Songs Don't Fit Any Catagory Ha Ha!!!

[jazzstan]

..my songs ... I hasve a few of them on my homepage, which is under my name Robert P. Ezzo

I searched Taxi and a few other places (trying to give the benefit of the doubt) but found no music pages. This forum is a great place to get feedback, help, ideas for improvement, technical suggestions, etc, etc ... if you want it. There maybe be other forums that are better suited for posting unsubstantiated claims. If you want help, folks here will bend over backward to assist - honestly and honorably. But until then, forgive us if we start to ignore you.

[michael11]

Probably libelous.

[rpezzo51]

Ouch!

If they want to terminate me I want my refund, because I expressed my true opinion of this gig, which I think should be addressed. In regards to Lasko breaking even, I find that hard to believe because this $5 racket is money maker! He doesn't have to produce records anymore because he's cleaning up on us suckers! Obviously, without knowning what companies and producers you're presenting your material to, there is no way of knowing if it's not made up to get just to get you to give them your mula! My point is, we need to know who's requesting our music Mr. Lasko, otherwise we have to blindly trust the so called requests that somehow require an surmountable amount of $5 critques that can cost a lowly artist like myself a ton of bucks! Especially, if it goes on for two or three years, like some of the members had to endure. No Taxi, doesn't care about negociations because they get money up front and that's fine with me. After this experiance I think I'm going to bow out and ask for my refund, which takes a lot grumbling over the internet in order to get it back!

How's That Gang!

[fusilierb]

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[Len911]

Bob I don't think anyone has a problem with anyone stating their true opinion as long as it's fair and civil. What started out as a song return has transformed into an entirely different matter. I doubt if there are many here that can't empathize with the sting of a return and the feelings of rejection that sometimes happen. Emotions are a good thing when it comes to songwriting, but in business matters usually not as much. It has been mentioned before, at least on taxi tv episodes, a little about the breakdown of the money, but personally I don't see any obscene wealth, more modest perhaps by the time the staff and all the expenses and taxes, and the neighborhood, they're not exactly in the ghetto, but that isn't important imo. I don't see though how that isn't significant at the time of the submission, but evolves into the main focus after a return. It's merely a song return, not a rejection of your song or you as a person. If you still feel the same way after you take some time to cool down, I think it can be discussed rationally.

[Casey H]

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Well said, Bryan!! My thoughts exactly!

Casey

[fusilierb]

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Well said, Bryan!! My thoughts exactly!

Casey

I had plenty to say and then realized I didn't want to be a part of this.

[admin]

Hi Bob,

A refund check will be going out in tomorrow morning’s mail. It should arrive at your house in a couple of days.

You’re absolutely right that every once in a while some incredible artists break through and change what we listen to and musical tastes in general. That said (and I’m grateful to the other folks on the forum for pointing this out already!), MOSTLY what the industry wants is music that fits neatly within a radio format and has mass appeal to the listeners of the stations within certain niche markets.

Those radio stations are supported by advertisers who want to get their ads heard by a certain demographic. The stations do outbound and inbound testing to see what sticks and what doesn’t for their listeners. That info is what drives labels to sign certain types of acts that they feel will appeal to their listeners.

I loved FM radio, and I loved the music industry when it took more chances, but unfortunately, I don’t own or control the music industry at-large, nor do I control the public’s taste in music. But I DO understand that it is the public’s taste that radio stations and record companies cater to.

All THAT said, when we hear something that we think is amazing—even if it doesn’t fit a particular listing—we will hand carry it or send it directly to some incredibly high-level people as a one off. We’re huge fans of incredible songs and artistry, and we’re always happy to champion something great, even it it’s outside the lines!

As your refund check wings its way to you, I’m posting this link to your songs so the good folks on our forum (who are a great cross section of music appreciators) can listen to your music and let us know if they hear something our screeners didn’t:

http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?userid=47242

I sincerely wish you the best of luck with your music, and I hope you find a home for it.

Warm regards,
Michael Laskow

[mojobone]

Bob, the first three replies to your original post pretty much nailed it. They came from three of Taxi's most successful composers, all of whom I've met in person, and I can vouch for their authority on the subject. (though I'm not sure who'll vouch for me, since you and I haven't met)

If you're worried about what your $5 buys, don't. Just go to Taxi.com and look up the screener list; those are the people on the payroll who listen to your music, a feature found at no other service that claims to do what Taxi does. You might be interested to know that the $5 submission fee was instituted a couple of years after Taxi opened its doors, and for the simple reason that too many members were submitting every song they ever wrote to every listing available, a practice that's demonstrably counter-productive to developing a music career. The submission fee has remained unchanged since Taxi began collecting it, something I can't say for much else, over the past 20 years. (and if they really needed it for operating expenses, it would have gone up, like everything else, right?)

Your other concern, that of not being notified as to who ran a given listing is a common one, and easily dealt with, so here goes: http://forums.taxi.com/topic63903.html?hilit=contacting If you're concerned about the legitimacy of the listings, all you have to do is go to the annual Taxi Road Rally, where you can actually meet people who run listings with Taxi; the conference is free with your membership, and it's the most valuable service Taxi provides to members, imo.

Contrary to some opinions, Taxi exists to help you refine and target your music to existing opportunities in the music business, not to prevent your genius from being heard; if you are unwilling or unable to accept constructive criticism and apply it to your music, Taxi is not a good fit for you and imho, you should call the Taxi 800 number and discuss a refund, particularly if, as it appears to me, you didn't know what you were buying.

One last thing: Shameless is a great pop song, written according to pop rules, by Billy Joel, a guy who's known for writing great pop songs in the rock genre. It wasn't a country song, 'til Garth Brooks sang it.

[jazzstan]

I've decided that I really need to record some of my musical ideas at the intersection of Ornette Coleman, Arthur Schoenberg, Jackson Pollock and Benoit Mandlebrot. I assure it will be unique, although probably disturbingly so.