Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

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macomposer
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Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by macomposer » Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:34 pm

TLDR: After 15 years, I’ve arrived at what Taxi is (at least for me). Taxi is a goal motivator, a critical listening partner and (as it turns out) a business match maker. It also served as an educational tool for me early on.

Long Version:
This morning I completed the contract and paperwork, and emailed the full .wav file of my track Moog Morricone (https://www.taxi.com/members/ZOzjDyKETJ ... righteous-) to the publisher. It is the first deal I’ve gotten through Taxi. There was no parade, no confetti. There was simply the joy and quiet satisfaction of perseverance.

I wanted to post a short(ish) post on my experience for those who need encouragement. I know I have over the years, and I hope that reading this helps.

I first joined Taxi around 2005ish… I think I maybe had one publisher (library) and had a handful of tracks on TV. Joined Taxi to submit to more opportunities. Many submissions, not many forwards at first (you’re heard it all before…)

Went to Road Rally in 2008 as I was living and teaching in L.A. at the time, learned a whole lot!! worked on networking, got quite a few contacts. Nothing ever came of any of it… (and I’m not saying that’s anyone’s fault - I’m just saying what happened… For whatever reasons, nothing came of my networking from this period. And there was a pretty major player in the industry who I nurtured a good relationship with… just didn’t happen).

In the meantime, kept honing my craft (or so I thought lol), and started to get a lot of forwards! Most everything I submitted got forwarded!!!! Guess what? Nothing happened. Not one call back.. (Wait - does Taxi work? Is this a hoax? This must be a scam!!! You’re heard it all before, right?)

Took a break from Taxi, came back to Taxi, took another break, and used what I’d learned (some of it from Taxi) to make better music (or more specifically, better records). Found libraries that wanted to work with me.. and in many cases sent them the tracks that had been forwarded by Taxi. I mean, I have probably hundreds of placements on TV over the years, but I’m not bragging - I’m still trying to figure this thing out and get better.

Came back to Taxi last year, and have been amazed at how I read the listings now. I have learned to hone in on the genres that I really know how to write for, and that list of genres keeps getting shorter and shorter. I’ve had many returns (mostly because I’m trying to stretch myself in new areas), but I’ve had some forwards too.

And after 15 years, I’ve arrived at what Taxi is (at least for me). Taxi is a goal motivator, a critical listening partner and (as it turns out) a business match maker. It also served as an educational tool for me early on.

It’s a goal motivator because the very-carefully-chosen-ones-that-I-apply-to listings are opportunities to test my abilities to make records in a very specific area. Taxi is a critical listening partner - I don’t always agree with the critiques that I get, but I do respect them, and I’ve learned that everyone is human and we all listen in very different ways. Just because the reviewer didn’t hear it the way I thought I presented it or heard it doesn’t mean they’re wrong or I’m wrong - it just is an opportunity for me to learn a different way of hearing and try again.

So please hang in there… Don’t give up. But also carefully evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing. Like many of you I imagine, when I was a kid, I wanted a “record deal” and to be a “rock star.” But after really learning the business and more importantly, growing up and thinking about what’s important to me, I know that now it’s just about my love of music and wanting to contribute. That’s why there was no parade, no confetti this morning. There was simply the joy and quiet satisfaction of perseverance.

Apologies for the long post and thanks for reading.
Mark Anthony Chubb
https://www.taxi.com/my/artist
markanthonychubb.com

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Re: Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by cosmicdolphin » Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:58 pm

Great read but.....15 Years ! :shock: WTAF !

Kudos on your perseverance, I was glad to read you have hundreds of TV placements outside of Taxi so it's not like you never got anywhere on your own but it does make me wonder how the hell you never got contacted in all that time. It doesn't sit well with me but I'm glad there was a happy ending.

Mark

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Re: Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by macomposer » Thu Aug 18, 2022 4:06 pm

cosmicdolphin wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:58 pm
Great read but.....15 Years ! :shock: WTAF !

Kudos on your perseverance, I was glad to read you have hundreds of TV placements outside of Taxi so it's not like you never got anywhere on your own but it does make me wonder how the hell you never got contacted in all that time. It doesn't sit well with me but I'm glad there was a happy ending.

Mark
Thanks Mark! (My name is Mark also :) )

Yeah, it is what it is...!

All the best!
Mark Anthony Chubb
https://www.taxi.com/my/artist
markanthonychubb.com

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Re: Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by funsongs » Thu Aug 18, 2022 5:29 pm

Cool read, Mark - your report. If you're the sort who would've spent all those years being creative with music anyway -
then it's every bit as much about enjoying the journey... then the moments of 'success' with those projects in the hands of others
can be viewed as the bonus reward.

