I'm out

[tagast]

This was the last straw TAXI.

I am tired of being returned for being off-target based on one reviewer's opinion that based on some loose adjectives, that my track is not what is asked for and therefor not ready to forward.

I can turn around music fast, and when I work directly with a client, can figure out what they want. TAXI provides crappy adjectives and then picks and chooses which ones matter enough to forward a track. I'm tired of paying a middle man, when the middle man has done absolutely NOTHING for me. This will be at least the third time I have posted here about a weak listing, and I'm done at the end of this year. I am not paying you to return my music, I am paying you to forward it.

Someone give me a good reason to stay,... or any reason.

The track submitted was "Flight of the SUV"

This was my critique:
Dear Trevor, I appreciate the development but overall I find that this is more light and sweet and fun rather than luxurious and sophisticated.

U130710IN

ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENTALS are URGENTLY needed by a Major NY Ad Agency for a luxury SUV TV commercial. Think luxury, sophistication, movement, and heart-pounding excitement. Your instrumental track should start out with a medium-high intensity, and the intensity level should grow from there to a final, dramatic crescendo that ends with a ring out that goes to 29.5 seconds. Your track can NOT exceed 29.5 seconds in total length! If you’ve got a longer existing track (like a typical 2 minute instrumental piece) that fits the bill, and it has lots of great edit points, you can submit that as well. The Agency asked for “stately, confident, simple” orchestral themes, which sounds like they want something fairly traditional sounding. When we asked NY for more clarification, we were told, “…traditional, but maybe some modern elements or touches of sound design.” If you’re wondering what that means, consider this: the spot has a one-second slow motion shot at 13 seconds. You could do some sort of decrescendo that ends with an explosive, dramatic hit a second later because the SUV goes airborne right after the slow mo shot. No matter what you do, make sure your track builds, and has an arc that continues to build throughout the piece. Don’t let your track lay there like a lox! This commercial is a series of quick cut action shots of the SUV going through its paces on snow, desert, and the open road, so ask yourself, “What would a financially comfortable SUV buyer relate to musically that would get his (or her) pulse racing?” All instrumentation must sound real and authentic. No cheap string sounds for this spot! If your track is easy to edit, and easy to edit to, that could help make it more competitive. Broadcast Quality is needed (great home recordings are fine).

[Casey H]

Trevor
I agree with the screener here. Although this is a REALLY WELL DONE piece of music that would fit a different usage, I'm not hearing the "heart-pounding excitement" or enough of a "final, dramatic crescendo". When you objectively read the entire listing and all the tips given, it's just not a match.

It's all about the listing requirements and matching submissions to them.

I also think the listing description here is QUITE comprehensive and one of the better ones I've seen anywhere in the industry. I don't know ANYWHERE else you can get THAT MUCH detail!

If you don't think Taxi's a fit for you, it's your choice not to renew. But I believe that wherever you go, pitching your music professionally will require giving your best shot at interpreting client requirements and being open minded to rejection. And in most of the music world, rejection isn't an explanation. It's simply a "pass" or the sound of silence.

Good luck to you,
Casey

[andygabrys]

yep, light.

I agree with Casey - piece was great as a piece. but not right for this listing.

Sounds like you might have zeroed in on the "traditional" aspect of the listing a little bit more than some - your percussion sounded standard orch percussion rather than tending towards the epic zone. Other people erred on the other side (like my return for the same) - too dark, to epic, too much.

did you just watch TAXI tv? michael played some forwards and returns. Its always a little clearer when you hear a bunch back to back. 230 submissions. 25 forwards. for a $15-$20k spot. They will only take the ones that really fit the brief. and I don't think the brief was loose. again, it was fairly specific.

IMO - its the woodwinds = light.

woodwinds doubling strings or small numbers of brass = color, mixed timbres and light. actually less power even though more instruments playing.

strings+brass+epic percussion = power.

shake it off man.

[tagast]

You can fluff it up all you want, but a long list of adjectives does not make a detailed listing.

