Last week was my six month anniversary here. But, I started basically from scratch.
- Taxi Membership: $300
- Dispatch added a month or so later: $133
- 136 Submittals: $665 (about 23 per month)
- 28 forwards (25% average, but last one was July 24)
- 82 returns (on a bad streak right now, 23 in a row)
- 26 pending (fingers crossed)
- Logic Pro X: $200
- Kontakt Ultimate: $500 plus $249 upgrade from Complete to Ultimate
- high speed 1TB hard drive $200
- Zoom Tac-2R interface (used) $250
- Thunderboldt interface: $225
- Various sounds/effects for Kontakt: $300
- Rally Hotel Room Wed-Mon: $710
- Rally Airfare: $0 (hope to have enough points for a free flight)
- Rally bar tab: no comment
Minus the hardware and just looking at Taxi-related expenses, I'm at $1,298. The Rally adds almost a grand after hotel and expenses for the weekend. So let's call it $2,200. Over six months that's $366/month. I could lower my costs if I stopped submitting so often, but this is a game of volume and quality and every submittal is a learning opportunity to improve my quality. It's like the Lotto: You can't win if you don't play.
I expect my output to slow down in the next few months due to a new job starting next week. But the raise will help ease my financial burden here, and I recognize that I'm blessed to have a great day job that can enable me to pursue my passion. I hope to have some great numbers in a year or two, I'm targeting financial break-even after 24 months. Not sure if that realistic or not, but it's a goal. And, any revenue I pick up outside of Taxi will be partially due to Taxi because of how Taxi motivates me, and how my new friends here in the forum have taught me so much and enabled me to branch out into other networks and connections locally.
For many of us, music is a passion, a dream, a way of life. I've got friends that dump thousands into their car, or their guitar collection, or their fish tank, or their tools, gardens, gun collection, or their sports tickets and paraphernalia. It's all about doing what you love, and I love making music. So, whatever the cost, it keeps me out of trouble (for the most part) and nourishes my soul. And I'm constantly learning. That's one of the benefits of being a musician: you never finish learning.
Time for bed now.
I'm still at 0 deals, 0 placements and 0 dollars too but everything i've learned in the last 2.5 years at TAXI has improved my songwriting and producing so much already! I have no doubt that if I continue trying and always stay willing to learn that I'll find success eventually 
