Good ratio so far...

[slinky]

Hi all,New kid on the block. Have been a member since June '06 and have had 4 out of 4 forwards. Now the wait begins....I'm wondering if I am a big minority in the way that I use Taxi:I have been scoring tv shows for the last 10 years (5 yrs full time)and what I do is sound like whatever is requested. If the client wants a Michael Jackson sound I give it to him (instrumentally anyway) etc. All of the listings that I submit to are scored specifically for that listing. Anyone else do this.If anyone is curious please link to my Broadjam page. (The video stuff is from the series that I have worked on)http://www.broadjam.com/stevewener

[davewalton]

Quote:Hi all,New kid on the block. Have been a member since June '06 and have had 4 out of 4 forwards. Now the wait begins....I'm wondering if I am a big minority in the way that I use Taxi:I have been scoring tv shows for the last 10 years (5 yrs full time)and what I do is sound like whatever is requested. If the client wants a Michael Jackson sound I give it to him (instrumentally anyway) etc. All of the listings that I submit to are scored specifically for that listing. Anyone else do this.If anyone is curious please link to my Broadjam page. (The video stuff is from the series that I have worked on)http://www.broadjam.com/stevewenerHi Steve,When you've giving it to them Michael Jackson style, I'm glad you clarified that you're speaking in an instrumental sense. First, I LOVE the work you're doing. The music for the animation stuff is great. I hope you continue to hang around and share some of your experience and music.Off the subject a little, a Taxi friend got me going on a little game that he calls "The Dispatch Challenge". You win the dispatch challenge if you do a song from the ground up on a dispatch listing, submit it on time and it gets forwarded. Anyway, I do think it's easier to target music to the listing rather than finding listings which fit pre-existing music. I've had good luck both ways though, so you never know but my preference is to do something new specifically for the listing. I do better when I have a purpose or a real reason to write. It helps me focus. Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum!Dave

[spariam]

Hi Steve,Broadjam is having a few hiccups today, but what I've heard so far is really, really good. Welcome to Taxi and the boards.As far as targeting music to submissions - some of my existing music is very niche oriented (I've got about 20 trad/new age/fusion celtic tracks from a cd I never finished), so when there are listings for that, I'll submit existing music (and I've got about a 100% forward ratio in that case). Otherwise, I now tend to write new music (in several instrumental styles) targeted for specific listings.--doug

[slinky]

Dave,Thanks for the kind words. I've been checking out this forum lately and it looks like you're doing quite well yourself. A pat on the back from your peers is always appreciated. I actually gave myself the "Dispatch challenge" this weekend and got forwarded(the "No way in" cue).Question for you: When you DO get forwarded and find out the name of the company, have you ever contacted them before hearing from them to find out if they have any other musical needs?

[matto]

Quote:Question for you: When you DO get forwarded and find out the name of the company, have you ever contacted them before hearing from them to find out if they have any other musical needs? Hi Steve, I would advise against this, let them make the first move. These companies will review the Taxi submissions in their own sweet time (and that can mean a LONG time) and don't like to be rushed by somebody inquiring about anything before they've had a chance to listen to and evaluate your submission.As far as writing music for a specific listing, yes I've done that a lot. A little less recently since I've been quite busy, but I still do it whenever I have the time. Obviously, the more "on target" your music is, the more likely it is that it's gonna be forwarded, so you improve your chances by writing something that fits the listing perfectly.Congrats on all your success and good luck with your submissions!matto

[davewalton]

Quote:Question for you: When you DO get forwarded and find out the name of the company, have you ever contacted them before hearing from them to find out if they have any other musical needs? Specifically you're asking about checking in for OTHER musical needs, outside and apart from the Taxi listing. That's a good question and yes I have after a reasonable amount of time has gone by. Just to clarify, I don't ever contact any company asking about any music I've ever sent or that has been forwarded or whatever, but I do contact various places from time to time to ask about sending new music. It's just a contact name like any contact name I'd find through Google or whatever and I'm just asking them about submitting music just like I'd ask any company. The fact that I might have asked at some point in the past, regardless of the outcome, or how I found their name doesn't really matter and it's never come up or been an issue in a any way, shape or form. For example, there's a particular music library that I've been contacting from time to time. They're a high-end library and place music into all kinds of venues, places that make my tongue hang out. So far nothing has come of this but I make contact about every six months and they invite me to continue checking in, sometimes asking for music, sometimes not. It's partially about what you do, but mostly about how you do it. Traveling Ed once used the phase "gently pushing yourself forward". That's the best description I've heard yet of what I try to do. Those songwriters always seem to have a way with words. Dave

[slinky]

Matto,My question may be general knowledge around here but since I'm a newbie.....I find your posts very informative and insightful.What is your background? Do you compose for a living?

[matto]

Steve,thank you for your kind words about my posts... , yeah, I guess it's kinda common knowledge around here, I do compose/write songs for a living, mostly for music libraries. As a result I have had music in lots of TV shows, anything from "Dateline" or "Good Morning America" over "One Life To Live" to "Las Vegas" or "Law & Order SVU", even "American Idol", just to name a few. A couple major movies too, including "Mr And Mrs Smith" last year. Recently I started doing a lot of work for the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and I now have several placements a week on that, usually.That's the short story... matto

[nomiyah]

Matt's one of the forum superstars! I'm a huge fan!

[slinky]

Matto, I was going to try and say something witty but the smiley says it all. I am embarking on the "Making new connections" journey. Where did you start that you made it to the level that you are at? I have found out that getting work is luck as much as talent. I'm finding many producers will be very dubious about going outside their click. Any advice? My guess is that Taxi is a small part of your overall gig-base.