It's all a matter of opinion. What one person hears as "heart-pounding" and "stately, confident, simple" is quite different to someone else. No examples were given, no other information other than SUV and some words. That's great that after listening to a number of examples on TAXI TV you can say you hear how my music is off the mark. But I'm sick of playing this game with TAXI... it's like I have to pay $5 to gain some "insight" into the screener's and lister's thinking, only to then not get another chance, to rewrite, rethink and resubmit. How many times do I have to guess at the real meaning before I get lucky? In a perfect world I could sit down with them and find out for myself what they want, ask the right questions and go into composing knowing where to start, and get the chance to zero in on the right fit. But TAXI doesn't care if an individual hits the mark, they can spray their vague listings, and at least a few out of 200 submissions will find that narrow sweet spot. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a great deal for TAXI and some crappy game for everyone else.

Where else can I get THAT much DETAIL - Casey... really? You think a few sentences with a list of adjectives is detail? The comment about the 13 sec and ending at 29.5 is detail. Comprehensive? Comprehensive, would be seeing a rough cut of the commercial. Most of it is vague and wide open to interpretation. I dare you to give a list of 10 adjectives to 100 composers and see how many of them come up with anything similar.

Wherever I go, I will continue to pitch my music, and NOT get charged by a service who avoids pitching it. TAXI hasn't done anything for me but tell me my music is great but that it doesn't match their listings. What good is that?

[rdance]

tagast (don't your name mate), i feel your pain. i could get philosophical because i used to be a classical philosophy/mythology professor. but i would just say, no matter what you do with your music (taxi or no taxi), just keep pounding away with joy.

[Casey H]

No examples were given, no other information other than SUV and some words.

And on the teen pop listing, Taxi gave examples of current acts whose sound and style to shoot for, and you were equally unhappy about your return. Listening to your submission there, I did not get the impression (I could be wrong), you did much homework on YOUR OWN, listening to hits by those acts and working to create something that closely fit.

Before submitting to listings, what research did you do on your own? Did you Google for reference acts, car commercials, adjectives used in music, etc.? If you didn't know how to do this, you could have asked for tips and tricks here. This is not meant to be nasty but sometimes it's good to step back and take responsibility for your own approach as opposed to simply blaming the other guy.

BTW, I do not always agree with the screener. As with everyone, there have been times I've had returns and shook my head in disbelief. Taxi will even confirm that I've contacted them occasionally when this has happened. Folks have posted tracks along with listings on this forum and I've disagreed (or at least was unsure) on the return and said so. The two examples you posted, the SUV and teen pop listings, were no-brainer returns IMHO.

I understand you are frustrated and if Taxi's not for you, I wish you well and hope you find the success you are seeking elsewhere.

Best,
Casey

[CHuckmott]

I haven't listened but some guy us with great ears like your music, so it seems like the only missing piece is zoning in on exactly what they want. I can feel your frustration with the returns but turn it around and see where you need to focus, you'll get there. TAxi seems to have a tough line to straddle - they have to keep up their reputation as screeners for that portion of the clients they serve, and forward only what they consider best for the lsiting - without alienating the members that pay their salaries. If you feel that strongly about that track, pitch it elsewhere, good music will find a home somewhere. Try Peer to Peer first - these guys have a pretty good ear for what Taxi wants, and usually critiques I've gotten mirror what I heard in the forums anyway.

[tagast]

Casey,
I'm a little frustrated with your response. I am unhappy about my return on the teen pop song, but I recognize the fault on that is for me. The song was not composed specifically for that listing, but the breadth of artists listed seemed wide enough that it might fit. I'm not arguing the return there, but was posting to get some feedback about the comments the screener made. I happily take criticism, but I have trouble when the comments are telling me the hook isn't quite "there", but then offers no constructive feedback on how to improve it. Furthermore, there was criticism about the flow and form (the form is standard pop structure)... but what's missing?

I guess what I'm saying here is, why am I paying TAXI for vague listings where I MIGHT be able to guess the mark, and other listings that are well written, but the bar is so high I'd have to already be a HIT producer (thus not needing TAXI)? The little bit of feedback is nice, but I get better feedback from peers here on this forum for free... why would I keep paying for this? What service is TAXI actually giving ME?

The answer is none. They don't care if the "critiques" actually help you grow as an artist. And they don't care if their listings are too broad; as long as a few people hit the mark, they have something to forward to their clients. If TAXI can't step up and provide me with an actual service, I see no reason to pay them to be a barrier.

