Taxi should start membership screening program...s

[trocat]

Alrighty, I've got something to write about my experience with Taxi. I've been a member of Taxi for about 4 years. I have had a few forwards but NONE of them resulted in any of the companies contacting me. Some of the companies I had forwards to could not be found on the web either, which I did ask Taxi about. Their reply was “some of the listing parties do not have a web presence because they don't need one. They have enough people contacting them without the need to have a place on the web". Huh? I would think, especially in the music biz, these guys should be legit enough to have some company info online. Even if it's only to brag about their successes. They should still be online, in a directory or listing of some sort. That just added another question, If they have so many composers hitting them up with tracks, why would they need to list with Taxi?Anyhow, my main reason for this post: Today's Taxi listings email came with the same of repetitious mantra that Taxi pitches all the time "You don't need to leave your family or home. You don't need to live in a music city like LA, NY, or Nashville. You don't need to spend twelve hours a day online marketing your CD. Mostly, you just get to make music". What they are NOT saying is you need to absolutely make nothing less than TOP NOTCH COMMERCIAL QUALITY MUSIC. And now, even in these tough times Taxi's using the downturn of the economy to somewhat prey on your dreams and entice you to spend more of your, now even harder to come by money with the pitch that it basically could be a great way to build your nest egg for future economic unrest! As if it wasn't what many of us have been trying to do anyway, during any time.For all the writers who do home recordings, if they are not on par, craft and production wise with today's music then don't waste your money submitting it. Compare/AB it with a track in the vein that the listing is asking for. If it is NOT BETTER than the compared artists, than don't spend your $5! Taxi's business model seems to be based on getting as many people to submit to listings as they can, of course they want to hear the best BUT will take absolutely ANYBODY'S submission and money, no matter how below par the writing and production of song is. My point? Taxi should add to their business model, a membership entry screening. Something like, when you want to join you need to submit 3 tracks (any genre) so they can see if you can in fact write and produce music that will get the forwards and is TOP NOTCH COMMERCIAL QUALITY MUSIC. You say, "But I like the critiques They help me to write and record better". Well with that membership screening you would get a full critique of your skills. If you get declined, you could re-apply in 6 months, with the assumption that you took their advice and over 6 months turned your skills into writing and producing TOP NOTCH COMMERCIAL QUALITY MUSIC! If Taxi did a pre-screening for memberships then they would be getting more deals for writers and artists, saving the starving artists their hard earned cash, and in my eyes be more respectable to the writers and artists. Especially the ones who need more work on their craft. Not just taking everyone's good, bad and horrendous track submission money. Remember good is not good enough here. It has to be “knock your socks off brilliant”!Now the biz, for me, I have recently had the best luck making my own contacts and building relationships on my own by contacting people in the industry directly, myself (mostly online). I must confess I did have one forward through Taxi this year, that in a round about way, got me a publishing deal but the bummer was, as usual, no one called me about the track forwarded (I understand that they might have heard it but passed on it). However, I finally started to take it on myself to follow up, even though, Taxi always states that if you get a forward the interested party will contact you, IF they are interested in the track that was forwarded. The follow up on my part, got the company's A&R person to listen to more of my tracks on my web site, which then turned into the signing of a publishing agreement. Yes, in part due to Taxi but mainly on MY part for making the first direct contact myself. The lesson I took from this started me on my path to make contacts myself directly with libraries and music supervisors without the middle man gauntlet that Taxi seems to be (the way I see it, who needs a person in the middle deciding if your music is good enough? Why not hear it from the source looking for music, good or bad?) At least you had it heard by the "buyers" directly right? I have had more success this way and even with some of the tracks that were "returned" by Taxi! Of course, I still get some rejection but at least I talk directly with the company looking for music! I recently signed a deal this way and am building relationships with others that have the potential to turn into successful agreements as well. My point to all of this is Taxi does provide a service that CAN work for the artist but only the UTMOST TOP NOTCH ones! So if you are top notch obviously you've got the best opportunity (and perhaps don't won't need this type of service because you are so good at your craft). At this point of my membership I feel Taxi somewhat preys on all the sub par writers by continuing to take their money. And I'm sure the screeners have heard the same sub par artists many times. Yet, they never straight up tell you that you shouldn't summit material until you reached this certain “bar” of the craft and recording (maybe that's what the critique says but they don't say “save your money until your reached the "high bar" skill level”). Perhaps it's too cold of a comment but it would be saving your cash. You could call it our “cold” hard cash (smiles). This is exactly what the music supervisor or A&R guy will tell you! Don't come back until you've got top notch skills!So that's my 2 cents and of course only an opinion! After receiving the listings email today I had to vent a bit on Micheal's listings letter. I'm not saying by any means that Taxi is not legit. I know that Taxi does have an interest in your success. I just think the business model could use a critique (and this ones free)! Thanks for reading and best of luck to all of you! Meanwhile, I'll finish out my Taxi membership, maybe submit a few more songs but mainly I'll be saving my money for travel expenses to meet with and build old and new relationships with music industry companies directly, $5 at a time! Troy Castellanowww.troycastellano.com

