Return after Return...

[ragani]

Hi Bob, Boy, I sure understand your feelings. There are so many reasons for returns, and it may have very little to do with your production quality (which appears to be a good one-- even noted by the screeners). I too had great production values in our music (which was already pressed as a CD before I joined TAXI), but not one song was picked up from a forward (or return, for that matter). If you're coming to the Rally this year, you will enjoy sitting through some of the panel reviews of member's music-- that was a real eye-opener for me the first year I went. And after sitting through the panels at several Rally events, I also saw that producers, artists, and our screeners are actually hungry for good songs, songs that they can pitch. I also learned that (as slideboardouts commented), pitching in the genre of the artist requesting the song is helpful (if not essential)-- though I also learned that while a female artist will sometimes pick up a male vocal song, it rarely works the other way around. Sept 14, 2009, 11:54am, matto wrote:FWIW I retired my first batch of songs (that I joined Taxi to pitch) in less than a half year since I realized they were just not gonna cut it... I had spent a good amount of money on them but thank god didn't make the mistake of pressing any CD's.Well I had spent good money to produce my first album, but I also realized we had a fan base that would support it (and they did), but when it came to submitting the songs to TAXI, well, the style and genre wasn't a perfect fit for any listings, and I too retired my songs after 6 months of realizing that I needed to go at the task a little differently, even for film/tv. If you've got master copies, and fans to support your music, pressing a CD might be worth it, though if you're just starting without a strong fan base, I would highly recommend getting the tracks into CDBaby.com's digital distribution program. Then people can still buy your music on iTunes, etc., but you won't have the cost of pressing the CD's, and no merch sitting around the house. (And as an aside-- we've been making a lot more on digital sales lately over actual album sales, even though we still sell plenty of albums when we tour.)All the best to you-- hope to see you at the Rally!!Cheers,Raags

[wings]

Hey Bob - I was at Groten and am back already. Just had to drop someone off. ~wings~

[bobpepek]

Sept 15, 2009, 10:24am, matto wrote:Bob,why not take your 3 best new songs (for the new album), record a simple guitar vocal demo of each, and send them in to some Taxi custom critiques. Really ask them for feedback on lyrics melody etc...tell them you're trying to iron out any flaws in the writing before going in the studio to produce the tracks. If you are as brave as many around here you can even put them up in peer to peer.Once you have received lots of feedback, and evaluated it and integrated what you felt was suitable into your songs, THEN spend the money to go in the studio and have those songs recorded.mattoI know we plan starting the new album on October 5th-8th, laying down drums. I completely agree that cutting a full legnth doesnt justify the costs, but yet a LOT of these listings call for "full length CDs", yatta yatta yatta. But the 5th through the 8th is simply for cutting drums for all the tracks but we're gonna tackle like 3 songs at a time.Bob

[bobpepek]

Sept 15, 2009, 10:41am, ragani wrote:Hi Bob, If you're coming to the Rally this year, you will enjoy sitting through some of the panel reviews of member's music-- that was a real eye-opener for me the first year I went. Cheers,RaagsI really hope to make it to the rally this year! I attended the ASCAP NY Sessions, which was really exciting. Got to meet a lot of new people, and got to listen to Rob Thomas give a Keynote Speech. It was a really good time!Bob

[mikeye]

the 'what the world has got for we'...thats similar to what a songwriting teacher I know would describe as 'yoda-ising'... you know the whole 'teach you I will!' thing that Yoda does. I must say I like the song and agree with some of the guys here that it doesn`t sound like Coldplay at all. I would`ve gone for more Hanson than anything else (Penny and Me).Do Not Give Up! You`re onto something!

[bobpepek]

I would like to think that my listening horizons have stretched pretty far, but I know they havent reached the ends of the earth. Would you all be so kind as to listen to my music and give it an "a la...".

[markjsmith]

Hi Bob, Give it time and hang in there! My first few submissions were "stylistically off target" which was due to me being a little too liberal with my tunes by thinking they were "close enough"for the listing. Since then I've signed with two libraries! We all get disheartened when things don't immediately go our way, but the right listing will eventually come along. Until then keep writing, take some advice from the critiques and your peers on P2P, and don't give up! -Mark

[bobpepek]

The thing that agitates me, is the fact that Taxi boast that there are "THOUSANDS of opportunities a year to submit to", but it seems in reality, theres only probably a handful that really fit your description, and if you get a screener who's "not into your music", your chance is out the window. I fall victim to the same thing Mark, I've been liberal of thinking my songs are "close enough". Im now 0 for 17, want me to do the math for you, thats $85 I've spent for a "thanks but no thanks". Probability is telling me I should've been struck by lightning by now, and trust me, I'm not ruling that out...~Bob

[mazz]

Sept 28, 2009, 1:46pm, bobpepek wrote:The thing that agitates me, is the fact that Taxi boast that there are "THOUSANDS of opportunities a year to submit to", but it seems in reality, theres only probably a handful that really fit your description, and if you get a screener who's "not into your music", your chance is out the window. I fall victim to the same thing Mark, I've been liberal of thinking my songs are "close enough". Im now 0 for 17, want me to do the math for you, thats $85 I've spent for a "thanks but no thanks". Probability is telling me I should've been struck by lightning by now, and trust me, I'm not ruling that out...~BobUnless you write in a ton of genres, then yes, the opportunities to submit to the style of music you specialize in will be a smaller subset of the total opportunities available in a year.It's a numbers game. 17 submissions isn't that many. But more important than that is to be open to learning from your returns. If your music is truly great, then it's only a matter of time before your songs will attract attention, whether inside or outside of TAXI. But even the most insider writers in Nashville have to write and submit a ton of songs to get one cut.It can be discouraging to get returns, but if you're truly dedicated to having success in this business, then you will do whatever it takes to get better and continue to submit, both with TAXI and with other opportunities that you can find.Hopefully you are open to the possibility that you may have to improve certain aspects of your writing and/or production to get to the next level. That attitude may be more important than how many forwards or returns you get.Mazz

[bobpepek]

Mazz, I completely understand, I just find it "misleading" if you will, that they list "thousands of opportunities". I'm aware 17 isn't a hefty number, however, I'm 28 years old, and live paycheck to paycheck. The mere 2 digit number may simply be a drop in the bucket, but its never easy to bat an eye at $85. Oh and on a side note... 0 for 18! WHOOO! High Fives on the house!!! hahaThe rejection has actually made me "gun shy" persay, be it, the cheap $5.00 submission, I keep asking myself, "should I really bother???", Do I really want to hear another screener tell me how "great of a song writer I am, and how he/she enjoyed my track(s), however its not what they were looking for..." etc... The discouraging journey pushes on, and the light on the horizon grows dimmer day after day...Bob