What to bring to the 2012 Rally

[SoundCzech22]

Might be getting a little ahead of myself, but I'll be a first-timer at the 2012 Rally, and I want to make the most of it.

My goal for this year is to compile a big enough, versatile enough (or not), etc. enough body of music to bring to the Rally. I'd be grateful for experienced advice as to how much is enough, should there be more than one genre, and anything else I'm omitting here.

Thanks in advance.
DH.

[rpittelman]

What do you mean by "big enough body of music"? Do you mean like number of CD's or number of different tracks?

What sort of thing do you do? Are you a songwriter, a composer, a performer, etc?

[SoundCzech22]

Hey Robbie, thanks for the questions- I'll be attending as a songwriter and I guess my question is regarding number of songs, and does covering multiple genres help. Not specifically targeting TV/Movies/etc., or record companies/producers/etc, just looking to break in somewhere. I'm currently using Taxi listings to build my catalog, though not necessarily making too many submissions. Thus the focus on the upcoming rally.

Thanks.
D.

[rpittelman]

In my opinion the rally isn't really a place where you are going to necessarily be submitting lots of music. Yes everyone brings CDs and yes everyone gives them to the indstry folks who are there however, you do need to realize that these people end up leaving with 100's of CDs. Having a ton of stuff on your CD won't increase your chances of "breaking in" as you put it.

You should put together a CD of your best stuff. Whether its all the same genre or different genres doesn't mater. If an industry person listens to your CD and there are 2 songs on it but they are each outstanding then you stand a chance of them contacting you if its what they are looking for. If you have a CD with 20 tracks on it and 18 are decent or ok they may never find to 2 that are great.

Also, and I think this is really important, if you are writing towards listings then why not submit? The process of writing for Taxi's listings, submitting and getting forwarded or getting the screener's feedback is one of the most usefull benefits of being a Taxi member. (Also using this forum is too). The whole idea of Taxi is to help us "break in" somewhere. The advantage of submitting to the listings versus handing some one a CD at the rally is that the listing tells you exactly what they need right now. Timing is everything sometimes. Sure people have gotten deals through some one they met at the rally but I'm sure that way more deals have happened through Taxi's listings.

Don't get me wrong, the rally is great and also a huge benefit for being a Taxi member I will be attending my 3rd rally this year. I've had tons of forwards through Taxi and have gotten 3 deals. All my deals came from listing forwards. Sure I will be bringing CD's with me but I don't expect to make any deals from it but you never know.

Okay, I think I've rambled on long enough here. I hope some of this helps.

Robbie

[SoundCzech22]

Day job and deadlines... been picking up some of the "hot listings" working on improving timing, etc. Good source for material to create, just not fast enough and don't have much already done to submit. Tons of pieces of things, some things are done, but need reworking per Taxi feedback, etc. Probably over-thinking much of it. I'll certainly be submitting more songs as the year goes on. Really looking to the rally to get in front of people with questions, like at the "mentor" sessions, etc., and to see what other people are doing.

Thanks for the tips!
D.

[mazz]

From your description of your situation, IMO the rally will be more about learning and networking. Better to have a couple of really strong songs on a cd than a collection of not ready for prime time stuff. IMO for your first rally or so its better to have a stack of cool (not cheap looking) business cards, an open mind and a great attitude than a marginal cd. Shoving a cd at an industry person without an intro or connection is rarely fruitful, at least in my experience. But a personal connection that inspires them to ask for your card and a link to your music or a cd is way more valuable.

Hang in there, be patient and come to the rally rally ready to learn

Mazz

[Casey H]

There are some old threads on the forum about what to (physically) bring. I'll look up those links and post later. Keep in mind that a lot of that is "Boy Scout Preparation" stuff-- and you don't really need a lot of it.

Having attended now for 5 years, I have to say that (1) learning and (2) relationship building with peers and industry folks are what it's really all about. And personally, I think networking with peers is just about the most important part. I owe whatever successes I've had in recent years to getting to know Taxi collaborators, demo producers, and life long friends.

It's important not to go with the idea of quickly "being discovered". Think of everything as part of the longer term plan. Tips and tricks, future collaborators, answers to questions, motivation, excitement, goal setting, etc... And, there is a lot of just plain FUN!

Looking forward to meeting you in November...

Casey

[jazzstan]

The other, and probably more important question to ask is: "What are you going to bring back from the Rally?"

So let's change the first question to "If you can only bring 2 things to the Rally...what would they be?"

Pencil & paper!! There will tons information, ideas, suggestions, inspirations, technical stuff. Write down the names of everyone you meet. Make note of what the panelist say that resonates with you, so that just in case you ~do~ meet them in the elevator you can thank them specifically. (I think Mazz suggested this in a post a couple of years ago). And be sure to connect up with other forum folks.

[SoundCzech22]

Mazz, Casey, Stan- all great advice. I guess when I initially spoke of "breaking in," I wasn't being accurate. Info, connections, etc. are indeed the key things I'll be looking for. Stan, I'm honestly primarily going to get ONE thing out of the rally; professional opinions on whether I should continue "pursuing the dream." I ain't exactly a spring chicken but don't want to reach a point in life where I look back and wonder "what if..."

Thank you all! Casey, I look forward to your links.
D.

[Casey H]

Mazz, Casey, Stan- all great advice. I guess when I initially spoke of "breaking in," I wasn't being accurate. Info, connections, etc. are indeed the key things I'll be looking for. Stan, I'm honestly primarily going to get ONE thing out of the rally; professional opinions on whether I should continue "pursuing the dream." I ain't exactly a spring chicken but don't want to reach a point in life where I look back and wonder "what if..."

Thank you all! Casey, I look forward to your links.
D.

Hi
If you mean your primary goal is to have professionals listen specifically to your tracks and give you feedback, there might be some of that but it's far from the main focus. You could attend a rally and, other than at your 15 minute mentor meeting, not have any industry pros hear your tracks. For that SPECIFIC goal, I'd use Taxi submission feedback, custom critiques, and the P2P forum here.

As I mentioned, the rally focus is much more learning (attending classes) and networking & relationship building with peers (I can't understate the importance of that enough!) and sometimes pros. You might get lucky and talk to a pro in the elevator or at the bar. You might not.

The rally is an amazing experience! I recommend it to everyone... Just want to keep expectations in the right place.

Looking forward to meeting you,
Casey