[mazz]

Troy, You're totally right that TAXI's clients are looking for top notch music.Also, Michael Laskow has been quoted many times as saying that TAXI is the second best way to get your music heard, which implies that the best way is still efforts on your own behalf, which it seems like you're doing anyway. Many members choose to do both, which is a smart way to approach it. You didn't mention how many submissions you made over the four years, you you be comfortable sharing your forward/submission ratio? Also, what genre(s) are you targeting?Question: would you have known which companies to contact if you had not been forwarded by TAXI in the first place?To the original premise of your post: Many people use TAXI as an investment in their education in how to make their music forwardable, which applies not just to TAXI but the industry in general. I would imagine that these folks don't think that TAXI is preying on them at all, but rather providing, thorough critiques, the Road Rally, etc., a great first hand look into the business and what it takes to be successful. All in all, even 4 years of TAXI membership is a lot cheaper than a couple of years at Full Sail or something and you're building your skills and your catalog at the same time.As far as pre-screening: TAXI's not holding a gun to anyone's head and removing their wallet and if someone has a dream and the funds to chase it, why not let them, it's a free country! Personally I don't begrudge them for providing a good service and making a profit from it. People vote with their wallets in this country and TAXI has a lot of happy members, as far as I can tell.I think you have some good points but I think trying to protect others from "wasting" their money is wasting your energy that is better spent on writing great music.I've been accused by association of being a TAXI mole and cheerleader, but I always try to get people to view TAXI and the music business unemotionally, just like you don't think twice about 7-11 or any other service that you use day in and day out. Because we tend to be so emotionally attached to our "art", it sometimes feel like we are being victimized by the very folks that are trying to help us. This can only lead to a downward spiral and unclear thinking.I mean all of what I just said with the utmost respect to you and your path. I wish you well.Cheers!!Mazz

[k o star]

^_^

[hummingbird]

