Can TAXI still Work for Me ?

[HectorRContreras]

I understand your quandary dear Jaredlutes.

Yes, do many researches on line, in order to find another Niche.

Also, I feel that you may want to work toward meeting a person or persons who would be more than willing to associate with you and work with you. Persons that have already a substantial ground in Music creation, with the means, the resources, the ideas, etc ...

Well, like in the good old days, when by chance an Artist would get recognized, and would be introduced in the "Metier", etc.

So, therefore, not so much the Music Industry, but ... simply the Music. The Art of Music.

Because with you it is Quality more than Quantity.

[LittleRedChurch]

Rdance...this is why I love you.

Exactly right. Goes so counter to that little lust machine that exists in us all. Going for 'gold'. I've met enough 'successful' people, in the sense of monetary success, to know a false god when I see one. I love how you expanded on it...Dead on, o wise one.. i'd also say, music provides us with the moment. The moment of complete and utter involvement. Swimming in something rich and wonderful. Moving. Emotive. I've never experienced that with $... Not even close... If you want to go in a direction, heed Master Dance, Jared - get to know who you are as a writer. Your style. (I'm a bit of a hypocrite in that regard, but the principle is still sound!!) lol

Listen to Master Dance, Jared!!

LRC

[admin]

I wrote my header that will go out with the Industry Listings on 2.1.14 this morning. After reading this thread, I decided to post the header here a day early because it seems somehow apropos. Leave it to me to break it all down to making money with your music.

Jared, I've read your thread, and I've listened to a bunch of your music and watched your rockethub video. Trying to be an artist who is also getting lots of placements is though. Creating art with vocals is harder, more time consuming, and a much harder sell because there are more things in your songs that might not work for a scene in a TV show or film -- lyrics might not work for the emotion, melody might not support the emotion well either, and the singer's voice might not appeal to the end user.

Trying to create art that enough of the public will buy is a tough way to earn a sustainable living. My best of both worlds solution follows. I hope it helps.

Michael

An Easier Way to
Make Money With Your Music…

Dear Passengers,

If you’ve ever thought, “The music industry doesn’t need the kind of music I make,” keep reading!

It’s frustrating to love writing and recording music when there’s not much demand for what you do. Hoping that the market will change and demand will increase for the style you’re most comfortable with is a strategy that requires a lot of patience. It’s also a strategy that doesn’t pay off very often. I didn’t say “never,” but in most cases, it’s a long and fruitless path to earning income with your music.

It’s also disheartening to see friends succeeding all around you, while patiently waiting for the industry to “come around” to what you do. You’ll probably be waiting for a long, long time.

The solution?

Find a different way to skin the cat. Is there a style or genre you could also do that’s more in demand? Could you do two-minute instrumental cues for Film and TV placements? If you did that, would you have to stop doing the style you love to do?

Of course not! And taking the “easier,” more productive, more in-demand route could help create income to support your “habit.” Would you rather have a day job making music or doing something you hate? Go ahead, say it out loud: “I’d rather make music as my day gig!” Amen to that!

So, where do you start? Take the path of least resistance: Find the intersection of giving the industry what it needs, and what you’re capable of doing right now. Yes, now, as in today!

For the sake of argument, let’s say that you write Country songs. Let’s also assume that you play acoustic guitar. You might even play a little mandolin, maybe even a banjo or Dobro with a slide. Even if you don’t play anything other than acoustic guitar, don’t stop reading, and don’t look for excuses why this won’t work for you!

When you write a Country song, you need to write the song in typical Country song form, you need to craft an incredibly good lyric that will beat the best on Music Row, you need to do an incredibly good job singing the vocal, and so forth. It’s a high bar to get over!

Writing lyrics and singing vocals is hard, and it’s very time consuming.

Now watch this scene from Gator Boys and pay special attention to the background music in the early part of the video (before the guy gets his head munched by an alligator): http://bit.ly/MAybfI

No lyrics, no vocal… just an acoustic guitar, an upright bass (could be a virtual one, I can’t tell), some sort of rhythm instrument (maybe a kick drum or a cajon), a couple of banjo overdubs, and I think I hear a mandolin and maybe a Dobro in there.

But the point is, there’s no Grammy-winning lyric or vocal anywhere to be found. And not much of a lead melody either! It’s fairly simple, and much less time consuming to write and record.

Obviously, that’s just one example. Some styles of music require fuller productions, but I also hear a lot of music on TV shows that’s very stripped-down. Sometimes, nothing more than just two acoustic guitars.

The point is, if you’re not making headway quickly enough with what you’re doing now, there could be a simpler, easier way to make money with your music. And doing it doesn’t mean you need to stop what you’ve been doing!

And here’s a thought: When you record a simple instrumental track, why not use the same instruments and settings to do another track or two that have different chord changes and different moods. Easy, breezy, quick, and productive!

Speaking of productive, check out this latest batch of fresh, new TAXI Industry Listings – more than 60 great opportunities for the taking!

Talk to you soon,
Michael

[davekershaw]

That's just the avenue I'd been looking at taking!
Keep writing and producing the songs I like - which take ages, may not find a home, but it's what I love - but also look at simple instrumentals, that might get placements. Maybe also replace the vocals on those songs with an instrument. The backing track's already there, so I've then got two versions.
I feel I now have the production skills to get the required quality, and have been waiting until I'd built up a decent catalogue before re-joining Taxi. I first joined in 2007, but realised my tracks just weren't up to standard broadcast-wise. I've taken quite some time honing my skills, with the help of forum members, and other friends, and now reckon I'm almost there.
Keeping the same instruments and settings to create further tracks does seem an efficient system.

