More success without Taxi

[thedivys]

Let's get something straight here.We, The Divys, have had many nice successes.We have had 2 songs placed on XBox in America & Europe, awarded The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, many plays on Network Television, and so on.We know what is possible. We are just sick of the professionals doing nothing for us while charging us. If you don't like it, too bad. We have the right to be a bit disappointed when people don't work as hard as we do.

[daniel481]

Guys, you can be disappointed, but at the same time you have to figure out what you're really unhappy with. What is it exactly that you wish TAXI was doing differently for you?

[hummingbird]

Sept 29, 2008, 8:36pm, thedivys wrote:Let's get something straight here.We, The Divys, have had many nice successes.We have had 2 songs placed on XBox in America & Europe, awarded The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, many plays on Network Television, and so on.We know what is possible. We are just sick of the professionals doing nothing for us while charging us. If you don't like it, too bad. We have the right to be a bit disappointed when people don't work as hard as we do.And we have the right to state, firmly and clearly, that for us this is not the case. I got my first forward in December 2006 and signed the deal for that song in March 2008. I got my second forward in March 2007 and signed the deal for that song in June 2007. It took me more than two years to get a forward at all (because I had so much to learn), but I definitely have deals from Taxi forwards. I always advise people interested in joining to research thoroughly and assess whether Taxi is a good investment for the goals specified in their business plan. If it's not a fit for you, that's absolutely fine. But it is a fit for me. There's a toll-free number at the top of your screen, call it and discuss the answer to Dan's question with the staff at Taxi.

[Casey H]

If it's not working for you and other avenues are working better, simply don't renew. What more is there to say?

[avillaronga]

The Taxi literature says it is the second best way to be successful in the industry. You found a way to be successful without it, more power to you. If you truly feel Taxi did not work hard for your membership money, call them, I'm sure they'll refund you your money if there is any evidence that this was the case. If, on the other hand, you are unhappy because you did not understand what Taxi's service is supposed to be (and based on your previous posts, I'm thinking this is the case), move on and quit whining. You obviously don't need Taxi to be successful so the solution is simple: don't renew.

[christig]

Taxi is a resource for industry leads. They are not agents promising to promote your group to every deal out there. You have to determine what leads you want to pursue. If your music is a match they hook you up with the requester. What happens beyond that is between you and the requester.If you want an organization that will push you hard hire an agent.If you want industry leads join Taxi.If you think the Taxi staff is lazy then you have never been to a Rally. These people work their tails off before, during, and after the Rally to ensure everything is at it's finest. In my experience, the staff has always been polite, reasonable, and fair both at the Rally and on the phone. Maybe Taxi will have to join countless other businesses who have to label their products with warnings like "Warranty void if not used as intended".Christi

[bmete]

If you go to a restaurant that is popular, has great food & service you expect to enjoy all that. If you go and it doesn't meet your expectations, well maybe if was an off night, give it one more try. Still not up to your expectations... why would you keep going back..... , and keep going back ( unless you just like to complain..... ) sounds like you are on top of your game....for forth and wow the world.... congrats on your success!!Bob

[louis2012]

I suspect what The Divys are trying to say is that Taxi sometimes doesn't do its job properly. Its all too easy to let Taxi get away with it by saying the same old thing 'It wasn't right for the listing' and 'submit,repeat,forget' but based on my experience I can honestly say some of those screeners are way too harsh and hand out returns all too easy. I have imperfect mixes forwarded and on target submissions returned. For a professional songwriter this is a career nightmare where the middle men get to play God yet again (and I certainy joined to avoid that, but i knew what I was getting into before I joined, so I'm not really whining about it)As much as we get on with each other on this forum I do see divisions in the camp based on experience. A member with a lot of forwards and successes will defend Taxi to the end and so they should, but there are members that have been kept back because of inept screeners, lets not forget that. Maybe thats what The Divys are trying to say, or maybe I'm using that to create my own mini rant.