[Casey H]

Casey,
I'm a little frustrated with your response. I am unhappy about my return on the teen pop song, but I recognize the fault on that is for me. The song was not composed specifically for that listing, but the breadth of artists listed seemed wide enough that it might fit. I'm not arguing the return there, but was posting to get some feedback about the comments the screener made. I happily take criticism, but I have trouble when the comments are telling me the hook isn't quite "there", but then offers no constructive feedback on how to improve it. Furthermore, there was criticism about the flow and form (the form is standard pop structure)... but what's missing?

I guess what I'm saying here is, why am I paying TAXI for vague listings where I MIGHT be able to guess the mark, and other listings that are well written, but the bar is so high I'd have to already be a HIT producer (thus not needing TAXI)? The little bit of feedback is nice, but I get better feedback from peers here on this forum for free... why would I keep paying for this? What service is TAXI actually giving ME?

The answer is none. They don't care if the "critiques" actually help you grow as an artist. And they don't care if their listings are too broad; as long as a few people hit the mark, they have something to forward to their clients. If TAXI can't step up and provide me with an actual service, I see no reason to pay them to be a barrier.

Well, we'll just agree to disagree. Not as to whether you should stay with Taxi or not, but as to whether the listings are vague and/or the feedback isn't helpful enough. For the examples you posted recently, I didn't see that at all.

Best of luck,
Casey

[NathanNasby]

I've yet to see a single example in my life of, when getting mad and raging on a forum has proven beneficial!

I do sympathize with those feelings of frustration. Every artist here at taxi gets the same emails. "Sorry, your song was off target for the listing - RETURNED"! We all step away from the screen feeling disillusioned at times and frustrated that there isn't a better way of communicating where we went wrong, or that we only got one chance.......

Here's the thing though that I've learned in my short time here at taxi so far. I'm a big boy so I need to suck it up and move on. Those feeling of anger and self pity are destructive and worthless.

As to the other points, I'm not sure what you expect? It's usually very clear when you submit to a listing that this is a "NO critique listing" and all answers are yes/no basis. Any time a screener offers any additional comment it has been above their obligations to you. Any time I've gotten any helpful info on a return I'm learning to do what I can to learn from it and take it in gratitude. After all they could just stamp it with a NO, and not give you anything. Not all the screeners have been helpful to me, but a good majority of them have given me some info that has really helped me to get my music on track.

For the, no second chance problem, that is what peer to peer is for. I look back to the beginning of the year when I first started interacting with these other amazing artists and I see how for my music has improved since then. Sure everyone has a different opinion and interpretation on things, but there are some rules and guidelines that apply that I may not be aware of, or know how to properly implement in my music.

This all doesn't mean it's any easier to take the criticism or rejection, but at some point you, like all of us, have to face up to the fact that like it or not this is how the industry works, and taxi is IMO way better than all the other A & R companies and libraries that I've dealt with or tried to promote my music to.

You have a forum here, you have taxi t.v., you have the road rally, you have a community of peers and industry professionals trying to help you understand marketability, indie, contemporary, or any noun, verb, adjective or other word you want to mince.

I for one see the long term benefit of being a member here, and it's not simply because of my success ( 2 forwards and 30 returns is not what I call astounding). Yeah it's frustrating, but 90% of the time it's because I have a lot to learn yet.

I wish you the best of success in your music. We are all trying to make our love of the art we create a viable business as well. Otherwise we wouldn't invest so much time and money into it. Regardless of where you take your music and try to make it a success, I think you will find that it's always worth being polite, gracious and diplomatic in communication, whether in a forum, or a music supervisors office. Imagine what would happen if you got an interview with a bit A & R rep, took in your music, showed them the best of what you had and they said nope sorry not on track for what we need, and you responded in a similar fashion to this forum post? Yeah, those same industry reps are around to see how we all interact and behave on this forum !

I'm not trying to judge you or condemn your feelings. I know what you are going through, and I have felt it too. I hope you can sift through all this information and your interactions at taxi and find something useful that improves your chances in the market.

All the best in wherever you take your music.