TAXI RALLY IN NASHVILLE -please use this thread

[hummingbird]

From Michael Laskow:Ok guys,Here's the skinny. I get calls from people every week suggesting I build a TAXI office in their town, but I have to say that Nashville is the only town I've ever considered doing it in.That said, if I DID build an office there, I would likely get calls from Urban people asking why I don't build an office in Atlanta What our members don't know is that at times, we've hired pluggers in Nashville at my own expense (thousands per year), and they have been charged with hand delivering music on the Row. One plugger (highly connected and well respected) worked for us for nearly two years, with no substantial results.On our own, and through regular TAXI listings, we've had songs put on hold by major label artists on several occasions. None of them got cut, but if you know anything about the REAL Country music biz, you know that a hold rarely means a cut, but it DOES mean that you're getting heard and considered by the REAL guys/gals.So… I quickly figured out that the BEST way to get cuts for TAXI members was to start running listings from PUBLISHERS on the Row, which would geometrically increase the number of possibilities for our members.In fact, the two cuts (both went to Number One) we've had in Nashville have been through publishers that found the songs/writers through TAXI.Another thing most members don't know is that I'm really well connected in Nashville, and hopefully, without sounding immodest, there are very FEW people I can't get to on the Row. I typically go to Nashville several times a year to maintain my relationships, and hang out with and/or golf with my friends from the Row several times a year on top of that.Trust me when I tell you that when we come across something AMAZING that bubbles up through the screeners, it gets into the right hands in Nashville, listing or not!Problem is, when members hear that, they come out of the woodwork, insisting that THEY have something amazing. Please trust me when I tell you that LOTS of things like that (my trips, personal hand delivery and pluggers) take place during the course of business at TAXI, and not just in the Country genre.I spend thousands of dollars and tons of time doing things behind the scenes to push deals for writers and artists EVERY year, but stay mute about it. Even if I weren't passionate about what we do here, I'd be an idiot to NOT do everything I can to make deals happen. That's how we grow the company.Also want to interject that I recently had a discussion on this VERY topic with some buddies from Nashville. And although they all know several/many great pluggers, they could barely name a cut that came through one that was indie, and not directly connected/working for a publisher.Hence, my decision to not open a Nashville office or hire yet another plugger. Seems to make more sense to get our members' music into the hands of PUBLISHERS who really stand to benefit MOST from getting cuts and therefore more motivated. Most pluggers work on weekly/monthly payment, and maybe a spiff, not co-ownership of the copyright.Truthfully, you can never be absolutely sure that your plugger IS getting your music heard. There are reputable pluggers and those who are not. And NO plugger is going to ruin his/her rep by carrying your tunes in just because they're getting paid by you.That's the belief, but it's not reality. They simply can't stake their reputation on a song that's not the REAL deal.I'll never say “never” to either idea, but for the moment, the publishers seem to be the best shot for our members. We still run listings for A&R peeps at the labels too, and semi-recently had a song seriously in the running for Rascal Flatts, but it didn't pan out.ALL that said, anybody who IS on the Row would tell you the BEST way to get a cut is to make the relationships yourself (with people on the Row). But you need to be at LEAST as good as the VERY best before those relationships will pan out. Jimi's web page is a textbook for ALL of this info!!! http://jimiheath.com/And finally, here are the first two paragraphs of our About page and brochure:The Best Way To Get SignedIf you're trying to land a record deal, nothing works better than hitting the road, playing hundreds of gigs, and selling thousands of CDs from the trunk of your car.If you're a songwriter, moving to Los Angeles, New York, or Nashville and "paying your dues" is often the best way to go.*****************************************Pretty much says it all. Go write more songs! And Hooks (and everybody else who has had this thought), if you think that we've got the time to scan the board for statements we don't like and then go to our screeners and tell them to treat you less fairly than ANY other member, then you don't know much about me or the company I run.I'm too busy with REAL work, and I'm not that kind of person.We've got you guys covered in more ways than you know. So just go concentrate on writing great songs. THAT'S what WE need from you Thanks,MichaelA picture is worth a thousand words. ML fishing with James Dean Hicks (hit songwriter), Ralph Murphy (V.P. ASCAP Nashville), and Craig Wiseman (hit songwriter/publisher)See photo here