Hey, I hear what you're saying. Folks joining TAXI need to 'get' that their music MUST be commercially viable in order to be successful. If anyone asks me for advice about joining TAXI, I make that very clear.Quote:If Taxi did a pre-screening for memberships then they would be getting more deals for writers and artists, saving the starving artists their hard earned cash, and in my eyes be more respectable to the writers and artists. IMO TAXI does provide a Membership screening program. One can join, submit, get returns/forwards and feedback... and if one isn't happy with one's results within the first year, TAXI will return the membership fee. So the money lost will only be the cost of the submissions made during that year. Seems to me that's pretty fair & above board. TAXI already does what you are asking for - but in a better way than you suggest. Instead of taking only 3 tracks from a prospective member and deciding the writer's merits on that limited amount of work... TAXI gives new members 12 months to figure out whether they fit. Over that 12 months, the number of submissions to make is up to the new member. Submit 1, submit 3, submit 5, submit 12, it's up to you; get feedback on your submissions; have the opp to get custom critiques. IMO that's a good deal. As to being a “starving artist” – no one knows that better than me. I think long and carefully before investing any money in anything to do with my career, be it lessons, equipment, professional affiliations, music conferences, or services like TAXI. I struggle to pay my TAXI membership fees. Ergo, if I’m paying for something, you can bet I think it has value to my career.Quote:Especially the ones who need more work on their craft.When I joined TAXI I wrote horrendously boring 6 minute long folk songs that I submitted to all the country listings. I also submitted the same songs to music publishers & I pitched to leads gained through other tip sheets/resources. In those cases I got absolutely nothing back, no acknowledgement, no feedback (no money back, either - and some of them cost as much or more than TAXI). Without TAXI, I would have merrily gone on my way screaming about how the music industry didn't 'get' my music, that it was all homogenized, yadda yadda.With TAXI, I got... a punch in the gut. Every time I submitted and got that little green form back, or got that little email that said "we're sorry"... I ranted and raved. I could have asked for my hard earned money back at any time in those first twelve months. But each time, after I calmed down, I'd read what the screener said again... and I'd get a glimmer of understanding.So my first year became an education. TAXI told me my music WASN'T top notch. At the end of year, it was up to me whether I wished to continue or whether I wanted my money back.I signed on again. Why? Am I stupid? Am I suffering delusions of grandeur? No, I signed up again because TAXI told me I need to work more on my craft. They told me what I needed to improve, where I was going wrong, what I needed to know / fix / do. I signed up again because the pursuit of a TAXI forward became my benchmark of excellence. If I could get a TAXI screener to give any track a nod, that meant that I had learned enough to be able to write & produce something that IS commercially viable. I use TAXI listings to tell me what the market is seeking, and I write to listings as a way of motivating myself to compose, a way of challenging myself to be creative – like any composer needs to be – within the context of what the client wants. In addition, I use TAXI's response to my submission as a way of assessing the quality of my work. TAXI return? Either I was off target (my bad, research better before submitting), or my work was flawed. I can use the feedback to help me improve the track or take that knowledge with me into the next project. TAXI forward? Got the nod. I know this work is “top notch” & therefore I can be confident in pitching that track inside and outside of TAXI.I have used the TAXI system to go from being a non-commercial thoroughly amateur songwriter to being a professional songwriter/composer. I have deals inside and outside of TAXI, but I keep my TAXI membership because of the reasons I have outlined above. TAXI continues to challenge me. TAXI demands excellence from me. TAXI gives me a link to the industry. TAXI supports this community. TAXI hosts the Road Rally.So -- if TAXI is out to take money from starving artists by preying on their dreams, why wouldn’t they forward more tracks? It took 2.5 years of TAXI membership (plus numerous submissions) – and a co-write with a successful fellow member – before I had ONE forward. The track was forwarded in Dec 2006, I was contacted by the library in Dec 2007, and we signed the deal in March 2008. I had my first solo Forward in March 2007, I was contacted by the library in May 2007 and I signed the deal in June 2007. Seems to me, if TAXI really was ‘a scam’ it would have ‘forwarded’ my less than stellar tracks to keep me hoping & dreaming of landing a deal!!! But they returned every single one of my submissions until I did the work, and got the skills, and got the tools, to finally make the grade. That’s why I am a TAXI member. Because they continued to insist that I be better than good, and they absolutely refused to forward anything that didn’t meet the bar. I was convinced of their integrity because of their demand that I write and submit commercially viable, top notch music. And goddamn it, look at me now. I just signed another TEN TRACKS.Thank God TAXI didn’t tell me to go away and do something else with my time and money..--Edit - geez, while I was writing this, Michael was posting, lol. I would like to add one thought - if I can do it, anyone can. IF they are willing to do the work.

