Taxi members hate modern music. True or False?

[davewalton]

They are not in the business of giving critiques-- don't need the arguments.

Or have the time for that

[DesireInspires]

Any criticism here pales in comparison to the things that have been told to me by music libraries.

I'm surprised you got that much direct feedback from music libraries. Most of the time it's yes or no. A few will give you a bit of info as to why your tracks aren't a fit, but usually that's not the case. They are not in the business of giving critiques-- don't need the arguments.

Casey

I didn't get critiques like Taxi gives.

I was told by one library that I should "pursue other avenues..." and told by another library that "we do not think you are a good fit. Please do not submit any more music". I have also been rejected by another library that I got forwarded to by Taxi. That was awesome!

I have contacted over 100 libraries by email and have even cold called a few. It helps to actually talk to people from time to time. I have had a molehill of formal rejection and a mountain of no responses. But I never really felt like quitting. This is why I am getting songs placed. I create my own luck.

[Casey H]

Any criticism here pales in comparison to the things that have been told to me by music libraries.

I'm surprised you got that much direct feedback from music libraries. Most of the time it's yes or no. A few will give you a bit of info as to why your tracks aren't a fit, but usually that's not the case. They are not in the business of giving critiques-- don't need the arguments.

Casey

I didn't get critiques like Taxi gives.

I was told by one library that I should "pursue other avenues..." and told by another library that "we do not think you are a good fit. Please do not submit any more music". I have also been rejected by another library that I got forwarded to by Taxi. That was awesome!

I have contacted over 100 libraries by email and have even cold called a few. It helps to actually talk to people from time to time. I have had a molehill of formal rejection and a mountain of no responses. But I never really felt like quitting. This is why I am getting songs placed. I create my own luck.

So what did you do to change your approach to your music so that you went from almost all rejections to getting placements? How many months or years did that take?

Casey

[DesireInspires]

So what did you do to change your approach to your music so that you went from almost all rejections to getting placements? How many months or years did that take?

Casey

I did one thing: I kept submitting music to libraries!

I knew that my songs would get better if I kept on going. I have read posts here of people spending a lot of money, asking a lot of questions, and making a lot of assumptions. But rarely do these things turn out to bring success. Why? Because composers do not constantly make music and submit it.

I know that I sent in around 100 submissions to Taxi when I was a member. The reason I did get the forwards and the deals I got is because I kept on sending in music. I knew that a handful of submissions a year would not lead to anything. I kept that same attitude when I left Taxi. I just had to find libraries, contact them, and submit music. I figured that if I submitted music to every library, production house, and music publisher on Earth, I could get at least one song placed!

Those songs are not going to submit themselves.

[fusilierb]

So what did you do to change your approach to your music so that you went from almost all rejections to getting placements? How many months or years did that take?

Casey

I did one thing: I kept submitting music to libraries!

I knew that my songs would get better if I kept on going. I have read posts here of people spending a lot of money, asking a lot of questions, and making a lot of assumptions. But rarely do these things turn out to bring success. Why? Because composers do not constantly make music and submit it.

I know that I sent in around 100 submissions to Taxi when I was a member. The reason I did get the forwards and the deals I got is because I kept on sending in music. I knew that a handful of submissions a year would not lead to anything. I kept that same attitude when I left Taxi. I just had to find libraries, contact them, and submit music. I figured that if I submitted music to every library, production house, and music publisher on Earth, I could get at least one song placed!

Those songs are not going to submit themselves.

Wow, 100 songs submitted through Taxi at 5 bucks a pop plus the 199 fee? 700 bucks in a year just to try to get a song in a library? You're tenacious, I'll grant you that.

[DesireInspires]

So what did you do to change your approach to your music so that you went from almost all rejections to getting placements? How many months or years did that take?

Casey

I did one thing: I kept submitting music to libraries!

I knew that my songs would get better if I kept on going. I have read posts here of people spending a lot of money, asking a lot of questions, and making a lot of assumptions. But rarely do these things turn out to bring success. Why? Because composers do not constantly make music and submit it.

I know that I sent in around 100 submissions to Taxi when I was a member. The reason I did get the forwards and the deals I got is because I kept on sending in music. I knew that a handful of submissions a year would not lead to anything. I kept that same attitude when I left Taxi. I just had to find libraries, contact them, and submit music. I figured that if I submitted music to every library, production house, and music publisher on Earth, I could get at least one song placed!

Those songs are not going to submit themselves.

Wow, 100 songs submitted through Taxi at 5 bucks a pop plus the 199 fee? 700 bucks in a year just to try to get a song in a library? You're tenacious, I'll grant you that.

It was over a two year period.

So I spent $300 for the first year's membership and $200 to renew the second year. Then I spent an extra $500 bucks on the 100 submissions. A thousand dollars is not a lot of money, but it was enough to wet my appetite and keep me going. I can't even count how many blank CDs, bubble mailers, markers, and stamps I went through. It was not a bad experience though.

