The Journey of a Forward?

[KBee]

I have thus far not been Forwarded, so I'm wondering what happens after a song does get Forwarded? I know the advice is to keep writing and submitting to other listings in the meantime, which is great advice, but for those of us who have no idea what does indeed happen, can we be enlightened?

1) When you get a Forward, do you get 2 e-mails from Taxi: one to say your critique from Taxi is ready - and a separate 'Congratulations!' type of e-mail?
2) If the Publisher does get in contact with you, do you have to sign something saying you won't submit your song to other listings?
3) Does the Publisher, after receiving the list of songs that made it through from Taxi, then whittle down that list of songs even further?
4) Does the Singer who the songs are intended for listen to them, or does the Singer's agent listen to them first type of thing?
5) I'm guessing any Singer (or band, etc.) doesn't get just Taxi forwards sent to them, but say it's a Country Music listing for instance, wouldn't all the top songwriters in Nashville also be trying to get their songs heard by the Singer?
6) On average how many songs does a Singer receive when word gets out that they are working on an upcoming album?
7) Sometimes you hear an album takes 2 years to record, does that mean you can't do anything with your song (if it makes the cut to be on the album) until the Singer is good and ready to release the album?
8) When an Album is being made, say there are to be 10 tracks on it - how many tracks were there before the 10 were chosen? Like, does a Singer record 30 or more songs that were submitted (either from Taxi or other songwriters in Nashville) ...........then it gets whittled down to the 10 .......what happens to the 20 that don't make it onto the album but were recorded by the Singer?

Thank You!
-KBee

[CTWF]

1) When you get a Forward, do you get 2 e-mails from Taxi: one to say your critique from Taxi is ready - and a separate 'Congratulations!' type of e-mail?

I have not been a member for a year, but I think there is one info email - and, why would it matter how many?

2) If the Publisher does get in contact with you, do you have to sign something saying you won't submit your song to other listings?

If someone offers you a contract, you will see what it says - e.g. exclusive or non-exclusive. If you sign your song exclusively, then that's it - no other listings.

3) Does the Publisher, after receiving the list of songs that made it through from Taxi, then whittle down that list of songs even further?

If someone receives a list from TAXI, they might act upon it, or not. In what way or fashion, will be their business, not ours.

4) Does the Singer who the songs are intended for listen to them, or does the Singer's agent listen to them first type of thing?

My guess would be that it possibly is more a producer type of person who listens to song ideas. But who really knows how someone's workflow works? What matters is, if you get signd or not, and if so, if you get published in a timely manner, and if you get placements, or - with an act - airtime/spins/a cut on the album, I suppose.

5) I'm guessing any Singer (or band, etc.) doesn't get just Taxi forwards sent to them, but say it's a Country Music listing for instance, wouldn't all the top songwriters in Nashville also be trying to get their songs heard by the Singer?

Possibly. So, that tells you how likely it is to receive a phone call even after a forward on such a listing (I don't know what listing you are referring to, but I seem to be able to infer the type...).

6) On average how many songs does a Singer receive when word gets out that they are working on an upcoming album?

That would be interesting to know. Maybe the have a whole team in a bootcamp/workshop too, that comes up with additional 14(?) song ideas over a few days of brainstorming.

7) Sometimes you hear an album takes 2 years to record, does that mean you can't do anything with your song (if it makes the cut to be on the album) until the Singer is good and ready to release the album?

I would think if your song got picked by a major act, you will possibly never do anything with anymore. Don't you think they want to have it exclusively?

8) When an Album is being made, say there are to be 10 tracks on it - how many tracks were there before the 10 were chosen? Like, does a Singer record 30 or more songs that were submitted (either from Taxi or other songwriters in Nashville) ...........then it gets whittled down to the 10 .......what happens to the 20 that don't make it onto the album but were recorded by the Singer?

Trashcan of history? Recycle and submit elsewhere? I don't think there are answers that suit all acts/stars/teams in the world that produce music.

I think the truth is that the journey of a forward can be completely unknown and depends on many variables of the circumstances. The best is to be happy with the forward and move on. If you hear back from it, great, if not, you did not waste time idling and guessing what might go on or not.

Tom

DISCLAIMER: I don't do Country and I have never submitted or signed something to a major act. I just tried to give common sense answers.

[hummingbird]

1) When you get a Forward, do you get 2 e-mails from Taxi: one to say your critique from Taxi is ready - and a separate 'Congratulations!' type of e-mail?
- you receive one email with your TAXI Listing Results.

2) If the Publisher does get in contact with you, do you have to sign something saying you won't submit your song to other listings?
It depends on the deal. If it's an exclusive deal (something you know when you are submitting), then you shouldn't be submitting the signed track anywhere else.

3) Does the Publisher, after receiving the list of songs that made it through from Taxi, then whittle down that list of songs even further?
Yes. That's why getting a Forward is no guarantee of a deal.

4) Does the Singer who the songs are intended for listen to them, or does the Singer's agent listen to them first type of thing?
Any Singer is going to have their manager, agent, record company exec and/or producer listen to possible tracks to recorded. They may get hundreds of submissions. Eventually the singer will hear a short list of songs.

5) I'm guessing any Singer (or band, etc.) doesn't get just Taxi forwards sent to them, but say it's a Country Music listing for instance, wouldn't all the top songwriters in Nashville also be trying to get their songs heard by the Singer?
Yes. The competition is tough, that's why your demo has to sound as though it can be played on the radio.

6) On average how many songs does a Singer receive when word gets out that they are working on an upcoming album?
Hundreds.

7) Sometimes you hear an album takes 2 years to record, does that mean you can't do anything with your song (if it makes the cut to be on the album) until the Singer is good and ready to release the album?
If you have signed the song to them, you cannot use it for another purpose until they release it back to you, assuming there is a reversion clause in the signed agreement.

8) When an Album is being made, say there are to be 10 tracks on it - how many tracks were there before the 10 were chosen? Like, does a Singer record 30 or more songs that were submitted (either from Taxi or other songwriters in Nashville) ...........then it gets whittled down to the 10 .......what happens to the 20 that don't make it onto the album but were recorded by the Singer?
My understanding is that the final list of songs might be 30 - 50 and they will record demos of quite a few of them in order to find the ones they wish to record. What happens to the unused ones will depend on the deal made with the songwriter(s).

I used to write and pitch songs for artists but after learning more about the way artist's songs are written, who writes them, and how they are chosen, I realized the likelihood of me getting a song onto an artist's album was as likely as me flying my bicycle to the moon. You need to be up-to-date, know your genre, have great commercial songs to pitch, recorded demos with great singers, and persevere for some years. Like Jason Blume < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Blume >

[KBee]

Thank you very much to CTWF and hummingbird for their replies - I now have much better insight into how things work with songs after they have been forwarded and I very much appreciate it

PS: I have a new question also under the Forwards category, subject line is 'Forwarded songs screened by Publishers'

-KBee