No Forward...I'm a little bummed

[michael11]

Quote:, somebody like yourself who can put together a decent song is a hero. In Nashville, somebody who can put together a decent song is a waiter... Matto this quote is on par with...........we shall fight them on the beaches,Churchill,...............It is a far far better thing I do...Dickens...........Much ado about nothing,Shakespear.....Whats up doc......... Michael

[neuphoria]

Quote:Howard Shore wrote the filmscore to the Lord Of The Rings trilogy (directed by Peter Jackson), winning (if I recall correctly) two Academy Awards and a bookshelf of others in the process. Following that success he wrote and had already recorded portions of filmscore to King Kong (also directed by Peter Jackson). With only a couple months until the film's final release Howard Shore and his entire score were tossed by Peter Jackson and another composer was brought in at the last hour to score and record an entirely new filmscore. There's a lesson in there somewhere about reality of the music business at every level and also about how gracefully one does or doesn't handle that kind of reality. well at least Howard got past the taxi screener so that Peter could reject it

[davewalton]

Hi T,Quote:My songs may not be the next hit for any artist, but they deserve a forward so that someone outside of TAXI can make the decision to keep it or trash it. Taxi's clients just simply don't want all the music that is submitted. If they did, there wouldn't be any need for Taxi, they'd just open their doors and say "Send all music to Sony Nashville, etc".Quote:I'm tired of reviews basically saying your music is good, but I don't see a #1 record there. If you're really wanting to work toward the #1 hit thing then obviously you have to eventually be #1 out of hundreds of thousands. There's nothing wrong with that but that's obviously a narrow road to travel. My suggestion would be that while you're working toward that kind of thing, you might also try submitting your music to music library listings and/or to music libraries directly. The road for film/television placements is still very difficult but is nonetheless somewhat broader. Small successes like only getting a track or two into even a small music library (inside or outside of Taxi) can do wonders for the spirit and the overall outlook. Unless, of course, you obsess on not getting a television placement through the library right away. Quote:TAXI needs to quit giving the excuse "If we forward songs that are not up to par, then the industry will no longer work with us". Think about the A&R reps at the record companies themselves. If they don't do a professional job of screening the songs they bring to management, then those A&R reps will no longer have a job either. It's not an excuse. A lot of major league companies count on Taxi to provide them with a handful of "cream of the crop" pre-screened music. Plus, forwarding on the basis you suggest would be a hollow victory with no meaning. "Everyone is a winner" gets old quick.Quote:I was fortunate enough to have 3 of my songs listened to by Bob Stegall (Keith Stegall's father). Keith is the co-writer of many Alan Jackson hits and produces Alan's albums. My disc was handed to him personally and he burned them to his computer. I was to be told to "put a feather in my hat for the good songwriting and to keep it up". He listened and that's what I expect TAXI to do for me. But Taxi DID listen. Bob Stegall also listened. Unfortunately, neither one forwarded the music on AT THAT TIME. Quote:I will demand my money backT, sincerely, you won't have to demand anything. Taxi is NOT hard to get along with. Quote: and go back to doing the legwork myself. No one should stop doing their own legwork just because they joined Taxi. Doing anything exclusively to the exclusion of everything else is never a good idea. I'm actually pretty busy now thanks to Taxi but when I was at the height of my search and seek mode, I probably used Taxi for 10% of my overall effort. That isn't because I didn't use Taxi much, it's because I submitted to a LOT of things outside of Taxi.Hopefully there's something here that you can use or take with you. Feel free to discard what you can't use. DavePS - Take a look at a book called "The Songwriter's Market". The 2007 version should be out soon. The author sends info sheets out to all kinds of record companies, publishers, libraries, etc. They fill them out with their information and music submission process and send them back. The compilation of that information is what the book is along with some short information chapters written by music industry people. It's a good place to see first-hand all the different kinds of submission policies and to gain some perspective on what that process is actually like. Of course actually sending your music to these companies is the whole point.

[davewalton]

Quote:well at least Howard got past the taxi screener so that Peter could reject it Yes, after his second try. His first attempt, he submitted really good music but it was to the wrong listing.

[andreh]

Hey toncart-I think you have a great foundation for country writing...your songs are well beyond the level of many aspiring writers'. Since you're so far along already, you might as well focus your energy on ways take your tunes past the "you're getting there" stage and into the "Now that's a hit" arena. Of course, you have to be able to acknowledge that there's room for improvement before you can actually make any.Your arrangements are excellent, though they fall more in the "country" category than the "crossover country" sub-genre - which is fine, but it does further limit the artists to whom you can market them. Nonetheless, musically I think your tracks are right up there.In my view, your weak point is your lyrics. Although they flow well with the music and tell friendly stories, they lack color and memorability. Listen to most any hit country song on the radio, and you'll be left with a new (or at least newly put) idea or way of looking at the subject matter. Often this comes from phrasing common notions in an uncommon way, or in simply using less-common ideas in your song so they stand out (Kenny's tractor may not be sexy, but you sure as heck remembered that he was singing about it). When I read through your lyrics and listen to your songs, it's a pleasant experience but I honestly don't remember much about the stories when they're over.Also, you should probably stick to 3/4 or 4/4 meter in your songs...it's hard enough to remember "2 steps" without random 5/4 measures to throw you off (as is the case with your song "I Can't Stop). : )As far as this whole Taxi thing goes, it seems to me they're providing everything they said they would to both you and to the listing parties. As has been pointed out, if every song were forwarded there would be no need for Taxi to exist. I respectfully suggest that the problem here isn't with Taxi, but with your difficulty in accepting the imperfections in your songs.If you're in this for long haul, the most important skill you can develop is the ability to take criticism (constructive or otherwise) without jumping off a building. Believe me, you're NOT the only one on these boards or in this biz who has felt like poop when our "masterpiece" was torn to shreds by the REAL critics, but we all keep on carrying the torch because we DO believe that we will continue growing and marching down our own paths of success.Now (as they say) go write some music! Andre