Before I quit, I got an email from Taxi stating "will you be more successful without Taxi?". I had no idea. But I knew that I had to try. Taxi showed me the ropes and gave me the basics. I wasn't even registered with a PRO before I joined. Getting that first forward put me in contact with a music library. That deal required me to join a PRO. Despite not making any money from the deal that I got, I could never even bring myself to bash Taxi. I knew that it was up to me to succeed at that point.

Desire truly does inspire.

[rpittelman]

So what did you do to change your approach to your music so that you went from almost all rejections to getting placements? How many months or years did that take?

Casey

I did one thing: I kept submitting music to libraries!

I knew that my songs would get better if I kept on going. I have read posts here of people spending a lot of money, asking a lot of questions, and making a lot of assumptions. But rarely do these things turn out to bring success. Why? Because composers do not constantly make music and submit it.

I know that I sent in around 100 submissions to Taxi when I was a member. The reason I did get the forwards and the deals I got is because I kept on sending in music. I knew that a handful of submissions a year would not lead to anything. I kept that same attitude when I left Taxi. I just had to find libraries, contact them, and submit music. I figured that if I submitted music to every library, production house, and music publisher on Earth, I could get at least one song placed!

Those songs are not going to submit themselves.

I think I'm reading one of those "a lot of assumption" posts right now. What make you think that other composers and/or Taxi members don't write and submit a lot of music? Taxi is certainly not the end all be all to getting music placed but there are some tremendous opportunities that Taxi provides. Yes, having many submissions can be good but forwards happen because the music was right and it was good enough. You could submit 10,000 tracks and never get a forward. I'm not really sure why you keep making these wide generalizations about Taxi members and composers. There are a lot of us around here that spend a lot of time writing music. Better yet, there are a lot of us around here who even make money from it too

[DesireInspires]

I think I'm reading one of those "a lot of assumption" posts right now. What make you think that other composers and/or Taxi members don't write and submit a lot of music? Taxi is certainly not the end all be all to getting music placed but there are some tremendous opportunities that Taxi provides. Yes, having many submissions can be good but forwards happen because the music was right and it was good enough. You could submit 10,000 tracks and never get a forward. I'm not really sure why you keep making these wide generalizations about Taxi members and composers. There are a lot of us around here that spend a lot of time writing music. Better yet, there are a lot of us around here who even make money from it too

I am not necessarily making assumptions about Taxi members or other composers. What I am posting is based on what I have seen composers post on the internet. I do not have to make things up. There are enough people telling their own stories for me to not invent things and make stereotypes. I have read enough rants on this site and other sites to know that some gifted composers lose by not producing enough music and taking enough chances.

Also, I have stated here before that I prefer quantity over quality. I know that quality will come after I get all of my ideas out. I like to make a glut of songs until I get writer's block. Once that happens, I go back and analyze songs by listening to them over and over and over and over again. I can tell which ones are great, which ones need work, and which ones are scrap.

Please do not catch feelings over my comments. Do what works for you. I had absolutely no guidance or role model to follow. I went with what made the most sense to me. I put my head before my heart. That is what has brought me the success that I have so far. Will I become even greater? Only time will tell.

[fusilierb]

This thread has gone from annoying, to funny, back to annoying to interesting. It's got it all!

You said:
Also, I have stated here before that I prefer quantity over quality. I know that quality will come after I get all of my ideas out.

I don't think I've ever heard a musician say that before. I'll grant you that this is a numbers game, but I've seen the bar for music go sky high over the past few years with libraries. They are getting pickier and pickier about quality. That might be why you were (still are?) having problems getting music into some of them. You do what you want, but I'd consider slowing down and focusing on quality and then work on getting fast at pulling that off. It's hard to do quality quickly and it takes focus and study. You have to know your gear inside and out and should spend a lot of time listening and even studying not only music you like, but music in general.

I think a few hundred tunes that can't even get placed into a library is a lot less important to a career than say 20 super kick ass ones. You might even find that you won't have to blanket every library on earth to get music in them when you approach them with a few really great sounding pieces. They will probably ask you for more in fact and not say things like you should "pursue other avenues..." (sorry, I couldn't resist. That was pretty funny)

Just a thought.

[Casey H]

DI
You came on here STATING that no one can make a living writing library music but your own approach is a total recipe for failure. When many libraries turned you down, instead of upping your game (your word, as in "in the game") with better music, you just sought out more and more libraries. Yes, there will always be the low end of libraries who will sign anything. Some of them market the same way you do-- just throw lots of stuff against the wall and see what sticks. Or slap up a website...

I'm curious... How many placements have you had? What cable shows? Which tracks? Most of us here make that info readily available with links to our websites and bios.

Casey