Some might ask - "At what point were you able to 'quit your day job'?" - because your efforts became your main source of support.
For many others, that's not the goal, or even of major importance.
(queue scene from "That Thing You Do", when The Wonders hear their music on the radio for the first time - something like that.)
:? :P
Peter Rahill - aka "funsongs"
NOW, back on YouTube (2022)
https://www.youtube.com/@peterrahill9263/featured
https://soundcloud.com/funsongs-1
https://peterrahill.bandcamp.com/

“The future aint what it use to be.” - Yogi Berra

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Re: Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by magicjuani » Thu Aug 18, 2022 10:23 pm

macomposer wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 3:34 pm
TLDR: After 15 years, I’ve arrived at what Taxi is (at least for me). Taxi is a goal motivator, a critical listening partner and (as it turns out) a business match maker. It also served as an educational tool for me early on.

Long Version:
This morning I completed the contract and paperwork, and emailed the full .wav file of my track Moog Morricone (https://www.taxi.com/members/ZOzjDyKETJ ... righteous-) to the publisher. It is the first deal I’ve gotten through Taxi. There was no parade, no confetti. There was simply the joy and quiet satisfaction of perseverance.

I wanted to post a short(ish) post on my experience for those who need encouragement. I know I have over the years, and I hope that reading this helps.

I first joined Taxi around 2005ish… I think I maybe had one publisher (library) and had a handful of tracks on TV. Joined Taxi to submit to more opportunities. Many submissions, not many forwards at first (you’re heard it all before…)

Went to Road Rally in 2008 as I was living and teaching in L.A. at the time, learned a whole lot!! worked on networking, got quite a few contacts. Nothing ever came of any of it… (and I’m not saying that’s anyone’s fault - I’m just saying what happened… For whatever reasons, nothing came of my networking from this period. And there was a pretty major player in the industry who I nurtured a good relationship with… just didn’t happen).

In the meantime, kept honing my craft (or so I thought lol), and started to get a lot of forwards! Most everything I submitted got forwarded!!!! Guess what? Nothing happened. Not one call back.. (Wait - does Taxi work? Is this a hoax? This must be a scam!!! You’re heard it all before, right?)

Took a break from Taxi, came back to Taxi, took another break, and used what I’d learned (some of it from Taxi) to make better music (or more specifically, better records). Found libraries that wanted to work with me.. and in many cases sent them the tracks that had been forwarded by Taxi. I mean, I have probably hundreds of placements on TV over the years, but I’m not bragging - I’m still trying to figure this thing out and get better.

Came back to Taxi last year, and have been amazed at how I read the listings now. I have learned to hone in on the genres that I really know how to write for, and that list of genres keeps getting shorter and shorter. I’ve had many returns (mostly because I’m trying to stretch myself in new areas), but I’ve had some forwards too.

And after 15 years, I’ve arrived at what Taxi is (at least for me). Taxi is a goal motivator, a critical listening partner and (as it turns out) a business match maker. It also served as an educational tool for me early on.

It’s a goal motivator because the very-carefully-chosen-ones-that-I-apply-to listings are opportunities to test my abilities to make records in a very specific area. Taxi is a critical listening partner - I don’t always agree with the critiques that I get, but I do respect them, and I’ve learned that everyone is human and we all listen in very different ways. Just because the reviewer didn’t hear it the way I thought I presented it or heard it doesn’t mean they’re wrong or I’m wrong - it just is an opportunity for me to learn a different way of hearing and try again.

So please hang in there… Don’t give up. But also carefully evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing. Like many of you I imagine, when I was a kid, I wanted a “record deal” and to be a “rock star.” But after really learning the business and more importantly, growing up and thinking about what’s important to me, I know that now it’s just about my love of music and wanting to contribute. That’s why there was no parade, no confetti this morning. There was simply the joy and quiet satisfaction of perseverance.

Apologies for the long post and thanks for reading.
Mark, you are amazing!
Yes, you'd had other deals outside of TAXI but somehow you showed resilience and persistence by getting your 1st through them.
Full support and kudos to you!
Yes, "hang in there", funny how you put it since it's actually the 1st song on my last EP! Your post really gives me another boost of confidence!

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Re: Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by Casey H » Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:02 am

Wow, great story! 15 years! :shock:

I see you were off and on with your membership during that time. "We were on a break!!!" (For the "Friends" fans out there) ;)

The fact that you got hundreds of placements over the years means you obviously are doing things right. I think most people who had placements without Taxi and were going that long without ones from listings would quit Taxi. For lots of reasons, some very explicable, some that are luck of the draw, Taxi doesn't work for everyone. Glad you stuck it out and finally made a new contact from a forward! Hopefully there will be more.

What it does show is most Taxi listings are fairly specific and narrower targeted than general library submissions. Those who craft their submissions carefully to listing requirements do way better and there is a learning curve to that. And learning to write to briefs is a skill that's very important both inside and outside of the Taxi world.

I find that Taxi is just one tool in the toolbox along with direct to library submissions, networking, collab-ing, etc. One more important contact added to your list can sometimes mean a heckuva lot. No guarantees but that one new contact might be one that gets you placements. With the rally and that, I always renew (On and off since 2001-ish with from 2006 or 2007 on being constant).

YMMV! 8-)

Best of luck! :D
Casey

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Re: Signed 1st Deal from Taxi after….. 15 years!

Post by OBlyde » Sat Aug 20, 2022 2:12 pm

wonderful story!

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