Hello! and some general thoughts

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JonathanE
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Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by JonathanE » Wed Jun 15, 2022 12:14 pm

Hello everyone! I'm Jonathan from Canada, I've been a taxi member for a little over two years, and in between working and other things I've been trying to make music with the help of collaborators and recording guys/tech guys. After all this time, I've gotten a bit more comfortable on my DAW, and I've grown a lot in terms of the feedback I've gotten from the screeners, and I think I've definitely become a better musician.

But I've noticed something... and I thought I would check to see if others have ever found the same...

I've had many returns, but also about 15 forwards, and I've signed about 4 tracks in libraries (no money or placements yet as far as I know). But I have had a library tell me that a couple tracks that they got from me were "totally awesome", which was really encouraging.

But for all the songs that I have had do well for me, I have noticed that they are songs that I wrote a long time ago, and it just happened to be the case that listings came about that were requesting those genres, and so I was quite motivated to make those songs, because I loved the genre and I wanted to get my songs recorded regardless, and so it was just an extra cool impetus (and a deadline) to make it happen. And for those songs (instrumentals), most of them have been very well received.

But I've noticed that I haven't done as well when it comes to making songs "to order" for the listings (Ie the song doesn't exist before the listing request). And I think it's because the songs I wrote on my own had a lot more of my heart and soul in them, and I think that comes across to people...

Now I would say that well over 80% of the taxi listings I have no interest in (I really don't like pop), but there HAS been more than enough requests in other genres to keep me going, that have matched well with previously written songs, as I mentioned.

And so in light of my pre-written instros doing well, I've been considering the strategy of just writing songs that I like in those genres (because as far as I can tell there is demand for those, albeit not as often as things like mainstream pop), and just make sure that when those genre requests come along, to make sure that I have enough that are close enough to those requests, and can be modified to match the specific quirks of the listing request...

And so I wanted to ask people... does anyone else do that? Does anyone else get a pulse for the genres that are requested, and then decide if enough requests match what they like, and then get down to creating in those genres in general, and not necessarily always to a listing? Do people have success in that way? Or is that not very common, and maybe people don't have much success in that way?

Thanks for any general thoughts, taxi rocks, and these forums are quite helpful!
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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by cosmicdolphin » Wed Jun 15, 2022 1:44 pm

Hey Jonathan

Firstly I would say most of the music I'd written before I joined Taxi wasn't really suitable for sync and I think this is the case for many of us, so kudos to you if you had a bunch of back cataog material that was forwarded and followed up with some libraries deals as that rarely works well. I's an oft quoted unwritten rule of succesful folks around these parts " write to the listings "

I've signed over 500 instrumetnal and a handful of songs to libraries now since I started in early 2016 and I would say only 2 or 3 were written " from the heart "...the rest were made to order from a brief either on Taxi or direct from a library, or were part of a genre album I put together specifically to pitch to libraries myself directly.

The thing with libraries is they tend to know what they want, so you have to give it to them. Generally what they need is not the type of music we ourselves might like / love ( this is somewhat age dependant too )...it's what helps support the pictures in their clients TV shows and broadly speaking is contemporary music unless it's a TV show set in the past.

If you don't like current music that gets used a lot in TV ( EDM - Hip Hop - Pop etc ) then there will be less opportunities for placements, but that's not to say there aren't other genres that get used and there are certain styles that are " evergreen " and have a much longer shelf life ( solo piano , jazz , orchestral etc. ) which require certain skills that not everyone has.

I would say try other genres as you may find one you'd not considered before that you rather enjoy. Personally I was and EDM guy but since joining Taxi I've written cues in entirely new genres that were singed and placed such as Dramedy, Trailer, Solo Piano, Tension, HipHop , Funk. ...just a bunch of stuff I never thought I would enjoy but I did once I got into it. I see it more as an intellectual puzzle to be solved thaq something I need to pour my heart into. It's product. Not art.

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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by gitanosoy » Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:29 pm

I think you are doing well for 2 year member. I am a member for 4 years and did pitch instrumentals that I had sitting in my hard drive and quickly learnt that "made to order" as Mark said is what the libraries want. I dabbled in almost all genres even music that I didn't care for just to know where I stand with others who are better at a certain genres. I just submit to instrumentals that I am confident in but still look at the listings and try to write and practice. Current sounds, mixing techniques, plugings..e.t.c keep evolving so what you wrote 2-5 years ago might not be a contender for todays market unless some listing that want "vintage recordings".

Lastly, I also leant that what I like to play or should sound like is not what film/tv music libraries want so writing from the heart, expressing emotions, solos, normal length compositions are for my personal albums.


good luck

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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by JonathanE » Thu Jun 16, 2022 7:51 am

cosmicdolphin wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 1:44 pm
It's product. Not art.
Great summary, thank you.

So I guess you're saying that, even though you may not enjoy the genre, you still enjoy the technical challenge, and so that aspect is fun enough, that you do it still with some enjoyment, rather than just a menial task? And you find also that you become fans of genres that you thought you wouldn't?

