yrrepy responds

[yrrepy]

I will choose my words very carefully. I apologize for the harsh statements I made in my first posts. They were made in a heated moment of frustration. I apologize to you, Michael. My intent was not to discredit Taxi, and I apologize for airing my frustration in a public forum. You DO provide a unique service and it may be the only way some of us can get our songs heard by the industry.I never said the "two bit" publisher was not credible. I never said he was not legit. It was a poor choice of words, again said in frustration. I am sure, Michael, you work hard to insure that the listings you provide are from people who CAN make a difference in a member's life. Again, I apologize if it came off like they are not. The reason I "passed" on the publisher's offer is that I felt he couldn't do anything for me. First, there was some haggling over the contract, and we didn't see eye to eye on a few issues. He wanted to tie the song up for a considerable amount of time, and just through my dealings with him, I had a "gut feeling" that he may not be able to "get in to the doors" that he claimed he could. Could he really get my song to key industry people better than Taxi? I felt he was riding on his past successes, and I wasn't confident in his ability to get my song cut. I may have missed out on an opportunity, but I had to go with my gut feelings. While this was going on, my co-writer on this song signed a staff writing deal with a major publisher in Nashville, so it was actually quite easy to walk away from this publisher, knowing my stuff would be pitched to artists and record labels by my co-writer's publisher.Since then, this particular song was forwarded by Taxi to Universal South, Warner Bros., and to Curb Records, twice!! If I ever get a call from "the big boys," I'm glad I still have my publishing on this song as a bargaining chip. It would be a crying shame if a small publisher would reap the rewards after doing nothing to get the cut. When a songwriter finally "hits," it's amazing how many publishers come forward claiming to have rights to their songs when they did nothing to further their career.In a way, Taxi is acting as my "publisher," getting my songs to the major labels, so I feel I don't need a small/indie publisher right now, especially now that my co-writer's publisher will be actively working our catalog.Now, about my frustration with Taxi. Michael, I will be willing to pay you double, maybe even triple, what I pay you now for my Taxi membership if I knew that with each forward I got, I would be able to open up some kind of dialogue with the person receiving my song. I know you say you can't do that because a few "bad apples" ruined it for everybody in the past, and logistically, these A&R people don't have the time. But, if there was a way that could happen, I could follow up on my forwards on my end, and I wouldn't feel the frustration I'm feeling now. Something to think about.Again, I apologize for being such a jerk. I'm sorry I didn't call you. I didn't see your post until Wednesday, and quite frankly, I tend to get a little tongue-tied on the phone when talking to important industry people, so again, I apologize. You ARE doing a great thing, and Taxi IS a great company. And Michael, If I ever win "Song Of The Year" for a song I got placed through Taxi, I WILL thank you in my acceptance speech. Have a good day.yrrepy

[ragani]

Dear yrrepy,I'm so glad you replied. That took some real guts. Yes, you were surely over-the-top on the complaint-meter in your first post, but sometimes we all feel disgruntled about progress in life. Who can't relate to that? I don't know many people who are able to come back after such an emotional run on the first post-- most disappear into the ethers. But you came back. And to top it off, you got a great reply from Michael (though you may not have seen it until later), who so generously offered to speak to you personally. And it was just what you said you wanted here too-- to open up a dialogue. Yes, words do have an impact on people, and there are real people behind these boards, behind the posts, behind TAXI. Sometimes it feels safer as an anonymous post, but still it has an impact. So I hope you might find a way to feel the warmth and commeraderie that these boards really do have to offer. People here are so generous with their expertise and time. And their replies often do reflect what we put into them. So I'm glad you've offered your new post here. I'm betting it will more gently open a few more doors than the first one did! Raags

[hummingbird]

Hi yrrepy, thanks so much for coming back!! I appreciate everything you've said, and I hope that you will hang out here with us. We all feel the same ups and downs as you, but this is a great place to get feedback, give & get advice, celebrate the good, commiserate over the not-that-great, and share the journey with other music-loving souls.You are now officially a "dot",warmlyHummin'bird PS - if it feels okay to you... maybe you could edit your first post.

[mazz]

yrrepy,Thanks for coming back with such a well considered, well written post. We can all relate to frustration with the music business and some of us have sent out e-mails when the emotions were high that we wish we hadn't later (sheepishly raising my hand......)I think you're doing the right thing by using TAXI as one of your avenues in to the business, but not your only one. If you have the time to generate connections and relationships on your own as well, you're only helping yourself move along possibly a little more quickly.One thing that is often mentioned here is the dictum "write, submit, repeat". It's a good motto because it takes the mind off of waiting for the phone to ring and on the thing that matters most, namely, writing better and better material to submit for the next listing.When you get a chance, post links to some of your material. I'd be willing to bet there's a number of folks here that would like to hear what you've been working on. This is a supportive group.Welcome,Mazz

[jchitty]

Really good post and apology, yrrepy. You've gotten pretty far with TAXI if you've gotten fowarded to those types of publishers. Man, Curb Records, Universal South and Warner Chappell? That's a BIG deal to me. This is the kind of stuff I want to hear since I'm pitching to the highbar Nashville listings. It gives me hope.

[tedsingingfox]

Yrrepy!!!VERY glad to see you here on the boards again. Believe you, me...I am well acquainted with frustration. And I can't TELL you how many times (when I was cocky and young) that my words ruined opportunities and destroyed potential friendships. So many people are unwilling to meet in the middle or take responsibility for their words and actions. And you have proven that you are a man still working and learning (and struggling) to become everything you want to be. That takes huevos. Your smart, thoughtful, mature words are all the proof I need to know you belong here and have plenty to contribute.Welcome back. Don't be shy.Ted

[anne]

Hey Yreppy - glad to read your post. I'd love to hear your material as it sounds like you are well advanced in your song writing career - I try to listen to all of you "old timers" as much as I can regardless of genre so I can keep inspired and keep learning. Congrats on the progress with your co-writer and his publisher!