[crs7string]

If I joined a country club to get better at golf, is it the country club's fault if I still suck after one year AND should they refund my money.I think one's ability to assess their skill set before joining TAXI or a country club might be in order. I think it would fall on deaf ears if you blamed the golf pro for your awful golf game especially if you only played (or submitted) a limited number of times.Chuck

[trocat]

Thanks for the replies. Glad to see that no one is severely ripping my head off for critiquing Taxi!And you guys are all right! I should be spending my energy on my music instead of venting about Taxi!I don't think it's all bad, I just feel that there's better ways to spend your money on, especially if your tracks are not yet commercial quality in form and production. I guess Taxi is more about the song biz education as the response posts have come back with. When I signed on it was for the opps and contacts first and foremost. I glean a small bit from critiques but mainly I learn a lot on my own. I put my tracks out there in all forms, getting feedback at shows, from web site visits, from song downloads, etc. And I also listen to current hits (mainly in rock/alt rock). There are 3 aspects of this biz I've been focusing on hard and heavy the last 6 months. 1. The craft of song writing. 2. Recording and production. 3. Publishing. And Taxi has a part in helping with this to but not as much as other resources I have used. That's the case for me anyway.And regarding the term “prey”. Ok, prey maybe to strong of a word. Agreed on that one.Seems to me then that the replies here have been almost solely on the education that Taxi provides. Yet their number one pitch is about the listings, connections and opening the doors to a potential deals. Perhaps if this is the case, then there should be more listings providing full critiques instead of so many yes/no ones that generally provide no insight to why the track didn't pass. I acknowledge that Taxi has added the short yes/no critiques now but the ones I have got back didn't say much of anything. Here's examples of that:http://www.taximusic.com/history.php?su ... 5186824BTW, This track was signed to a library recently but never got a forward past the Taxi gauntlet. These short critiques have a comment box but rarely are there any comments left. That doesn't help much.Perhaps instead of membership screening taxi could start TaxiU.com and have division based mainly on the education of songwriting and production. Once the person has graduated from TaxiU then they are eligible to start submitting, knowing that they have a lot lot better chance of getting a placement or deal (which is the main pitch of the Taxi service).Another part of my griping comes from many of my songs being returned because the screener didn't dig the lyrics or didn't like the phrasing, or the hook wasn't stellar, etc. However, the songs were checked “on target” and “well recorded”. When those come back as a return I get fired up. I 'm thinking, they are on target and the production is good, now let the “buyer” decide if the lyrics work or if the hook is strong enough. In many cases, if the track is for film or TV, they will ask for an instrumental version or only use certain vocal drops from the track. If the tracks on target for what the listing asked for, justify my membership by forwarding please!Recent examples: http://www.taximusic.com/history.php?su ... 8743Thanks to Micheal for the direct reply to this post. Nothing but respect to you and I don't harbor any bad feelings what so ever! It is only my opinion. Here's a few comments that reply:“I know it can seem daunting to hear the best people and know how hard it is to become as good as they are. I know it's deflating to find out that you might not be anywhere near where you need to be to make money with your music".It's not deflating as I am making progress. What is deflating is that it's been done mostly for free outside of my Taxi efforts. It seems I have better luck without a “middle man” in the mix deciding if it fits the lister's request. Never the less, I do acknowledge that Taxi does help start some successful careers. At least opens the doors for introductions."Why create obstacles for yourself by looking at the top of the mountain and telling yourself how high it is, over and over again?"Um, because you must know how high it is to the summit, your ultimate goal (we've discussed goals many times in this biz) to make a plan and path to the top. Never lose sight of your goals, right?"That's what TAXI does for you, and that's why we don't pre-screen people from joining. People love to assume it's a display of my personal greed to take all comers." Michael, I do not direct this as display of your personal greed. I do however, believe it's big part of the company's bottom line (as far as percentage of where the companies profits are generated from). Of course, I do