Thanks Cosmic
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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by JonathanE » Thu Jun 16, 2022 7:54 am

gitanosoy wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:29 pm
I think you are doing well for 2 year member. I am a member for 4 years and did pitch instrumentals that I had sitting in my hard drive and quickly learnt that "made to order" as Mark said is what the libraries want. I dabbled in almost all genres even music that I didn't care for just to know where I stand with others who are better at a certain genres. I just submit to instrumentals that I am confident in but still look at the listings and try to write and practice. Current sounds, mixing techniques, plugings..e.t.c keep evolving so what you wrote 2-5 years ago might not be a contender for todays market unless some listing that want "vintage recordings".

Lastly, I also leant that what I like to play or should sound like is not what film/tv music libraries want so writing from the heart, expressing emotions, solos, normal length compositions are for my personal albums.

good luck
That makes a lot of sense, thanks Gita. Quick question though... do you ever avoid genres cuz you strongly dislike them? Or do you even try it then?
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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by gitanosoy » Thu Jun 16, 2022 9:17 am

do you ever avoid genres cuz you strongly dislike them? Or do you even try it then?

No I never did or do avoid them because I this like them, I NOW avoid them either because I am not good at it yet or don't have the higher quality sound library yet to compete with others.

For example :I find classical compositions the easiest genre to write but when it come to digital recording in your DAW I don't have the good quality sound libraries yet to compete with others that do until I upgrade my mac someday soon so I avoid it for now. I did submit a couple just to get a feedback . This pushed me to learn how to tweak my stock Logic sounds or BBC free orchestra to make them sound realistic but I can still hear the quality difference with the higher quality sound libraries and it take too much time to do this, again I still use them for my personal compositions but not to submit for film/tv.

I am a guitar player jazz,folk,flamenco, latin, fusion,funk so I submit mostly in these genres but also like hip-hop, EDM ,pop. I don't really sit down and write NEO SOUL CHILL-HOP tracks for myself as by the end of the track I want to jump off a bridge listening to a two chord composition over and over but I have the most signed tracks in this genre. There are genres that I won't do again after doing a couple and it's "Meditation" tracks for 4-5 minutes ,I don't want to break my guitar or quit music because of this...lol!

What I like is not coming up in the listings every week so if I want to get more forwards, signed tracks and hopefully a chance for a placement then minimum 50 submission a year is a good amount, more is better from what I have learnt.

True "it's not art it is a service" although music education, playing your instrument(s) of choice really well helps, it is not relevant for film/tv nor those the music supervisor care when deciding if it fits the part in the scene. Computer, DAW, midi controller and an index finger and one can write gazillion drone type stuff. :D

Because of TAXI and the people on these forums I have learnt so much and have discovered a whole new chapter in the music business so that itself is worth it.

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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by JonathanE » Thu Jun 16, 2022 9:43 am

gitanosoy wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 9:17 am
do you ever avoid genres cuz you strongly dislike them? Or do you even try it then?

I am a guitar player jazz,folk,flamenco, latin, fusion,funk so I submit mostly in these genres but also like hip-hop, EDM ,pop. I don't really sit down and write NEO SOUL CHILL-HOP tracks for myself as by the end of the track I want to jump off a bridge listening to a two chord composition over and over but I have the most signed tracks in this genre. There are genres that I won't do again after doing a couple and it's "Meditation" tracks for 4-5 minutes ,I don't want to break my guitar or quit music because of this...lol!
LOL, that's exactly what I mean! I have had this strong feeling that if I push too hard into genres I really strongly dislike, I may come to a point where it's not fun anymore, or I would lose the passion behind it, and ultimately I think I value fun in work more than anything else. So I can understand doing stuff that you're not a fan of but is in high demand, but to avoid the stuff that really grates on you, just for your own sense of well being... would you agree?
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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by gitanosoy » Thu Jun 16, 2022 10:59 am

Yes I agree, health is number one. This is a side business for me, I don't treat it like a hobby though and it's fine if you do, hopefully it will generate future income if I reach the other superstar status in this community. I certainly never loose track of who I am as an artist, I still perform, play concerts, do session work, collab and paly around with music gear and guitars, again you have to wear different hats for different services.

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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by cosmicdolphin » Thu Jun 16, 2022 12:37 pm

JonathanE wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 7:51 am
So I guess you're saying that, even though you may not enjoy the genre, you still enjoy the technical challenge, and so that aspect is fun enough, that you do it still with some enjoyment, rather than just a menial task?
That would be a good way of putting it yes. I'm here to work not fill some void in my soul..but I enjoy the work , and I still would never do a genre that hated. Like Country for example.

And there are still genres that I'll gravitate more towards when there's some transferable skills from the stuff I wold naturally make. For example I messed around for years with synths etc so going from EDM to Electronic Tension wasn't a big leap.
JonathanE wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 7:51 am
And you find also that you become fans of genres that you thought you wouldn't?
I would say it was more that they were genres I never even knew existed, and outside of sync some of them don't really have any other outlet. Nobody grows up wanting to be a Dramedy writer for example but I actually find it pretty fun and challenging and I enjoy the diversity. I think I'd be bored making only one or two genres when making 100 cues per year.

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Re: Hello! and some general thoughts

Post by JonathanE » Fri Jun 17, 2022 9:34 am

cosmicdolphin wrote:
Thu Jun 16, 2022 12:37 pm
I still would never do a genre that hated. Like Country for example....

I actually find it pretty fun and challenging and I enjoy the diversity. I think I'd be bored making only one or two genres when making 100 cues per year.
That's the point I was getting to, and it's good to hear others take a similar view and have been able to make good things happen! Thanks cosmic!
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