[Casey H]

Quote: There are so many thousands of songwriters in Nashville -- forty thousand, with two thousand being competitive... The suits can pick and choose from the local pool. Living there means everything. A constant presence puts you on even ground with those who struggle... Those who sacrifice and go to the clubs every night to meet others who know others who know others...I don't think anyone at TAXI or elsewhere is denying living there, sacrificing, going the clubs, and making personal contacts is the best way. This is true for most things in the industry-- for film/TV, living in LA and building personal relationships with music supervisors gives you a big edge too. TAXI always advertises that they are the SECOND best way to get a deal.If someone is truly, 100% with all their heart and soul, dedicated and committed to becoming a Nashville writer, they really should move to Nashville. However, if that just isn't possible, they should do the absolute best they can-- work on making the songs bullet-proof and pitching them every way possible.The other problem is that the odds of a cut are so astronomically small, it is hard to draw absolute conclusions. I also wonder how many people out there who would like to see a Nashville office, have had forwards to high bar Nashville listings. It does start with a great song, and without that all the offices in the world don't matter. This is not true for you, Hooks, but I'm sure many out there focus on the Nashville presence, ignoring the songwriting as the issue.Some may recall there was a thread a few months back whereby a member was bitching up a storm about TAXI not forwarding his 'great' country songs. ML contacted him and offered, at his own expense, to personally take him to publishers on The Row to present some songs and see how the publishers reacted. It included a generous cash offer if any publisher thought a song was good enough to sign. That tells me that ML knows these people well and has high confidence in his knowledge of what type of song will get these folks excited.Anyway, 'nuff rambling Casey

[jchitty]

I'd love for TAXI to have an office in Nashville, but as my grandmother used to say, 'wanting ain't getting.' I never expected TAXI to move their operations there. I know that would be an unbelievably daunting task. But as far as a Rally in Nashville goes (what this thread was originally about anyway) I think that would be a wonderful starting point for TAXI. Of course, Michael's very first post also explained the difficulties of pulling that off as well, so if TAXI decided to do a Nashville Rally, I know that would be way off in the future. It could take years to do that, and it may never happen.Michael once again explained all the topics discussed on this particular thread are nothing new to him, that he indeed has been pondering these ideas for a long time, and that he's worked very hard to get our music on the desks of people's he's connected with.If nothing else, this thread keeps the Nashville Rally idea alive....I'm sure this is always discussed behind the scenes, but this thread allows us to bring it out in the open and hope for possibilities down the line. It's really hard being a country songwriter....you can really lose hope sometimes...I have days I'd like to just give up, and I've only been doing this two years. I can imagine what people who've been doing this for twenty years feel like. That's why I like the fact that this thread came to life again.

[Casey H]

Quote:It's really hard being a country songwriter....you can really lose hope sometimes...I have days I'd like to just give up, and I've only been doing this two years. Hey ChitsDon't give up hope... ever... But learn the realities and the obstacles and keep tackling them. First one, is figure out how to write songs that are so impressive that screeners and anyone else who listens for Nashville pitches goes "Wow!"... HA! As if that was easy... But truth is, that is probably the biggest hurdle for most. I think your idea of attending Nashville workshops is a great one. Use workshops, books, pro-critique services out of Nashville, TAXI reviews, etc. to keep honing your skills. You are fortunate in that you are further along that road than many. Casey

[jchitty]

Quote:Quote:It's really hard being a country songwriter....you can really lose hope sometimes...I have days I'd like to just give up, and I've only been doing this two years. Hey ChitsDon't give up hope... ever... But learn the realities and the obstacles and keep tackling them. First one, is figure out how to write songs that are so impressive that screeners and anyone else who listens for Nashville pitches goes "Wow!"... HA! As if that was easy... But truth is, that is probably the biggest hurdle for most. I think your idea of attending Nashville workshops is a great one. Use workshops, books, pro-critique services out of Nashville, TAXI reviews, etc. to keep honing your skills. You are fortunate in that you are further along that road than many. CaseyThanks, Case, for your very nice words of encouragement here. Yeah, I agree, boy it's tough to write a really impressive song that would stand out.....if there was an easy way to do that, then everyone would have a hit song on the radio I know I'm facing really stiff competition, and winning a lottery is easier than writing a hit song.