[avillaronga]

Sept 30, 2008, 7:20am, louis2012 wrote:I suspect what The Divys are trying to say is that Taxi sometimes doesn't do its job properly. Its all too easy to let Taxi get away with it by saying the same old thing 'It wasn't right for the listing' and 'submit,repeat,forget' but based on my experience I can honestly say some of those screeners are way too harsh and hand out returns all too easy. I have imperfect mixes forwarded and on target submissions returned. For a professional songwriter this is a career nightmare where the middle men get to play God yet again (and I certainy joined to avoid that, but i knew what I was getting into before I joined, so I'm not really whining about it)As much as we get on with each other on this forum I do see divisions in the camp based on experience. A member with a lot of forwards and successes will defend Taxi to the end and so they should, but there are members that have been kept back because of inept screeners, lets not forget that. Maybe thats what The Divys are trying to say, or maybe I'm using that to create my own mini rant.To disagree with a critique or a return is one thing. To call Taxi staff lazy simply because you didn't get the results you wanted even though your expectations were unrealistic is quite a different story. I've disagreed with many returns but at the end of the day I have to ask myself: would I have done any better without Taxi? The answer is usually no. All the things you mention about the middle man, etc are industry things, not Taxi specific. Unless you have access to the heads of these companies on your own, your music will always be heard by middle men first, some more prepared and qualified than others. On average, the Taxi screeners seem more qualified than any other similar service. Unexpected/inconsistent results are always a fact of life when dealing with something as subjective as music. The middle man is not playing God, he/she is doing his/her job and trying to help you do yours. As with any job that involves humans, results would vary from person to person, from day to day. Again, not a Taxi thing. Louis2012 raises good points but the response this thread has generated has nothing to do with that, it is simply because people who are more experienced can see how transparent the posting by thedivys is: they're simply frustrated and blowing some steam off by insulting the Taxi staff. Responding with the other side of the coin so that people who don't know any better and find that posting doing a google search is not blindly defending Taxi, it's simply showing that there is another side to be told.Antonio

[hummingbird]

Sept 30, 2008, 7:20am, louis2012 wrote:I suspect what The Divys are trying to say is that Taxi sometimes doesn't do its job properly. Its all too easy to let Taxi get away with it by saying the same old thing 'It wasn't right for the listing' and 'submit,repeat,forget' but based on my experience I can honestly say some of those screeners are way too harsh and hand out returns all too easy. I have imperfect mixes forwarded and on target submissions returned. For a professional songwriter this is a career nightmare where the middle men get to play God yet again (and I certainy joined to avoid that, but i knew what I was getting into before I joined, so I'm not really whining about it)As much as we get on with each other on this forum I do see divisions in the camp based on experience. A member with a lot of forwards and successes will defend Taxi to the end and so they should, but there are members that have been kept back because of inept screeners, lets not forget that. Maybe thats what The Divys are trying to say, or maybe I'm using that to create my own mini rant.Are the screeners Inept? Obviously some very large companies involved in the music industry don't think so - that's why they come to Taxi to have the music screened for them. They trust the screening system to separate out everything but exactly what they've said they want, and forward only those specific tracks for consideration.Have members been 'kept back' because of inept screening? Well, I was certainly kept back... and I'm glad of it. I'm glad Taxi demanded more of me. I'm glad they insisted - if I wanted to be successful - that I listen to the 'a la's and the 'sounds like', that I learn what a good demo is & what the stylistic differences between genres & subgenres are, that I find & learn to use contemporary sounding VIs, that I rewrite & hone my lyrics, that I learn to mix & produce effectively. I know - and I think anyone who has watched my progress since June 2004 knows - that Taxi has been a catalyst for my success. Do I get music placed outside of Taxi - yes. Because what I produce now is good enough to pitch & get signed.Frankly, I'm glad that Taxi is so tough on me. It's kinda like my Maestro being so hard on me. Yes, he was gentle, supportive, but a stickler for every single detail. We'd spend an hour working on the first phrases of an aria. Frustrating, demanding. But when my Maestro nodded his head or clapped his hands - I knew what I was doing was better than excellent. So when Taxi gives me the nod, that's my response. "Good, I got it, right, file that away, that's what works." That's why I'm a member. To learn and grow and be more than I was before. Like any other set of human beings, I don't think screeners are perfect, but as Mazz has pointed out, Taxi has great customer service & they are willing to talk with any member about concerns. But, in this particular case that's being discussed here, the member in question has been forwarded but has not been offered a deal. You can't call Taxi and complain that the companies you've been forwarded to haven't called you. Just like you can't call Sony Records and rail at them for not responding to the demo you sent. Well, you can... but I don't think it does you much good