34 out of 34 returned so far !

[jchitty]

Aug 5, 2008, 10:35am, hurowitz wrote:Aug 5, 2008, 7:35am, jchitty wrote: Being a country songwriter is the hardest thing on the planet. Nah... Explaining to your wife why she has to take an antibiotic for YOUR urinary infection... Now THAT's the hardest thing on the planet!! **bad joke** Sorry, couldn't resist... Please don't shoot me... CaseyEr, I don't know if I should go there.... BTW, I agree with Dave about the apples and oranges aspect of the foward ratio for country listings and film/tv listings, although I'm glad Dave said it first. I don't want to sound like I'm dismissing anyone who gets a film/tv (library, whatever) foward....you have to be an excellent musician and have a great piece of work to get those fowards too.But the Nashville country highbar is much harder to jump over because there are only so many country artists to pitch to, and most of them either write their stuff or have their own writers. So your stuff has to be a million cuts above to even be considered. I think there are high standards for film and tv as well, but you have many more opportunities and thus, I think the chances of getting a foward or a deal are better.One forum member always says that if you only get one or two fowards a year, then you should consider not using TAXI anymore. I think that's a one size fits all approach, and it might not apply to country songwriters in particular.If your songs are continually scoring good marks for the country listings and you get only one or two fowards a year, you still might have something to work with. (provided that country listings are all you pitch too) It does mean you have the chops to write something that passed the country high bar even if you only get a foward every now and then. And if you ever do get a Nashville cut, it's worth all those years that you suffered for your art, hehe.

[davewalton]

Aug 5, 2008, 1:12pm, claire wrote:well at the risk of inflaming the inflamed again...I'm more infirmed than inflamed... More extinguished than distinguished. Is there a potential song in there somewhere???

[davewalton]

Aug 5, 2008, 4:12pm, claire wrote:LOL! If there is a song in there, make sure it's not a country song!And of course, wouldn't you know, I checked my submission history and just got a forward to Universal South...And in the end, Dave and Claire kissed and made up (in kind of a virtual, forum sense). Claire went on to write hit songs for Universal South... and the "Listen To Dave" t-shirt sales went through the roof! Allow me to be the first to congratulate you on that spiffy (and not easy to get) forward!

[claire]

and they lived happily ever after...thank you

[davewalton]

Aug 5, 2008, 6:03pm, claire wrote:and by the way - this thread has been viewed over 1500 times. maybe we should consider starting our own virtual stand up comedy routine.c

[Casey H]

I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been already said. The odds of landing a deal in Nashville, from what I hear, are so tough that it's very hard to say what vehicle works better than another.Claire- it sounds like you are doing the right things. I think people who are drop-dead serious about making it in country music have to move to Nashville, live it, eat it, and breathe it every day. That's not a criticism of those who don't or simply can't make that move. Real life forces our hand regarding choices- complete empathy... Reality is, few have truly succeeded without being there for many years. I assume you are doing things like gigging in the local clubs, making contacts, networking via songwriting groups, looking for co-writers who have contacts, approaching publishers where you can, etc. Taxi can never replace that but it can supplement it if you can keep it in your budget. Not saying you should or shouldn't stay in it... We have to carefully plan every dollar in this crazy biz... If Taxi introduces you to only one good publisher, that contact could be vital... So, it's hard to say...The reason you see tons of film/TV successes and few Nashville placements in Taxi's success stories is their ratios are indicative of the industry and the opps for new folks. Many of us will make some money in film/TV and never get a song cut by an artist whether we work through Taxi or other means.You got tons of talent.... Hang in there and best of luck!! Casey