Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

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cdl
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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by cdl » Fri Apr 05, 2019 7:59 pm

Hi Andrew,

Since joining two years ago on April 17, 2019 I've had 304 forwards as of today, April 5, 2019, but sadly, no deals. Since I write instrumental music in a variety of genre's, I'm going to start breaking down my forward percentage for each style of music and overall. Mr. Laskow did call me several months ago, and was bewildered as to my initial lack of success, but brought up some valid points, which I'm in total agreement with. Since most of my forwards are in the Tension, New Age, Piano, Ambient, Sci-fi, and Drone categories, he suggested that I might get quicker results if I expand my writing to also include the Urban and Hip Hop genres, which seem to be placed quicker by those listing companies.

Other Taxi member's might weigh in, but it seems to me that the music I write (as mentioned above) is being done by tens of thousands of other talented musicians from around the world. As a result, music libraries are flooded by great material, resulting in some music taking years to be discovered, and fewer publishing agreements offered. I do think that those of you who are gifted at writing vocal tunes, orchestral pieces, current Pop, EDM, Dance, Hip Hop, Rap, etc. will have greater initial success than I have. My musical path is a much longer one, but we all should continue to write not because it is a job, but because it is our oxygen, which keeps us alive!

Blessings to all,

CDL

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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by jaywilliams » Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:43 pm

Andrew thanks for starting this thread, it's an interesting read so far.

I understand the general futility of trying to compare yourself to someone else, BUT if there was one set of data I would like to see, it's a simple Finished Track - vs - Placement ratio, cutting out the steps in the middle.

For example: I wrote 300 tracks before I got my first Placement, something like that.

Everyone comes to this with a different skill set and experience level, but from what little I know and understand about this business so far it takes a LOT of output to lead to any money in your pocket.

With that in mind it seems the required Work Ethic or Productivity is what causes most folks to drop out.

Creating the tracks is the first step
Submitting the tracks to listings (or directly to libraries) the second step
Improving your craft is the third step

Producing 100+ tracks per year is going to be far more important for my future Mailbox Money than the number of tracks I submit to listings, I think.

Without the productivity ain't nothing gonna happen, so that's where my focus is for now.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

Best of luck!

Jay :)
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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by markhimley » Mon Apr 08, 2019 2:43 pm

ResonantTone wrote:
Fri Apr 05, 2019 12:41 pm
...The more I read and listen to those that have done this successfully, the more I understand that having that kind of determination and perseverance far outweighs the actual numbers and ratios I originally posted about.

Andrew
YES. From what I've learned, seen, heard, etc.. The most successful people in this industry are the ones who stick it out the longest and work the hardest. SOOO many amazing producers/composers never make this happen simply because they quit too soon. As you know, it takes time. It's a marathon, not a sprint. There are definitely going to be discouraging times, trust me. I'm just coming out of a little bit of a funk of discouragement myself, it's been a tough winter - it happens to ALL of us. The point is you don't give up and you keep on keepin on. It's part of the journey. Just keep moving forward and focusing on what you can do to keep improving your craft and have a lot of fun along the way.

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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by ChrisW » Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:38 am

This is a great thread - thanks to all who contributed.

Regards
Chris

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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by Paulkrieg » Tue Apr 16, 2019 8:40 pm

Great thread!

My stats after 3 months are:
34 songs submitted
9 forwards
3 deals
0 placements.

Keep it rockin y’all!

-paul

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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by Paulie » Wed Apr 17, 2019 7:19 pm

It is also VERY important to remember that songs that do not get forwarded, or songs that do get forwarded but nothing afterward... those songs are all still potentially placeable with libraries. In my three year with Taxi I submitted almost 400 tracks, had a 28% forward rate and landed contacts with three libraries. I also got with many other libraries via other means, mostly via collaboration.

Once you are working with libraries you can often send them your previous tracks if they are a good fit for their demand. I would estimate that about 2/3 of my returns and non-used forwards have been placed with libraries. So, the work to create them was not done in vain. First, you get feedback from screeners that can help you improve your music, and second, you end up having tracks you can deliver to customers.

A forward is a great step, it confirms that you have the musical and engineering skills that Taxi can stake its reputation on with its customers. While a forward does not guarantee a placement, it is a positive thing and can lead to future success and revenue. So, keep on trucking! Write, submit, forget and repeat!

Paulie
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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by ResonantTone » Wed Apr 17, 2019 7:59 pm

That's great insight Paulie. In fact, I had this exact thing happen the other day. I had a return on a track, then got contacted by a library from a forward with a similar vibe. They asked me if I had anything like the one they heard, and I sent them the one that was returned. Both tracks ended up getting signed!

Write, submit, cry on the inside when your track is returned, remember someone else may want it later, repeat! :)

Andrew

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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by DannyWeber » Thu Apr 18, 2019 10:23 am

Hey Andrew,

I understand your interest in this business! I share that desire as well. Learn all you can.. maybe, Write, Submit, Forget, Repeat, AND LEARN would be a good addition to the Mantra.

Knowledge can make the difference in sticking with it or giving up too soon. Knowing a little about your odds helps us deal with the slow times when it seems like nothing is happening.. I get it!

The way I see it..
As well as having a head start by being an excellent composer before joining TAXI! You're also a nice guy!!

I'd say the odds are in your favor!!


Congrats on the deal BTW!


Dan
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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by Russell Landwehr » Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:23 pm

Tracking numbers is only useful for keeping an eye on your own progress. Using stats to see if you are doing as well as or better than (or in line with) other people... or to try to predict your future musical revenue... is futile. For instance, when I compare my stats to cue-gods like Matt V, I fall short and can easily become discouraged.

I have something on my bulletin board that Matt Hirt wrote once... it goes like this:

You can only control the things you can control. You can't control how fast your songs will get licensed and how much they will bring in and how long it will take to get paid for a specific placement.
You CAN control how much you write, how good the songs are, how much time you spend networking, how much time you spend improving your chops, how many potential income streams you research, etc etc.
As long as you are doing your best working on as many of the things you can control as possible, you're doing exactly what you're supposed to do.
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Re: Submission/Forward/Deal Statistics

Post by ResonantTone » Fri Apr 26, 2019 5:02 am

Russell,

That’s a great take on the topic. Measurable goals and creating strategies to improve one’s craft can definitely use all these statistics we’ve been talkin about. I’d even go so far as to say it might be good to know the general wheelhouse of where successful people are.

For example, if someone is creating 3-4 cues a year, it’s only gonna help that person to rub shoulders and find out generally what kind of numbers they would need to shoot for in order to meet their goals.

Maintaining a little bit of that without diving headfirst into “so and so does xzy cues at 2 cues per day, with a forward to placement ratio of 2:1”... yeah, that I can see that getting discouraging pretty quick, and ultimately backfiring.

Control what you can control.

Thanks for the thoughts!
Andrew

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