[jchitty]

Quote:No Chits, winning a lottery is perhaps more probable (statistically) but can't influence the odds. Your persistence and willingness to keep learning increases your probability of writing a hit song, and persistence, in particular, increases the odds of it getting to the person who can have a hit with it. Of course, as one of my cowriters remarked after we recently mixed a future monster hit: "All we have to do now is wait until the other 24,386 songwriters who have this kind of demo are all at Starbucks."LOL, Ed...I like the Starbucks story. Thanks for the advice. I'm prolific if nothing else...that may not equate to quality, but I also work to hone my craft through TAXI critiques, etc.I've always thought that success is like a dart board....you just have to keep throwing (and creating) those darts.....maybe one of them will eventually hit the target.Songwriting really isn't that much different from peddling wares on a cart in the street.....if you have something everyone wants, they're gonna stop to make a purchase. And if your products aren't selling on the cart, you have to find a product that will.I have my down times, but it's nothing that a Snickers bar can't fix. Plus, I find writing all the time helps me 'coz it gives me hope, and I don't focus on my losses so much.

[geo]

Haven't had time to read the whole thread but I would be interested in any Nashville happening.... got "people" down there... GeoOK they're in-laws but still it's still a place I can crash.. I'm on the cheap

[jonathanm]

Coming from Oklahoma, and having lived in Nashville (so I have friends whose pad I can crash ) I'd definitely come to a RR in Nashville. LA's a bit harder for me to get to, though I do hope to come to a Rally there soon.

[jchitty]

Michael has stated just how hard it is to pull any Rally off, let alone two of them. I can certainly understand this. I can't even imagine the costs and man hours associated with something like this. But it's still my fondest hope that one day, we'll see a Nashville Rally. I attended the small tv/film seminar that Michael held in Nashville, and I felt like that one small step did so much for my music. I met some great people too.Right now, I can't attend the 2008 L. A. Rally for various reasons. I live three hours from Nashville, so that's a much better option for me. I'd suggest that rather than having a Rally, TAXI should start out with small seminars.....maybe have one or two guest speakers. When I attended the seminar in Nashville, the room had at least three hundred guests, and that was short notice, so if people knew about this beforehand, I'm sure a lot of people would come. If you start off small, a seed gets planted, and you can grow from there. And maybe (although once again, I don't know the costs associated with this) one day, a major Rally will result from all this. Or if two Rallys are just too daunting a task, keep things small, and make the Nashville happening a 'mini-Rally' with less guest speakers and days....but still make it an event where TAXI members can meet and inspire each other....where the speakers can inspire us too. One thing also, a lot of people think of Nashville as just country music, but Nashville is many things...lots of alternative bands, jazz, Americana, etc. There is no doubt that a Nashville Rally would help country songwriters...I'm sure that would be a focal point, but people who write in other genres could attend too.Just my thoughts this mornin' I am not lobbying for a Nashville Rally really.....I know how hard it is to pull something off like this....I'm just putting some suggestions out there, and if this is not doable, then that's just the way it is.

[jchitty]

Jun 9, 2008, 6:45am, hummingbird wrote:I attended my first (LA) Rally in 2005 and I was absolutely blown away. The complexity of the organization, the number of classes & panels, mentoring, etc... is a feat in itself. As an attendee, even with your best efforts, you can't even attend half the things you'd like to, there's so much going on. It seems to me that Taxi already puts a huge amount of resources and invests a huge amount of man hours, into what most people say is likely the best music conference around. So I can see the financial & personnel difficulties that would go into creating a second event of the same quality elsewhere.Just my 2 cents on this foggy Monday am.Actually, I certainly don't see a flown blown Nashville Rally, yep that task would be unbelievably daunting...... maybe just another one night seminar (or half day) with a guest speaker or Michael giving a speech again. Hey, we Nashvegas types will take what comes our way. I'll even bring the refreshments...my chocolate chip cookies are to die for!