NOT renewing membership in 2012

[mrwonderful]

Re Not Renewing in 2012

Hi folks, I’m looking for input. After six years of Taxi membership I’m thinking of not renewing, despite the almost frantic reminders I get from them that it’s That Time…

I abhor the cliché ‘thinking outside the Box’ (it’s SO ‘Inside the box’). But in my honest opinion the box of the Taxi mindset has gotten rather small, even as my view, perspective, and experience of the Biz has ever-expanded.

There are other ways to ‘get there’ (including for me the up-and-coming publisher I acquired this year). Michael Laskow himself used to tout, before his hard-sell approach became the new m.o., that Taxi was only the ‘second-best’ way to get there. I must agree…as we’ve all seen, (with the Taxi Rally experience as a microcosmic example) the personal touch beats out impersonal every time. And frankly, Taxi for me has been disappointingly most IMpersonal.

I know at least one of the screeners personally, from the days he worked for the big publisher that handled my catalog. (I don’t know which number he is.) I had to wonder, ‘They use HIM for a screener?” I met up with another at a mentor lunch table (the one I paid 30 bucks for) and thought ‘THIS guy’s a MENTOR?’ I knew this fella from my hometown as a certifiable…well, I won’t say. There's more to the story but let's move on...

I’ve been at this for years and am hardly what you’d call entry level. The Rallies I’ve attended have been quite valuable. Why WOULDN’T one go? It’s about the ONLY thing that makes the $200 fee worth it…but I find the focus of Taxi has morphed (as the Biz itself has) from a focus of connection to one of education. The workshops are great, but after this, my sixth Rally, I’m finding them a bit redundant. That ‘magic-bullet’, the CONNECTION (and as-ever the ongoing experience of writing writing writing) is what I REALLY need. Is this something Taxi could yet deliver?

I lingered in LA after the Rally to hook up with an old friend, a former bandmate, who’s made good out there. I won’t mention names but he’s REAL busy composing for Network and Cable, and some film. (He mentioned that he partners occasionally with one of the big ‘draws’ at the recent Rally.) He wondered aloud to me why I’m not yet his ‘competition’. We hung out for like 3 hours, and in that 3 hours I think I got another 3 DAYS’ (another Rally’s) worth of information. There’s that Personal Touch again…

Maybe there is another way to do this. As we all know, it’s more than persistence and doing exceptional work. There IS timing and there IS luck (if you don’t think so, just imagine YOUR radio-ready CD being THE one Craig pulls out of the bin – with HUNDREDS in there - at one of the big panels! I've also heard it straight from the panelists themselves). I've gotten a good number of forwards, ONE little deal, and certainly enjoy the energy and camaraderie at the Rallies…but – pardon the vulgarity - I’d like to get the CHECK. Maybe it’s time to ‘put a little spit on the quarter’, change tack, and get off this Taxi thing, at least for a minute.

Can someone throw in a convincing argument one way or the other?

Sincerely, Jordy

[sedge]

Can someone throw in a convincing argument one way or the other?

Hey Jordy, I really dig your non rant approach to why Taxi is not for you next year. Quite refreshing to hear it thought out in the way you have , sometimes and quite lately there have been just knee jerk reactions to returns etc that always seem to force those that enjoy Taxi to look like they are in some "inside" pro Taxi banner waver club.

As an active forum member this year and with no Rally visits yet I can only give my perspective of course.

It's really simple, I just really really enjoy Taxi, the listings, the forum folks and the buzz of a forward. Of course I hope for a deal, wouldn't that be sweet! As for money well spent to be a Taxi member aside of getting deal, For me, yes. Taxi work really hard so the memberhip cost and things all fit well to me here.

As for getting deals or not, I guess after the forward it is out of Taxi hands. And so I don't really feel we it would be fair to attribute deals and pay checks to how Taxi works, more to whether the forward was chosen or not.

Taxi is my favourite one of many musical adventures to see if a song or two will go somewhere.

That's my take anyway, just a jo blogs member from the UK

Kind Regards,

Rob

[JamieMuffett]

I don't think a magic bullet exists in or out of Taxi land. I agree meeting people face to face is far more productive than over the internet, but a connection is a connection and one forged digitally can translate into a real world one, sooner or later.

I see Taxi as another avenue for my music and another means for making connections (plus nuggets of info here and there too). If this were my only means and I hung onto every submission, rising and falling with every forward or return I think I would lose the will very quickly. I admit I am a new member (and I am therefore not at all jaded) but I have been in music for nearly 10 years and particularly in the new music business you have to spread yourself far and wide for a stable level of success (whatever that may be to you). Is $200 really too much NOT to do it?

I have no idea how Taxi as a company has changed over the years, all I know is that it is one of a rare breed that is fundamentally ethical, and its business model is built on shared success. That is not to say that I don't wish certain parts were a little different, but Michael didn't setup the company for me alone, so I can live with that.

