Question about MIDI vs TAXI

[okoklo]

Hi, I am fairly new to this site and I am thinking about joining taxi after I get my music professionally heard here locally (so that when I join I'll know that my music is good enough to sell). My question is this, I write songs on the piano (with no lyrics) but I can't actually play it myself. What I do is write it and then have it play back on my computer using MIDI. So if I was to join and submit my music as MIDI's is that alright to do?

[sgs4u]

hey O,welcome to the forums. I'm another Maritimer(PEI), but I've been living in Vangroovy for 27 years now. Old and bald! But I'd be glad to give your music a listen when you're ready. I would caution against purchasing a membership to TAXI before you're positive your songs sound as wonderful as you can make them. There are a lot of nice writers on this forums who will listen and advise you on your stuff before you need to plunk down a hefty chunk of change Maybe learn how to do that first, and read the feedback you get. Before being able to submit online to TAXI, you'll need to have a Broadjam site. It might be a lot cheaper initially to get the Broadjam thing up and running before you actually start submitting to Taxi. I don't think I've ever seen a Taxi listing asking for midi files. Anyone else?

[hummingbird]

Hi & welcome aboard. sgs4u has given you some great advice. Get yourself a soundclick or free broadjam account, upload a couple of songs, and post a link here with the lyrics. Folks here will help you determine whether your demos are going to be good enough.There are also some critique services - John Braheny, Jason Blume, Pete & Pat Luboff - which are a good way to check the commercial viability of your work *before* spending money on demos.Generally speaking, midi is okay IF if sounds live, natural and authentic. You'd still need to render it to a wav file and convert to mp3 for upload.You should have a clear idea in your mind what market you are aiming for, where your music fits, etc. Targeting your submissions to Taxi effectively is really important.You can sign up right now, on Taxi's web site, to get the monthly listings sent to you via email. It's free (you just can't submit). Watch them for a few months and see if you think you have music that would fit the trends.Unfortunately... as discussed on another thread recently... even if you ae 'just' pitching songs to artists, you do need to have a decent demo - competition is tough. I'd work on getting excellent quality piano/vocal or guitar/vocal demos with excellent players and singers for the songs you feel are pitchable. Bear in mind that this market - pitching songs to artists - is very very tough.If you are targeting the film/tv market then having master quality recordings of your songs with authentic sounding instrumentation and excellent singer(s) is crucial. IMO, if you've got the 'right stuff', gaining access to the film/tv market is the best reason to join Taxi, when you are ready.hope that makes sense!cheersHummin'birdPS - recommended reading:"6 Steps to Songwriting Success" - Jason Blume"The Craft & The Business of Songwriting" - John Braheny

[sgs4u]

MsV, why do you use soundclick as well as broadjam? what extras do soundclick sites give you, personally? and does your myspace site generate much interest in your music

[hummingbird]

Quote:MsV, why do you use soundclick as well as broadjam? what extras do soundclick sites give you, personally? and does your myspace site generate much interest in your musicHi - actually, I started my 'on-line' presence on soundclick and made some friends there.... and I still use soundclick to post my personal inspirational stuff... - soundclick doesn't give you anymore than other sites (maybe less), it's just handy to use - I'm on broadjam cause Taxi uses broadjam- myspace does seem to be the place to be... I blog there, tooI also have a blogger.com page and I'm on several other music sites... can't remember them all off the top of my head but I've got a list somewhere...Now back to "Midi vs Taxi"....

[gitarrero]

@okolo:if I understood corect you want to send in Midifiles for taxi-listings..?If you meant this, than the answer is NO. You have to send an audiofile - but making an audiofile out of a midifile isn't a problem. You basically just play back your midifile with the best sound available and record that as an audiofile - and you're done.If you didn't mean it that way, than sorry for bothering;)

[edteja]

Hummingbird gave you some good advice. Get some feedback without laying out any money, then, if you are encouraged by what you hear, you can jump right in (the water is fine). Otherwise, you can spend a little time acquiring the skills to make your songs jump out.

[zircon]

Right, you can't submit MIDIs. It has to be MP3 or CD Audio. I suggest polishing up your production skills to forge that MIDI into a more realistic track, using software tools. eg. A sequencer/VST host like Cubase plus a nice sound bank such as Garritan Personal Orchestra, Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra, Native Instruments Bandstand, and so on.

[okoklo]

Thanks for all the advice, though what I meant was MIDI quality (converted to mp3) not MIDI file itself, but thanks none the less

[andreh]

Quote:Thanks for all the advice, though what I meant was MIDI quality (converted to mp3) not MIDI file itself, but thanks none the less In that case, you won't have a problem as long as your stuff sounds up-to-spec. These days it's not always apparent what tracks are "live" and which are MIDI-based productions anyway.I've had forwards with live tracks, but so far my only contracts attained through Taxi (one for the Oprah Winfrey show and one with a fair-sized music library) have come from MIDI-based demo tracks I submitted.Andre