confused

[ronnie35]

Hey Everyone

I don't understand the whole library thing how do u get your songs in one? Not sure where to begin .Do they come from forwards?
I know it sounds stupid but I am really instersted in film and tv placements .I have been reading many taxi members success stories I believe thats the way to learn.

Ron

[PeterD]

Hey Ronnie!

This is all new to me, but I'll share whats happened.

I've had many forwards. Nearly all have gone no where, until recently. From what I can tell, a forward is sent to the client requesting the music from taxi. Just because it's sent to them, it doesn't mean they'll use it. They're also getting music from other sources. However, one day they just might call on you. About a month ago I had a forward go to a library and the library manager actually contacted me before I even received the taxi congrats email. I was offered a deal, accepted it, and now I await further detail/instruction. In the meantime, do a search on libraries and if you think your music is good enough, by all means, introduce yourself.

Good luck!!!

[ronnie35]

Thanks so much for the help I guess like anything its aprocess of doing as you go along this songwriting journey.
Ron

[PeterD]

Yeh, being a member definitely is a learning experience. I thought I knew it all as I was signing up. 4 years later, I began to unlearn bad habits, pay attention, and here we are. these forums are a great source for getting questions answered.

[BruceBrown]

Hey Ron,
Yes library deals can come from forwards. My first deal with a library came after Taxi ran a listing for Hawaiian music. I wrote and submitted 2 tracks for the listing.
They were forward. A few months later I received an email from the library saying they wanted to sign the songs.
Once you have your foot in the door you can submit directly to the library.
Hope this helps.
Bruce

[PeterD]

Bruce?

Can I send material directly to the library which Taxi forwarded my songs, even if those songs were never signed?

Thanks,

[coachdebra]

Having a song forwarded is basically an introduction to a library. If they are interested. They'll contact you. It is definitely NOT OK to contact them before they contact you. But once they've contacted you and you've created a relationship with them (via a signed contract), then you can contact them and offer additional songs for their listings, or ask what they need and submit songs to fulfill their needs.

At least that's my understanding of the etiquette of working with TAXI. You can cold contact libraries and music supervisors. But in my experience, that often doesn't lead much of anywhere, as you are one in literally thousands. But when you are forwarded from TAXI, you are usually a small highly focused, high quality submissions and are much more likely to be heard.

[coachdebra]

Having a song forwarded is basically an introduction to a library. If they are interested. They'll contact you. It is definitely NOT OK to contact them before they contact you. But once they've contacted you and you've created a relationship with them (via a signed contract), then you can contact them and offer additional songs for their listings, or ask what they need and submit songs to fulfill their needs.

At least that's my understanding of the etiquette of working with TAXI. You can cold contact libraries and music supervisors. But in my experience, that often doesn't lead much of anywhere, as you are one in literally thousands. But when you are forwarded from TAXI, you are usually one in a small, highly focused, high quality group of submissions and are much more likely to be heard.

[BruceBrown]

Peter,
I agree with Coachdebra and do not think you should contact library. Wait for them to reach out to you.
They will if they want your tune.
Bruce

[suzdoyle]

What Deb said is right on. If a library likes your work and wants to see more, they will ask you. If you try to contact them on your own, it comes across as insecure and unprofessional.

In addition to getting Taxi forwards and placements over the years with numerous libraries, I saw the publisher side of things when I ran a Taxi listing for a Children's Spanish Karaoke APP project a couple years back. After receiving the forwarded submissions from Taxi, a couple of the people who were forwarded to me contacted me on their own accord -- and, frankly, even though they were nice people, it felt a tad pushy and demanding of my time (publishers tend to be very busy folks). The project didn't pan out, but I learned a lot about the what it's like to be on the receiving end of Taxi forwards.

My advice is: Hone your craft, submit your materials and don't be attached to the outcome, and don't be someone who tries to be pushy with a potential publisher. It will more often than not turn them off to considering you. (I'm a nice person, but pushiness is a real turn-off when it comes to whether or not I'm willing to have a working relationship with someone.). If your work is good, it will speak for itself, and will not require a hard sell.

Just my two cents. !!
(And in the vein of this topic, I'll sign off with the song: "Spam spam spam spam, spam spam, spam . . . "
Suz