. But you are expected to have a well-played & well-sung demo, which can just be guitar and voice or piano & voice. As posted above, it needs to be a clear recording, the lyrics need to be understood, and the singer needs to deliver the song well. (If you were submitting to a listing in a genre that is typically produced (like electronica), a simple demo might not fly). And, before spending money or time recording a fancy demo of any song, I recommend you use the TAXI custom critique service and/or this forum, to assess the marketability of your piece first. Then the rewrite process won't feel so overwhelming.In conclusion... if you are really unhappy, TAXI does have a money back guarantee. But before you do that, why not use us as a resource? You can do as I suggested above... or you can move forward, and post in peer to peer, an upcoming listing & the song you are thinking of submitting (link to music, post the lyrics), and we will give you our opinion of whether or not it's a fit for that opp... or what we think needs work.cheersHummin'birdPS - a little while ago I posted a blog that told the story of a world track that I submitted and had returned. Each time it was returned, I put it away for a bit, then came back, and rewrote it, and submitted again. I reworked it 3 times... and finally got a forward... and then a deal.PSS - one thing said at the Rally that I think is really important to remember is.... we're writing for the market (not ourselves). Therefore, we have to find a way to be commercial while still expressing ourselves. I see no contriction in that. We have to build our skills and our craft to the point where our work is undeniably good AND marketable.

[devin]

I just gotta say this is the post of the freakin' month for me. Well said!!!Nov 24, 2008, 5:33pm, ibanez468 wrote:Well, here's my take on the situation. I suspect that TAXI's clients want top-notch, finished material to come into their possession. They want it to sound professional. I don't think they care how it was done, as long as it's done! As far as film/tv/video is concerned, they take the track and use it as is. I don't think their intent is to re-record, or do any major fixing of material. They just wanna get it, and run with it. It's possible they may edit certain sections of the track, maybe for a loop or somethin'. As far as pitching to artist, well, that has ta' be top-notch too! That's just how it is. One thing is for certain, if you quit, you'll never learn how to turn that one track into a "hard-hitting" club track. With the technology that's available today, the expectations on tracks for whatever is being done through TAXI, is quite high. But the good thing about that is, you come into the game one way, and you develop into this totally different being over time. You discover, with some help, and encouragement, the right tools and alot of practice, that you CAN produce a "hard-hitting" club track.There's people here doin' it all the time. They may not've started out that way either. Besides, it's not about how you start, but about how you finish! If ya' wanna' learn how ta' produce slammin' club tracks or any other kinda' tracks, you'll hafta' stick around and be willing to get re-programmed. In the end, it might just be worth it! Oh, one other thing. Gotta grow thick skin. No doubt. There'll be plenty of rejection, I ain't gonna lie. But it's the kind that makes you roll up your sleeves, and makes you determined ta' lay somethin' down, and TRY ta' knock the socks off of 'em. In other words, it can be GOOD motivation, if you allow it to be. Or it can be just the opposite. That's up ta' YOU! But then pretty soon, rejection turns into acceptance. And it's all because you were pushed a little harder than what you're use to. Got you out of your comfort zone, and made you strive to reach a little higher. That's what it's all about. I think just about everyone here has had ta' go through a bit of a transition period. But it's made us all the better. Ya' feel me?I-468

[twohearts]

Well this was my first post to this forum and thank you to everyone who has replied to me and offered encouragement. I would never take Taxi up on the refund offer, it didn't even cross my mind. I knew what I joined when I joined and I just want to hear my songs on the radio like everyone else!!! I didn't realise that you could find people interested in collaborating on here - I will go see! Thanks again. By the way - what is the difference between the critique you get back from the submissions and the custom critique?

[sgs4u]

Nov 28, 2008, 12:46pm, twohearts wrote:Well this was my first post to this forum and thank you to everyone who has replied to me and offered encouragement. I would never take Taxi up on the refund offer, it didn't even cross my mind. I knew what I joined when I joined and I just want to hear my songs on the radio like everyone else!!! I didn't realise that you could find people interested in collaborating on here - I will go see! Thanks again. By the way - what is the difference between the critique you get back from the submissions and the custom critique? When I joined, that was my dream, to hear songs on the radio. It's not further away, now, it's much closer, but in a way I would have never dreamed possible. so it's all good man. There might be 100 collabs going on here, right this very minute. Custom critiques are tons more informative, especially if you ask GREAT questions that make a screener think you want more than a blanket approval of your work. Try one out, see if it works. If you don't like Taxi after a custom, then, (tho i hate to say it) get your money back. Just make sure your questions are designed to get you the information you need. Getting some advice on this forum almost always helps. Getting advice on what questions to ask, would be highly recommended. After all, who the hell knows what there song needs, if they have to solicit opinions? See what I mean? If you knew what your song(s) need, you wouldn't need critiques, and you might not even need Taxi. I just say don't quit until you're positive, Taxi's people can't help you. Cause I bet you're shooting yourself in the foot, before you do all the research you've been in need of.

[mistydawn]

Never quit! You do what you can to make your music better, post it on a forum for some help from your peers.Re-work it and stay on top of your game.But never quit Good luck to you