forward "certificates"

[jchitty]

Quote:The "forward" certificate didn't bother me but this one I got the other day really frosted my butt... Oh Lord, I just choked on my Mountain Dew. LOL!

[tedsingingfox]

Quote:The "forward" certificate didn't bother me but this one I got the other day really frosted my butt... Dave, that was too friggin' funny. thank you for that. I needed it.

[hummingbird]

Quote:The "forward" certificate didn't bother me but this one I got the other day really frosted my butt... !!!

[aubreyz]

Gee Dave, thanks for spoiling my "be blunt like a Canadian" moment with some well placed humor...

[yrrepy]

Okay y'all, lighten up. Music is supposed to be fun, right? How many songwriters does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three ... One to do it and 2 to say "Let's break for lunch." I know, that was lame. All I've got to say is, when the recipient of "Song Of The Year," whether it's the CMA's, the ACM's or the Grammy's thanks Taxi, I'll take it all back. Later. I'll pick another topic tomorrow. Yours truly, yrrepy

[hummingbird]

Quote:Gee Dave, thanks for spoiling my "be blunt like a Canadian" moment with some well placed humor... Huh?

[jay10music]

Hi Jimi,One of the dots tipped me to the thread on the Forward Certificates, and I'd like to shoot out a response, so please post this.I created the certificates because for years, members were taping the "Hey, you got forwarded" postcards to the walls. When we started doing most of our business online, people began to tape up the forward emails. I thought it would be cool to give them something nicer. I figured SOME people might think they were corny, but for most people, getting a forward is an accomplishment.... obviously, or they wouldn't have taped the old post cards up. I also figured that if they didn't like them, they would open or print them.I understand yrreppy's frustration with not getting calls (except for that publisher he DID hear from), but we DID get his music on the desks, and for the vast majority of people, that's a pretty big deal. It's probably never happened for them before they joined TAXI.I checked yrreppy's profile and see that he's 48 years old. I'm guessing he's been at this for quite a while, and his frustration is palpable. I understand and TRULY feel for you yrreppy. But Elliott Park (from Clyde, TX, pop. 3,423) ended up with a number 1 hit ('I Loved Her First' by Heartland), and Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper ALSO ended up with a number 1 hit with 'Buy Me a Rose' by Kenny Rogers, and they were from a small town in Utah, and had NO previous ANYTHING going on in Nashville as well. We've only had a couple of members get cuts in Nashville, but we cover ALL genres, and don't concentrate just on Country. That considered, those two #1s for writers who were completely unknown and from small towns far from Nashville, is pretty remarkable.And just by coincidence, both #1s were on small Indie labels, so you might not want to discount that small publisher we hooked you up with so fast. Who was it by the way? I'll be happy to check them out further. We're pretty stringent in vetting the companies that run listings with us ... we DON'T take them from just anywhere.We've had 2 or 3 less than desirable companies get by us in the last 15 years, but only a couple. Not bad when you consider that we've run around 15,000 listings for somewhere around 7-800 different companies over those 15 years.As for your friends seeing the certificates and asking if you've made any money as a result... well, hell, don't they ever ask you how you've done with your songwriting generally? Is it really our certificates that make them ask?By the same token, you are surrounded by people on this forum who ARE making money BECAUSE of TAXI, but they are a humble bunch, and generally don't talk about their income publicly. Sadly, HUNDREDS of lurkers will read your post. So if your goal was to discredit TAXI born of your own frustration, then let me congratulate you, because you've probably achieved your goal. Dozens of people probably won't join or renew because they don't know how much these more humble folks have made, and they'll believe you because it's easier to believe that TAXI sucks than it is to do the hard work and display the patience necessary to achieve the success the people on this forum have had.If any of you 'humble' folk want to chime in here, I won't stop you ;-)If you've got an issue with us, and your intent was to find out why we send out the certificates, or tell us you don't like them, then why didn't you simply call us, rather than doing what you did publicly?SO, please call me personally at 1-800-458-2111 on Monday, December 3rd, and just tell the receptionist that you're TAXI member 'yrreppy' from the forum. I'll check out the company we sent your music to. I'll bet they've had cuts or something else substantial going for them, and that's why we ran the listing. If they ARE less than credible, I'll cop to it here, and quit running listings for them.I don't mean this to sound facetious, but have you been at this for a long time, been frustrated by the lack of stuff going on, and lashed out at us for the certificates as your first post as a result of your frustration with the industry as a whole?I hope that's not the case, but I also hope that you can understand that it appears that your frustration may be misplaced, and came off as a little ungentleman-like. Not a great way to join this remarkable community of incredibly helpful, generous, and successful members.You'll catch more flies with honey here, and for those who've come to learn that the hard way, they'd be among the first to tell you how TAXI and this community have contributed a great deal to their success.I hope to count you among them someday soon.Don't forget to call me!thanks,Michael LaskowCEO, TAXI1-800-458-2111

[jay10music]

All I've got to say is, when the recipient of "Song Of The Year," whether it's the CMA's, the ACM's or the Grammy's thanks Taxi, I'll take it all back. Later. I'll pick another topic tomorrow. Yours truly, yrrepyyreppy, not trying to sound snide here, but click this link, and then click on the red READ MORE link.... I'm guessing Elliott Park might have thanked us at the BMI (or ASCAP, not sure) #1 party. I KNOW Jim Funk and Erik Hickenlooper thanked us at theirs because I was standing next to them when they accepted it. Do I need to send you the photo, or would you kindly just take my word for it?http://www.taxi.com/abouts/successdeals ... s-indexAnd this just came to me last week:“Andy and I had a great time at the TAXI Road Rally this year. It's always fun and a little surreal for us to come back as panelists and remember what it was like to be out in the audience during the panels dreaming about future success. We're truly grateful to TAXI and to Michael Laskow for being true to their claims and getting our music out there to the people who can really do something with it. One single connection made for us by TAXI has resulted in our songs and productions being on over 20 million albums sold over the last three and half years. And then they gave us the Inspiration Award this year! TAXI is the one that deserves the award!”-Adam Watts and Andy Dodd, TAXI success story with cuts by Jesse McCartney and Hannah Montana and many, many more.Maybe it just boils down to great music for the right listings in the end. But, if it's proof you're looking for, just let me know, and I'll send you lots more of these.ML

[ragani]

Dear Michael,Wow, another great post. And this is just what I've seen from you and TAXI all along-- the offer to put yourself and TAXI on the line for the sake of us musicians, to go to bat for us, to sort through all the challenges of doing these kinds of placements. No doubt TAXI offers more than just listings-- it's a place to LEARN from the work and connections to others. I'll bet we could form a line from here to New York, with JUST the people who've made the right kinds of business connections they need to further their music career, and all from people they met at TAXI. So bravo, Michael, for the generous offer you posted. Just another example of how you and TAXI really attend to your work. I hope yrreppy gives you a call. Raags

[tinozigzag]

After a lot of rejection, a certificate,even though means nothing, meant allot to me.A kind of 'you are on your way' so it was very welcomed!!www.myspace.com/tinoaureli