[toncart]

I agree with alomost everything that you guys are saying. Yes I'm frustrated. Yes it's hard for me to take criticism. I need to work on that. Even on this thread and the responses are not consistant with what TAXI claims to be able to do for me. I was under the impression that my "demos" did not have to be "master" quality. As a matter of fact, I have read that some forwards have been on just a tape recording of the song with only one instrument. Go back and listen to my songs again. Listen to "This Ring" and "Put it in Drive". They are very good demo recordings (considering that they were done on my friends front porch). I can accept that my songs are lyrically weak or cliche, but some of my critiques have ranged from a 4 on production quality to a 9 in production quality. Whatever. I know it's not the best production quality, but the ears that are making decisions on my music are sure different at times. Maybe the bar for country music is just higher than some of the other categories. It sure seem so. Again, I would like to know how many "hits" have gone through TAXI in the country music category. I only know of one. Aub Delane? You out there? You sent me a very critical message on my music that I just read recently. You must be the expert in country music. How many cuts or hit songs do you have in country music? What credentials do you have in that category to be so critical of my music. I want to hear your country music compositions. Send me a link to your work. I want to hear what you have. Buddy Jewell listened to my music and liked two of my songs but said that there is no way that his label would accept unsolicited material and that he has had friends in the business get burned by accepting material that way. Legal stuff over song ownership and who actually wrote it. That on top of most labels wanting to use their own staff writers to keep the roalties in the family. Whatever...I thought that TAXI would be my "unsolicited" ticket. I don't know...a lot of what I'm saying is in frustration. Many of you have offered some patient, and very good advice and I appreciate that. It's not like I'm a starving artist or anything. I have a wonderful life, great job, great family, and I'm in good health. Those are the important things. I'm getting too stressed about my hobbies. Maybe I should go back to racing motorcycles. It was actually less stressful than this. LOL. : )

[bc]

Quote:...on soundclick, somebody like yourself who can put together a decent song is a hero. In Nashville, somebody who can put together a decent song is a waiter... Big ol' belly laugh here! So true.btw, Tom, you're writing some good stuff. Keep it up. bc

[davewalton]

Quote:I was under the impression that my "demos" did not have to be "master" quality. As a matter of fact, I have read that some forwards have been on just a tape recording of the song with only one instrument. Inside or outside of Taxi I would get rid of that way of thinking as quickly as possible. I'm saying that seriously and with no other agenda than to be realistic. Assuming that only the minimum is required (or even anything less than the maximum) is a HUGE mistake. This has nothing to do with Taxi and everything to do with the reality of your competitors (whoever they may be). Those competitors are thinking just the opposite - they're constantly working on improving their slickly produced, broadcast quality songs and tracks. Those people can do that stuff in their home studios and they're EVERYWHERE.Quote:Maybe the bar for country music is just higher than some of the other categories. It sure seem so. I would guess that Country is THE hardest genre of music to break into, simply because of the sheer volume of would-be Country musicians and songwriters compared to the available opportunities. I would say there there are more people competing for the fewest number of spots than in any other genre, possibly with the exception of Rap music.Quote:Again, I would like to know how many "hits" have gone through TAXI in the country music category. I only know of one. Why don't you ask Taxi? It's not a secret I'm sure and I believe it's more than one. But Taxi isn't responsible for what the listing company chooses to do so it's not relevent. Take my case, the "Oprah" thing. What if the listing party would have chosen another composer outside of the Taxi forwards? It wouldn't have any bearing on Taxi's credibility because they DID provide the opportunity. That's what Taxi does.And by the way for all you recent screener bashers, MY music was forwarded for reasons other than random dumb luck through screener incompetence. There... now I feel better. My last submission I had two songs returned and one forwarded. I have to come to a better conclusion than the screener was a moron when he returned my first two songs, but immediately became qualified when he forwarded my third. Quote:Buddy Jewell listened to my music and liked two of my songs but said that there is no way that his label would accept unsolicited material Don't trick yourself into thinking that the opportunity was there if not for the "corporate policies and procedures" manual. Buddy is apparently somewhat of a diplomat. Labels don't turn down opportunities for ANY reason. You can take that to the bank. It just wasn't what he wanted AT THAT TIME.Quote:I don't know...a lot of what I'm saying is in frustration. One final comment and then I'll leave you alone. I was struck by what you said in an earler post about quitting Taxi and GOING BACK to doing your own legwork. If I were to offer any advice to anyone, it would be to never stop what you're already doing but to add Taxi (or any other service) on as an ADDITION to whatever else you're doing. Exclusive to the exclusion of everything else is good idea in marriage but a bad idea for marketing your music. Good luck,Dave

[toncart]

Thanks Dave. I respect what you have said. Good luck with your submissions. Gotta go now, I have a class waiting for me to teach them something about math. : ).

[53mph]

Quote: Exclusive to the exclusion of everything else is good idea in marriage but a bad idea for marketing your music. That's beautiful man Your wife must be a happy woman.