I'm still hangin' in there!

[jaredlutes]

Thanks guys, And thanks, Michael. It is very heartening to know that the boss is paying attention, and speaking to individual members.

You're right; I am a singer and a writer with a style and a sound - and I know that it is very hard to nail each and all of those elements today in a fast-moving market.

But it is what it is. I write a lot of songs, record a few, and release even less. I am within the singer-songwriter genre, and I am committed to being authentic and genuine. I always thought that those were advantages, since the listings I apply for usually ask for "authentic-genuine-heartfelt-artist-with-a-real-band-songs". I doubt that Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Bruce Springsteen produce several versions of their tunes - with varying melodies, tempos, lyrics, arrangements, and keys - for different usages on trendy TV shows. They write in accordance to who they are and what they feel, and it's part of their mythos, and it's why their music endures. That's where I'm headed. Others here have that versatile talent to churn out clever instrumental stuff and contemporary soundalikes all day long, but I write and sing about what I care about - whatever strikes me at that moment. Sometimes a lot of people connect; often the song becomes simply a personal pleasure of mine.

I know that that model is flawed when it comes to earning consistent income through media placements; most of my songs won't connect with a mass audience. But I'm not looking for "a ton of placements" - I'm hoping for one or two, here and there - just to supplement my razor-thin budget. More importantly, as an artist I'm seeking that wider exposure through such a key placement as launched the career of Ray Lamontagne, for example. I know that this is a tough road, and a slow climb. Trust me, I've been peddling my songs live on the road for 15 years. Some of my songs make people dance, some make them cry, some make them yawn, and some make them buy my CDs. I have a sustainable, respectable little business going on here, and my fans - if for nothing else - come back for the unapologetic authenticity that I have to offer. From a life of scraping, debt, rejection/praise, and the best family a man could ask for - that's all I know, and that's what I do.

I'll keep on (more carefully) submitting to TAXI listings until my subscription runs out, but I think I will have more success attaching myself to a small indie label (I've been avoiding it) that specializes in what I do...

[jaredlutes]

And when it gets down to brass tacks, my music can't be that bad, since I've racked up more than 50 forwards. But so far there have been no call-backs, no placements, and zero income generated from those forwards. How many more forwards do I need? And how many more hundreds of dollars do I need to spend to acquire them? I don't begrudge what I've already invested - TAXI is a great education - but any business accountant would scratch his head over those figures. I have to consider that before renewing.

[Len911]

Jared, forget the accounting degree. A business accountant would probably be scratching his head wondering why anyone who wished to be an accountant would have ever even considered being a musician or songwriter!

I'm sure there's a lot of pressure and struggle that comes along with balancing your career in music and supporting your family. I think you might be over thinking some things, and overlooking other things.

You mentioned you are on the screener's short list, and your bio says that you were a regional finalist in one of the David Foster's Star Search episodes. In fact you have a quite impressive resume.

You've said your genre is singer-songwriter. I would argue that singer-songwriter is not a genre. When I listen to your music, I'm thinking primarily country. If you pull up the wiki on Bob Seger, two of the listed genres are country rock and southern rock. I've not kept up with his career, but I was thinking he was from Detroit, but perhaps he moved to Alabama and picked up a Lynard Skynard accent??

You mentioned Bruce Springsteen and being authentic and genuine. His image is one of macho, working class, (steel mill, coal miner?), vietnam veteran, yada yada. From wiki, "his father worked as a bus driver, among other vocations, although he was mostly unemployed, and according to Springsteen's account, his mother was the main breadwinner." In ninth grade, he transferred to the public Freehold Regional High School, but did not fit in there either. Former teachers have said he was a "loner, who wanted nothing more than to play his guitar." He completed high school, but felt so uncomfortable that he skipped his own graduation ceremony" "Called for induction when he was 18, Springsteen failed his physical examination and did not serve in Vietnam. In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine in 1984, he said, "When I got on the bus to go take my physical, I thought one thing: I ain't goin'." He had suffered a concussion in a motorcycle accident when he was 17, and this together with his "crazy" behavior at induction and not taking the tests, was enough to get him a 4F."
You can be authentic, sincere and genuine by being an actor is my point.

Have you ever submitted to any country listings or had a country critique?

~Len
the official devil's advocate

[Cruciform]

I always believed TAXI would be my passport to initiating relationships with music libraries, but after all this time - and because of my unique situation - I've decided that I'll have to make that happen myself.

If you're going to retain a focus on your own style/artistic statement, then find a publisher that supports artists. There are several I can think of who are big in production music and who have artist driven sections ie. they are not trying to 'break' artists into the mainstream, though that can happen. They publish the work of artists within the context of production music ie. focusing on licensing.

Just bear in mind that it will be hard to get in with them. But you only need one.

[jaredlutes]

Yes, Cruciform. I've started tracking down some of those specialty publishers. Hoping for some feedback soon...

And yes, Len, I flirted with the idea that some of my music could pass as Country. I submitted to several listings, but they are probably the most high-bar listings of them all, and the critiques leaned toward the same theme: "not contemporary enough. Not contemporary enough. Leans more to Americana. This is more Singer-Songwriter more than Country. Not contemporary enough". I got the hint and stopped looking at Country listings!

[admin]

I probably should have included this idea in my piece: It's not a one or the other proposition. You don't have to give up on the artistic side of what you do. Just use the instrumental cues to create what could be a faster (and hopefully growing) income, while you pursue the artist side of your career as well. It's kind of like painting landscapes people would buy to decorate their homes to support yourself while you're working to succeed doing original modern art. HTH.

Michael