Members Contacting Listing Companies -- Ouch!

[hummingbird]

When you email a company immediately after a forward, you're gherming.

In Nashville, that's handing your CD, uninvited, to someone you meet.

Gherming is the most unforgiveable thing an artist or songwriter can do in Nasville. It means you went out of your way to make the recipient of your offer feel embarrassed by having to deal with a stranger wanting something from them.

It's expected that you'll hang out, create relationships, be a friend, be someone to know and like. Then maybe, someone will give you an opportunity.

In other words, it matters not a jot what your music sounds like. If you gherm, you are blacklisted. You sabatoge relationships. No one wants to work with you or give you an opportunity.

When you contact a company after a forward, your gherming doesn't just hurt you, doesn't just make you a person that no one wants to work with. It has a ripple effect to other TAXI members.

Your job is to write fantastic music. Get forwarded. And be patient. If your music is good, the opportunity will come your way. If you are also professional and rational, word will spread. In time.

[mfowler]

I dont have time to read 10 pages, so some of these may have been expressed already.
My opinions, FWIW are:
-> Let the company decide if they want Taxi to disclose their name. If not, then the "Name Withheld by Request" is the company name.
-> If withholding the name means more listings, I wouldn't mind not knowing (though I like seeing who is getting my music).
-> Try to educate the members as much as possible (emails, notices when submitting songs, must agree as part of membership(new and existing members)).
-> Institute a policy that expels members violating the agreement, 1 strike and you're out.
-> Communicate the steps that are being taken to the companies.

I do not want to miss out on opportunities because of pushy, impatient, and unprofessional people.
Marlin

[jazzstan]

Well, I'd take a "dark" Taxi over no Taxi at all. (unless it was like, you know, a real NYC cab of course)

[stevereedmusic]

I can't remember exactly where it was in the Taxi literature but I seem to remember reading something like, 'It's difficult to imagine a company thinking, "Gee I really love this track and I could do something with it, if only the writer would call and chase it up!"'

In my experience of dealing with publishers or other listing companies (not via Taxi forwards but through other avenues) you will be contacted if they hear something they like, simple as that.

I haven't read all 11 pages of this thread (I've been offline for a while!) but maybe the earlier suggestion of putting something in the agreement on signing up is the way forward.

Steve

[Ben Stubbs]

Some great words of wisdom within this important discussion...

The difference between professional and amateur doesn't always lie between getting paid or not for what you do. It's often more about the person you are.

... allends beat me to the chase on quoting that one

Being hungry, burning hungry, is one thing, and that's what keeps us going in the face of constant rejection. Acting too hungry out in the business world is basically spraying on success repellent every morning.

[suzdoyle]

Complex issue here, and I don't have any suggestions not already mentioned here.

However, I ran a Taxi listing earlier this year for a small project that needed extra songs, and several people who were forwarded emailed me. Two were polite, one was a bit pushy. As a lister (and even though I'm a warm and friendly kind of person), I didn't like feeling pressured to respond to unsolicited emails before I had thoroughly reviewed all the submissions and felt ready to contact the musicians/ composers.

As someone who submits to listings, I have never contacted a company to whom I've been forwarded. Just feels pushy to me -- and I figure the music speaks for itself, and doesn't need me trying to sell it.

Also, I deeply appreciate all the work that goes into building the relationship carefully cultivated by Michael/ Taxi over the years - trying to push the river by contacting the company directly feels out of integrity to me, and -- as evidenced by this thread -- can jeopardize those connections and opportunities.

Just my two cents,
Suz

[Ellwood]

This is a absolutely despicable thing to do! Who knows how many opportunities have been lost due to some peoples unprofessional methods!!

[orest]

I think there's only 1 way to go.

If a member doesn't follow this rule, through him/her out!

The other members who follow this rule shouldn't suffer because a tiny fraction can't keep their fingers in control!

[sedge]

doesn't make sense.

That's like paying for a plumber and when the plumber arrives taking the tools off him and doing the job yourself ... badly\!

[roland]

After multiple forwards with confirmation each time of who the recipient was, I just had a forward where the name wasn't mentioned.
I'd actually seen this thread right before the forward, so I was happy that a specific name wasn't given. I'd rather not know who it was and hopefully be contacted at some point, than find out that the whole thing had fallen through because a few people managed to mess things up for everyone.

One thought, though... Until I saw this thread, I was actually thinking that I'd made a mistake by not following up on past forwards, because I didn't even realize that we weren't supposed to follow up. Should TAXI be doing more to make it clear to people that they shouldn't be following up with the company? As in, right after the info about who you're forwarded to, specifically mention that they're not to be contacted, and that you're not to give the specific info to others?

Membership cancellations and/or suspensions aren't a bad idea at all, but you can't do this without being sure that people know there's a Rule and what happens if you break the Rule.

Personally, I like the "going dark" approach, where people don't have specific info about the forward, but that's easy for me to say because TAXI has done so much for my music. I don't see how this would work for most people, though, especially new/skeptical members.