Apologies if this has come across as condescending, you have clearly been in this game a while!

My 2 cents.

Jamie

[crs7string]

Jordy,


You've have shared all the reasons why TAXI hasn't worked for you. But, you have not given us any information on the genres you write, the type of listings you target, or the feedback you have gotten from TAXI screeners. I also noticed that in six years of membership you have less than ten posts. I would conclude that you have not used the Forum and the supportive community here to help "up your game".

I have been a member the same number of years and would tell a story so different from yours that one would be hard pressed to conclude we are subscribers of the same service.

Can you fill in some blanks so we have a liitle more information to help you answer your question.

But, please, if you don't renew, do not start a thread about why TAXI sucks and you are not renewing. It's all been said before and quite frankly has gotten a little redundant over the years.

There are too many people achieving success with TAXI for anyone to blame TAXI for their lack of success.

Please let us help you sort this out if that is really what you want.

Chuck

[cardell]

I abhor the cliché ‘thinking outside the Box’ (it’s SO ‘Inside the box’). But in my honest opinion the box of the Taxi mindset has gotten rather small, even as my view, perspective, and experience of the Biz has ever-expanded.

Interesting point...

I see Taxi as another avenue for my music and another means for making connections (plus nuggets of info here and there too). If this were my only means and I hung onto every submission, rising and falling with every forward or return I think I would lose the will very quickly. I admit I am a new member (and I am therefore not at all jaded) but I have been in music for nearly 10 years and particularly in the new music business you have to spread yourself far and wide for a stable level of success (whatever that may be to you). Is $200 really too much NOT to do it?

Yes, great Jamie!!!
I agree 100%!

I lingered in LA after the Rally to hook up with an old friend, a former bandmate, who’s made good out there. I won’t mention names but he’s REAL busy composing for Network and Cable, and some film. (He mentioned that he partners occasionally with one of the big ‘draws’ at the recent Rally.) He wondered aloud to me why I’m not yet his ‘competition’. We hung out for like 3 hours, and in that 3 hours I think I got another 3 DAYS’ (another Rally’s) worth of information. There’s that Personal Touch again…

OK, are you interested in sharing these findings/discoveries...Mr Wonderful?

Can someone throw in a convincing argument one way or the other?

No, becuase it sounds like you've already made up your mind.
...but, you don't necessarily need to leave this forum.

Stuart

[T&V Marino]

Hi Jordy,

So you've been a member of TAXI for 6 years and it's just not working for you?

I joined in 1993, stopped for a few years, then Vance and I re-joined in 1996. We submitted songs here and there but got nothing for YEARS.

We went to our first Road Rally in 2001. We got our first TAXI Deal in 2006. We got our first "sale" of a song in 2007 -- a grand total of $12.

Along the way, we got hundreds of returns and a few forwards and a few more TAXI Deals. But we kept going to the Road Rally and got to know several of the mentors, many of whom are now our good friends. We learned about what equipment we needed and what software is best. We learned how to network and met some amazing publishers. And after almost 17 years, we've finally had the amazing experience of hearing our music in a Disney film, "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Dr. Oz," and literally hundreds of TV shows, indie films, commercials, video games, even in an amusement park.

No one ever said it would be easy. In fact, we almost quit many, many times. Here's what we had to do: we had to change our attitude. It's easy to feel like we're not on the same time schedule or path as our peers, but we kept going and stopped being negative.

It was life changing.

Good luck, and remember: Never, ever quit. Quitters never win and winners never quit.

~ Tracey Marino

P.S. We've never had our CD played at ANY of the Rallys. We've also never had our names pulled to perform at the open mics. That's not what gets your foot in the door. It's networking, meeting the right people, improving your craft, and being positive.

[Casey H]

Hey Jordy
The way I see it is this... If you are not achieving your goals with Taxi after that many years *AND* you are not changing your approach to your music (e.g. targeting more specifically to listings), then I would NOT advise you to renew. You'd just be banging your head against the wall.

However, if you want to make a concerted effort to target your music in a much more directed fashion toward Taxi listings, then it can be $200 well spent.

My observation has been that for film/TV music, the following are among the types of tracks do best:

* Tracks that sound like fairly contemporary acts. This is usually very challenging for us older guys, especially if, as you readily admit, you don’t listen to current music.

* Retro, but sounds authentic to an era and/or an act from an era. These are "Time Period Pieces" and it doesn't matter WHAT era, the key is the track sounds like it could have been on the radio in (for example) 1974.

* World/Ethnic… Often ageless/timeless (but not always)... Tracks that sound very indigenous to a geographical location—Asian, Latin, Eastern Europe, Middle-East, etc.

