End of Year number crunching & placements

Did you get a deal through TAXI? Lets hear about it!

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VanderBoegh
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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by VanderBoegh » Wed Dec 26, 2018 12:33 pm

Thanks so much, everyone! I still remember being inspired by a lot of Taxi guys right here on this forum when I was getting my start. In fact, it's probably one of the things that kept me going through the bleak years of constant work and zero revenue. So, hopefully I can pay that back to the community a little bit.
Now, here is a question to you, that would help me as a newbie (with no placements and 1 single forward :oops: ) to understand these statistics a little better: Over the years, how many submissions became forwards, how many forwards turned into deals, how many deals turned into actual placements?

# submissions : # forwards : # deals : # placements

Not sure the statistics is that straightforward. But maybe there is a number such as, out of 100 submissions you got 5 placements, or similar. :? I think it would put into perspective how much work even a super-successful pro as yourself has to put in to actually get placements. Also, how long on average does it take a placement to actually happen, say, from submission to airing?
Tom, this is a hard question to answer. I do have statistics somewhere in a spreadsheet that tracks the amount of submissions, the amount of forwards, and the amount of deals. That info is saved on my studio computer, and right now I'm in my house typing this message during a rain delay for the Boise State / Boston College bowl game. Next time I'm in the studio, I'll look that up.

But, this part: "how many deals turned into actual placements?" is pretty much impossible to answer. The reason for that is because a forwarded song that turns into a library deal will almost inevitably turn into an open-door to submit that library more music. I don't know for certain, but am almost positive that I have library deals where the library has landed me tons of placements, but never placed the original track that spawned the deal.

When it comes right down to it, I've got 25 library deals. Let's say 15 of them came as the result of Taxi forwards (a guess right now)..... those 15 tracks were essentially "door openers" that lead to the signing of hundreds of additional songs.

Other deals came to me because of my posts right here on the forums, which led to a library owner clicking on my SoundCloud link and listening to a bunch of stuff, and wanting to sign me as a composer based upon my skill set. They didn't want to sign a particular track, rather, they wanted me to write custom music for them. In a lot of these cases, the library stumbled upon tracks that I initially made for Taxi listings.

So really, it's impossible to tell. This is why Michael is always struggling to put statistics on "success figures" from Taxi members. One forwarded track that turns into a deal might only go on to make a mere $5, but the other tracks that were created because of that deal might make tens of thousands of dollars. It gets too unruly to track all of that stuff after a while. So we just collect our checks and go back to work.

~~Matt

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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by robbiejhancock » Wed Dec 26, 2018 5:15 pm

Congrats Matt and all! All the best for 2019! :)
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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by edmondredd » Thu Dec 27, 2018 6:47 am

markhimley wrote:
Tue Dec 25, 2018 11:50 am
Wow, Matt!! You continue to kill it and bring tons of inspiration for us all. Can't say I'm surprised though honestly, you're a monster!

Thanks for everything and wishing you all the best!!
Couldn't say it any better!
Merry Christmas and happy hollidays!
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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by SteveBaruah » Thu Dec 27, 2018 8:28 am

You're a constant inspiration, Matt! Huge congrats on your success!!

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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by stansongman » Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:30 am

Thank you for being so open with your stats, it's really inspiring!

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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by DesireInspires » Fri Dec 28, 2018 7:31 pm

VanderBoegh wrote:
Sun Dec 23, 2018 8:06 am
Good idea, Michael! And dang, I didn't even think how that might come across to people new to this forum. Like the old saying, "a picture says a thousand words", here's a screenshot of my ASCAP homepage this morning:

Image

Last year, I finished with 1,288 episodes, on 168 shows.

So, that means that in this past year, I added 552 new episodes of 74 new TV shows. That's not counting the stuff that I know about which hasn't shown up in my ASCAP account yet - like the vocal placements I mentioned in the initial post. I keep an eye on that stuff with my free TuneSat account, which is just limited to tracking 50 songs. All in all, I've had music on more than 250 TV shows in total now.
Dude, how in the world did you get so successful? My ASCAP statements are dogcrap compared to yours. I am sending you a PM.

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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by annayarbrough » Fri Dec 28, 2018 9:03 pm

Congrats Matt! Always impressed with how much you continue to give back and encourage others. Hope 2019 continues to be prosperous for you.
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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by ksutton1207 » Sat Dec 29, 2018 9:11 am

Thanks for sharing, Matt! Your success has been a huge motivation for me, especially for a guy who’s ending the year with one cue sheet in his ASCAP report :lol: But hey, it came in December and I know it’s the first of many!

Keep up the great work, man. Looking forward to a productive 2019!

- Kyle

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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by Anders » Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:34 pm

What everyone else said, you are a true inspiration!

Thank you for being so generous with tips and insight!

…man, wish I can post a screenshot like that someday :D

Happy new year!
/Anders

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Re: End of Year number crunching & placements

Post by Paulie » Mon Dec 31, 2018 1:42 pm

Don't get a big head, Matt. ;)

LOL :lol:

Matt is a stud, a hard worker, and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet in this industry. It's important to remember that Taxi is a tool that can help you become very successful in this increasingly competitive industry. New members should strive for forwards, submit their music here in Peer-to-Peer for honest feedback, and then Write, Submit, Forget, Repeat. It's a mantra for a reason.

Taxi wants you to be successful, and so do your friends here in the forums. Part of success has to do with your work ethic, the ability to take constructive feedback, and patience. Forwards are like an introduction, they are a qualified musical introduction to people that can place your music. Whether or not you hear back from Taxi's customers is dependent on so many factors. Can you get in the door with libraries on your own? Sure. But, Taxi facilitates a quality introduction and gives you a slight edge compared to people cold calling on them. Taxi also helps you focus your efforts and hopefully make the best use of your time. Listings help keep you aware of what the industry is asking for real-time, and the feedback you get from screeners can help you iron out the kinks and refine your product.

This year I surpassed 500 tracks (not including alts) signed to libraries since i started over three years ago. All of my musical activity was motivated by Taxi listings and the unparalleled Taxi community. Taxi forwards got me into three libraries, collaborations got me into others, and meetings that took place at the Rally got me into others. Like any tool, the more you learn about how to use it, the more success you will have with it.

When I was new, Matt V was kind enough to mentor me a bit, as were a few other local legends. Pay it forward is an often practices mindset here, this forum is a gold mine of knowledge and potential.

Congrats to you Matt, you continue to be an inspiration!

Paulie
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