Ending Taxi membership after 150 FORWARDS.

[billhewett]

Good luck Joey! You will always be welcome here should you decide to come back to TAXI :)

[mikehamm123]

Good luck Joey. 150 forwards is impressive!

Hopefully you will find some fertile new fields to till. I get that maybe its time to shake up the network.

[admin]

Hi Joey,

I'm not saying this to try and get your renewal fee out of you, lol.

I recently had a another person leave TAXI (he actually requested a refund!) because he had 10 or 11 forwards and "none of them panned out." I recommended that he remain patient and hang in there, as I thought it was probable that he'd get an offer from somebody we had forwarded his music to. He didn't take my advice.

Sure enough, a few months passed and I got a call from him saying that he had in fact been offered a deal from one of the companies TAXI had forwarded his music to.

We've seen this scenario HUNDREDS of times!

I have little doubt that your 150 forwards will result in some deal offers. I'm surprised they haven't yet, but they very likely will. And then you'll think, "Well gee, now I've got an open door with this company and I can send them a bunch of my music, so I really don't need TAXI." Yes you do, and here's why:

1) The time you took off would have likely resulted in even more forwards to more companies. More seeds planted in several more gardens. The time off is like inventory that you can't re-capture.

2) Having an open door at one or two companies is great, but the mistake we see time and time again is members being so overjoyed that "somebody gets me," that they put many, if not all of their eggs in that one basket because, "they get me."

Just because somebody will take your music and offer you a deal doesn't mean it's the RIGHT place for ALL of or even MUCH of your music. Different libraries are strong at different things (reality shows vs dramas vs commercials vs songs placed vs instrumentals placed, etc. They also have peaks and valleys in getting placements. Hot this year, dead the next.

You want your music in as many of the RIGHT places as you can get it, not just in the one or two companies that love you today because you're the shiny new thing. I'd love it if some of our more experienced members would chime in on this.

best,
Michael

[ComposerLDG]

Hi Joey,

I'm not saying this to try and get your renewal fee out of you, lol.

I recently had a another person leave TAXI (he actually requested a refund!) because he had 10 or 11 forwards and "none of them panned out." I recommended that he remain patient and hang in there, as I thought it was probable that he'd get an offer from somebody we had forwarded his music to. He didn't take my advice.

Sure enough, a few months passed and I got a call from him saying that he had in fact been offered a deal from one of the companies TAXI had forwarded his music to.

We've seen this scenario HUNDREDS of times!

I have little doubt that your 150 forwards will result in some deal offers. I'm surprised they haven't yet, but they very likely will. And then you'll think, "Well gee, now I've got an open door with this company and I can send them a bunch of my music, so I really don't need TAXI." Yes you do, and here's why:

1) The time you took off would have likely resulted in even more forwards to more companies. More seeds planted in several more gardens. The time off is like inventory that you can't re-capture.

2) Having an open door at one or two companies is great, but the mistake we see time and time again is members being so overjoyed that "somebody gets me," that they put many, if not all of their eggs in that one basket because, "they get me."

Just because somebody will take your music and offer you a deal doesn't mean it's the RIGHT place for ALL of or even MUCH of your music. Different libraries are strong at different things (reality shows vs dramas vs commercials vs songs placed vs instrumentals placed, etc. They also have peaks and valleys in getting placements. Hot this year, dead the next.

You want your music in as many of the RIGHT places as you can get it, not just in the one or two companies that love you today because you're the shiny new thing. I'd love it if some of our more experienced members would chime in on this.

best,
Michael

I certainly don't qualify as a "more experienced" member, but as someone who just returned after an 18-month hiatus from TAXI, I can offer a bit of perspective of how things went while I was away. Yes, I continued writing and pitching, but I felt less sharp without a constant stream of specific listings to write for. Those deadlines and listing scenarios/requirements really helped me hone my writing in ways I didn't realize until I didn't have them any more. Gone was the ever-flexing of creative muscle that used to happen pretty much daily when I was constantly reading the regular and Dispatch listings.

Another thing I missed was having professional A&R people listen to and critique what I was doing. LIke I said, I didn't really notice how much I'd come to depend on the whole TAXI experience until I was no longer experiencing it.

Anyway, certainly you need to do what's best for you and what works for you, whatever that may be. I just figured I'd offer my (admittedly unsolicited!) $.02.

Either way, the very best of luck to you and your music career!

-Loren

[VanderBoegh]

I'd love it if some of our more experienced members would chime in on this.

I guess at this point I could classify myself as an experienced member, so I'll throw in my two cents.