* Mood pieces… Sets an obvious tone--- dark, sad, happy, energized, etc… Can be orchestral or even very simple instrumentation. One of the keys is if you use samples, they are very up to date and realistic sounding.

* Singer/Songwriter with an ageless/timeless feel. Often, a simple acoustic and vocal singing a heartfelt song is in demand.

For songs with vocals, lyrics have to be very universal—no specific names, places, etc. Even getting too specific in a storyline can be a show-stopper. (I make that mistake all the time).

There are way more opportunities for instrumentals than vocals. Watch any TV show and think about how many instrumental cues are being played in the background. Backing tracks to vocal songs, either “as is” or with some shortening, editing, cut/paste, added lead instrument, etc. can work.

Consistency within a piece (e.g. style is the same throughout) and tag-ability help a log. By “tag-ability”, I mean the more identifiable a piece is as far as genre, who it sounds like, mood, era, etc. (think database search keywords), the better.

You’ll find that Taxi listings are a pretty good representation of what music libraries, publishers, and music supervisors are looking for these days. With or without Taxi, the more you target your music to what’s in most demand today, the better your success will be.

Best of luck!
Casey

[rnrmachine]

I feel ya dude,

There are a number of ways to get music out there and Taxi is just one of them. Sadly, there are more ways to fail then succeed as we all know. As the avenues open more and more in this high paced web driven world. We should all be wondering where is the best place for us?... as individuals. Some folks have found plenty of reason to renew with Taxi and some have not. I don't want to see you give up... I HATE when people give up on anything. It really bothers me. BUT IF taxi is seeming like it's not a viable option for you anymore then perhaps you need to find another venue. IF money is a problem, I would read, read, and read some more on all the options out there. There ARE MANY!!... if money isn't that much of a determining factor then join a few places including Taxi. More chances = a better chance... lol

How many times do we see, "... needs a solo piano instrumental..." and the few times I/we get to hear the other entries (not speaking of Taxi, but another site)... I know I have felt... oh wow, 30-40% of these are without any doubt good enough. And IF I get really nit picky, there are at least 10% that could easily get the spot. Then to find, none of them got picked... That's when it becomes apparent to me that most likely, someones friend landed the gig. Who ya know... matters in ALL aspects of life. What ya know only matters AFTER you get in the door, or get that meeting, or get that RARE chance to play something for someone BIG. Ya gotta beat on doors, .. you did the rally thing, you know the deal... Also, I'd bet all I own, and I NEVER bet, that your friend is successful because he built relationships.

IF I am a music supervisor, or a publisher, or whatever and I know someone that can deliver for me... I will check other options especially if it's a high $$$ deal, because that's what smart people do... BUT they'd have to be friggin good to beat out... my friend, that I know... THIS IS the world we live in.

Wanna really feel slighted??? Find out YOUR song is a temp track to something and other people are mimicking it so THEY can try to take the deal from you... and they just might because you don't know these people that used your song as the temp track. You're just hoping they use it... OUCH, now that HURTS!!!! EDIT: AND they didn't even come to you to see if you could revise it to suit them better. They just took your song... called it a temp track and handed it over to anyone and everyone to try and one up it. /voice of Chevy Chase in Flech Lives.... ooOOOOuchHH!

So.. I guess I am saying to you... make some friends in the business, IF ya can. Because your song, is not a friend, It's a product that they may or may not want. And if it's not up to snuff. Then you have NO hope without a friend.

Good Luck in whatever ya choose!!! I will pray for you to be guided in the right direction.

Rob

[mrwonderful]

Thank you all SO much for your well-considered responses. For starters, there's 'is $200 really too much NOT to do it?' (my wife said as much over breakfast this AM). I will write more later, gonna ponder these things on my Power Walk, which happens next, then a busy day in and out of the studio. Thanks all for sharing these good points, my instinct now is to 'give it another year and give 'em hell, Harry...'

best regards...and BTW Happy 2012!

Jordy

[MatthewMoss]

Jordy,

I only read your first post, so that I would not be swayed by any others: There are Busses, Trains, Plains, Taxis and all other transits. There are certain times of the day the subway would be less than a hassle, but the Taxi is always there and has proven to be valuable.

My first year with Taxi, I thought of nothing, but TAXI and music as it correlates with TAXI listings. The first year brought growth and great new relationships. The second year I struck my first deal outside of TAXI, because of the better composer TAXI helped me become, I started deciding to use all the tools necessary along with TAXI being only one, but one very valuable one. At the end of the second year, which is now, I have gotten my first forward, landed some tunes on television through the contacts I have made and became friends with industry guys I didn't think possible a couple of years ago.

I think even if you take a break, you know it is always there again to renew, but 200 bucks isn't much money. I would wait for TAXI 2.0 and then make your decision

Hope this helps, or maybe I just sound like some young ambitious kid.

- Matt