Forwards...but nothing else...

[boxingrhythm]

I've gotten probably 8-10 forwards over the past year but only one follow up. And this was from a company that takes unsolicited music all the time. Has anyone had similar expierences?

[liamkelly]

Hi BoxingIn terms of similar experiences, I think1) Most people in Taxi haven't had a forward that has resulted in any kind of 'deal'2) I wouldn't worry about the fact that this company accepts unsolcited material. If they were happy with the unsolicited stuff, they wouldn't have bothered paying Taxi for screened stuff. They're obviously not getting (good) enough material and have gone to Taxi.And that's where you've come in.Good luck.Liamwww.myspace.com/liamkellymusic

[jchitty]

Quote:I've gotten probably 8-10 forwards over the past year but only one follow up. And this was from a company that takes unsolicited music all the time. Has anyone had similar expierences?Believe me, I'm not a rah-rah TAXI person....sometimes, the critique and fowarding/non-fowarding process is frustrating, but I'd be happy with your 8 to 10 fowards.....some of us have gotten none. So enjoy it.......the music biz moves slow. Eventually, you might hear from the peeps who received your other forwards. As for the unsolicited material.....TAXI lists both types of companies, those who take unsolicted stuff and those which decline unsolicited material. I personally want TAXI to find EVERY opportunity for me. Had you tried to submit to this company on your own, they might not have given you the time of day.That being said, I've had some luck with getting my foot in the door through independent pitching outside of TAXI.....you have to drive down all avenues to get where you're going. Hey, and by 'follow-up,' do you mean a deal? You didn't elaborate on that....if you got a deal, you got 'braggin' rights.'

[ddusty]

Hi Box,Yes, this is probably the norm. I am very happy to have an extremely high forward rate (45 out of 95), but i have also had only one follow up (and it was from a more recent forward - more on that one if/when anything comes from it)So I would be very happy with 1 follow up out of 10 forwards. (it beats 1 for 40!).One thing i have noticed, (this is not meant to be a complaint, just an observation) is a few times i was forwarded to a listing that I felt was right up our alley. With the forward you usually get the name of the company, and i like to look into whoever we are forwarded to. Even though we match the listing, sometimes i don't feel that we are a good fit for the company who was posting that listing. I submit to mostly Americana or Singer/Songwriter, and sometimes the companies roster seems to be more pop based. Sure maybe they are looking to expand, but they are probably looking for the next 18 yo dancer to put on MTV. (that ain't us, btw )In summary, forwards don't come with a guarantee, and if you can here from 10% of your forwards, you are doing real good.Rob

[tacksea007]

Hey All,Sebastian here, I need to step in here and respond to what Liam has posted. AT NO TIME HAS ANY COMPANY EVER PAID TAXI TO RUN A LISTING. The only money that comes into TAXI is through membership and submission fees. Thanks.

[boxingrhythm]

Wow...only 1 follow up after 90 plus forwards...you're much more patient than I am. I'm giving Taxi one more year, and if I don't get anything, I'm moving on. I was recently told my a manager/consultant in the biz that he'd worked with countless people that had been members of Taxi that had never gotten any follow ups. He said Taxi was known in his circles as a place for "bedroom/shower songwriters" that just paid for a $5 critique. I didn't know whether to believe him or not.

[mazz]

Just another perspective regarding TAXI:This is the first time I've done this kind of recap:I've submitted 57 times in 3 years of membership. 7 of those are still pending (I submit a lot more these days) I've been forwarded 27 times and have gotten 1 library deal and 1 publishing deal via TAXI. I also got another deal from connections I made at the Road Rally last year and on the strength of the demo I was handing out.So far I haven't received any money from any of these deals (most are backend performance royalty based at this point) but I did hear a piece of mine on national TV the other day and so I expect to see something in the future.I don't think TAXI is for everyone but for a serious "bedroom" composer (my computer doesn't like the shower very much ) I'm happy with the progress I've made so far via TAXI.So if I do the math, 27 forwards in 3 years that's 9 per year and 2 deals directly from forwards. Pretty slow progress but progress nontheless. I don't know how long you've been a member but 3 years is a pretty short time frame in the music business. Hang in there!Good luck and keep the faith. Keep writing and submitting.Mazz

[davewalton]

Quote:I was recently told my a manager/consultant in the biz that he'd worked with countless people that had been members of Taxi that had never gotten any follow ups. He said Taxi was known in his circles as a place for "bedroom/shower songwriters" that just paid for a $5 critique. I didn't know whether to believe him or not.First, Taxi has nothing, nothing whatsoever to do with what the listing company does with the music they get through Taxi. The listings are what Taxi is all about, access to companies looking for music, when they're looking for music, and specifically what kind of music they're looking for. Really, the only legitimate question is "Are the listings/opportunities real?". What happens to your music once it's forwarded to the listing company is at the sole discretion of the listing company.Regarding the one year thing, you mentioned that you've had 8-10 forwards, so 8-10 people have received a sample of your music. If after quitting Taxi, you only send out 8-10 demo CD's the following year, what would be your expectations regarding the number of deals you'd get from only 8-10 unsolicited submissions in a year? I guess you could send those all out on January 1st and then take the rest of the year off in anticipation of all the deals from that mailing. For me, Taxi has to be only one of many things I do because realistically I have to send many hundreds of demo CD's and such to generate any activity. I can't do just Taxi because it's not set up as a "mass mailiing" kind of place. There's only so many listings and most of those are cream-of-the-crop, harder to get those deals than others. I can't do a plan which excludes Taxi either because the opportunities in the listings are many times pretty jaw-dropping. Plus I've gotten some mind-spinning deals through Taxi and so why would I pass up future opportunities like that for a couple hundred dollars or just because they're available through Taxi? Regarding the bedroom/shower songwriter thing, ask the "manager/consultant" to take a quick look at the "deals" page or even ask many of the forum members here. I'm pretty sure that the major labels, film companies, in addition to most of the popular shows on all the major networks and cable stations have higher standards than "bedroom/shower songwriters". If he hangs in circles that think that, maybe the value of his consultation advice is reflected here... Dave

[ddusty]

Quote:Wow...only 1 follow up after 90 plus forwards...you're much more patient than I am. I'm not THAT patient, that's 90 plus submissions, 40 plus forwards. Sure there are some bedroom/shower songwriters on here, and some of them may not be good. But some of them are fantastic, just go to their pages and see for yourself.Rob

[liamkelly]

Quote:Hey All,Sebastian here, I need to step in here and respond to what Liam has posted. AT NO TIME HAS ANY COMPANY EVER PAID TAXI TO RUN A LISTING. The only money that comes into TAXI is through membership and submission fees. Thanks.Hi TaxiSebastianThanks for stepping in on this thread and correcting me. I genuinely did not know that - I just assumed a business model that secured revenue on both sides.Sincere apologies.Liam