After making TV music for six years now and having turned this into a full-time job - all due to TAXI, I might add! - I'm at the point where I could probably cancel my Taxi membership and just keep making music for the 20+ libraries that I write music for. Hell, they offer me enough work that I could certainly fill up a 50-60 hour work week just churning out music for their custom requests. But guess what? I will never jump ship and leave TAXI, and here are three big reasons why:

1) I'm always looking for NEW libraries to get my music into. 20+ libraries may sound like a lot, but that's really an insignificant percentage of the libraries that exist. I want into more and more of them, because that means more and more companies and people actively pitching my music to a larger pool of shows in a larger pool of countries. More action on your music equals a higher chance of making more and more money. And yes, I realize that statement makes me sound like a "sell out" (what all 20-year-old rockers scorned when playing shows in garages), but now I make no bones about it.... I'm shamelessly chasing money, because it will allow me to buy real estate, provide a college fund for my daughter, allow me to take long extended vacations, set me up for a plush retirement, etc etc etc. My music will get me there. And adding more libraries to my roster is the best way to make this happen faster and bigger.

2) I sure as hell ain't gonna send out unsolicited emails. Well, I've done this a few times. There are quite a few libraries out there where you can submit sample tracks directly via their website. But so far - even after all the success I've had, and even after submitting proven money-making tracks - I've been rejected by all of them. I know... WTF!?!?!?! So, take it from me: this method doesn't really work. At least it hasn't for me. This is why you need TAXI to open those doors for you. TAXI will separate your music from the thousands of unsolicited tracks that get sent in to these companies on the regular.

3) TAXI works. Plain and simple. I'm living proof. So are my amigos and mentors that I've met through Taxi. Just look at guys like Chuck Henry and Stephen Baird. And check out the string of successes by the next generation of superstars like Marcus Cohen and Terrell Burt. Go ahead, check out the "Success Stories" area of these forums to see all the waves these guys are making. We're all making this happen as a result of Taxi.

Lastly, I just want to point out one more time to the original poster of this thread (if he's even still reading these comments), that it is a tragedy that so many Taxi members don't take advantage of these forums. Seriously, I've made so many great connections, learned sooooo much, and have even signed deals as a result of these forums here, that on top of the Taxi forwards and the Road Rally, I can point right here at these forums as a major reason that my career has taken off the way it has. It's just such a great resource that goes unused by such a large percentage of Taxi's membership base. And furthermore, people should know that legitimate industry pros, library owners, and supervisors DO keep an eye on these forums. And having a bad attitude and making snide remarks about any aspect of the industry will be a turn-off to people who could offer you big breaks. But conversely, having a great attitude and joining the community spirit of learning, teaching, and supporting could reap you some rewards that you never thought would come out of a discussion forum like this.

Okay, that was a long 'un. I've got more coffee to make, and more music to write. Sally forth, my amigos!

~~Matt

[markhimley]

Thanks for taking the time to chime in, Matt!! Very inspiring to read and very reassuring to newer members like myself to keep on keepin' on!

[joeyhatcher]

Michael, thank you for your response. That means a lot. I like your point about "time off from taxi = loss in inventory/investment.

Just to clarify, as I said in my first statement, I DID get deals with taxi! Three I believe. Just no placements yet! I highly recommend taxi, as I have learned a lot, and have gotten deals. But I think the reality is that my music isn't quite competitive enough. So I will be writing more in the future.. and most likely will rejoin.

The forums HAVE been great. I even connected with a couple of collaborators with whom we've created some GREAT work!

I very well may join again once I/we have some new material to peddle. Thank you again for ALL of your feedback!

Joey

Hi Joey,

I'm not saying this to try and get your renewal fee out of you, lol.

I recently had a another person leave TAXI (he actually requested a refund!) because he had 10 or 11 forwards and "none of them panned out." I recommended that he remain patient and hang in there, as I thought it was probable that he'd get an offer from somebody we had forwarded his music to. He didn't take my advice.

Sure enough, a few months passed and I got a call from him saying that he had in fact been offered a deal from one of the companies TAXI had forwarded his music to.

We've seen this scenario HUNDREDS of times!

I have little doubt that your 150 forwards will result in some deal offers. I'm surprised they haven't yet, but they very likely will. And then you'll think, "Well gee, now I've got an open door with this company and I can send them a bunch of my music, so I really don't need TAXI." Yes you do, and here's why:

1) The time you took off would have likely resulted in even more forwards to more companies. More seeds planted in several more gardens. The time off is like inventory that you can't re-capture.

2) Having an open door at one or two companies is great, but the mistake we see time and time again is members being so overjoyed that "somebody gets me," that they put many, if not all of their eggs in that one basket because, "they get me."

Just because somebody will take your music and offer you a deal doesn't mean it's the RIGHT place for ALL of or even MUCH of your music. Different libraries are strong at different things (reality shows vs dramas vs commercials vs songs placed vs instrumentals placed, etc. They also have peaks and valleys in getting placements. Hot this year, dead the next.

You want your music in as many of the RIGHT places as you can get it, not just in the one or two companies that love you today because you're the shiny new thing. I'd love it if some of our more experienced members would chime in on this.

best,
Michael

[edmondredd]

well it's always sad to see people leaving, but I can't but wish you the best of luck Joey