not know and there is no accusation of greed here. It's simply a business "bottom line" issue. And how that bottom line revenue is generated.An analogy perhaps is: I want to be a Nascar driver but I keep bringing a AMC Gremlin to the race. Nascar does not take my entry fee they tell me to get a new car. I come back with a 69 Camero. They say that's a great car but it's not race ready. After a few more tries then finally say, "If you want to race in Nascar you need a Nascar rated and certified race car. Until you have that don't ask to race again!" They could have taken my entry and other fees over the years then just watch me lose all the time but that does not benefit the sport or their sponsorships (taxi lister's and music buyers). So they decline until I have the car that's fit for the sport. After some work on my own I get the car, now I'm in the race without spending my money on previous race seasons only for them and me to know that I will be losing the races. Nascar saved me lots of time and money by flat out telling me that my car was not up to par. And that alone drove me to work furiously on building car that can compete and I was so driven I built it in faster time!"Don't blame others for your fear of how high the mountain in front of you is "I'm not “blaming” anyone I just feel that Taxi should make it a priority to ultimately let people know that their songs absolutely have to be “brilliantly written and recorded” to have any chance of getting the doors opened to this biz from Taxi. If that's clearly stated through out the marketing then Taxi would not get the criticism it gets on that side of the service. And if it get's this from 1000s before than perhaps there's something to this idea?"To play in the Masters, you have to be good enough to make the cut... you need to pay years of dues and pass several levels of trying out."Although there's some truth to that it's not necessarily true, there are many many cases of athletes, artists, actors, that have made careers without years and years of dues. If it were true than most of the “breakout” artists, athletes, etc. would be in their late 30s and 40s!Ok again thanks to Micheal for the response! That to me shows class in it's self.To the other posts....MAZZ"Question: would you have known which companies to contact if you had not been forwarded by TAXI in the first place?"No, because many of them (that I had forwards to anyway) have no type of online presence or easy way to contact. Which is how most of us who are not in the music hubs make contacts these days! If the listing company does not have much of a business presence how big are they anyway? And is it wise to spend energy pursuing? I don't know...but it does make me wonder!"I think you have some good points but I think trying to protect others from "wasting" their money is wasting your energy that is better spent on writing great music."Of course,. However, I don't think you need to spend money to know whether or not your song is on par with what the listing asked for. I guess we must objectively compare your tracks to those artists mentioned in the listing . Don't fool yourself into thinking it's as good because you want it to be (I'm guilty of this myself)! Be honest with yourself before dropping the coinage! That's much of my point. Just want to see that represented by Taxi.H.A.L “Hey, I hear what you're saying. Folks joining TAXI need to 'get' that their music MUST be commercially viable in order to be successful. If anyone asks me for advice about joining TAXI, I make that very clear”.See above reply!"I use TAXI listings to tell me what the market is seeking" Although Taxi is a good resource, you don't necessarily need Taxi to keep on the pulse of the biz. There's a lot of resources online to keep in touch with what's hip and in demand."Seems to me, if TAXI really was a scam...’ " I didn't say that or imply that. I was merely pointing out to save your $5 if the track you are submitting is anything less than the quality of the artist/s mentioned in the listing. If it's even smidgen less in production or form it will not get forwarded. Only send tracks that are Top Notch. And in that case, if you are writing that good you'll more than likely fair well with or without Taxi. If and only if you are motivated to work the business on your own behalf.Crs7string"If I joined a country club to get better at golf, is it the country club's fault if I still suck after one year AND should they refund my money."Why would you join a country club to learn golf? Why not save the dough and learn on a public course? Hone the swing then join the club. That way you saved money and impressed the club members when you formally joined the country club? I joined the Taxi club to have a way to get my songs to the music buyers. Not necessarily have a 3rd person in the mix deciding who get to be heard by the buyers. One of my points noted in this post is having songs “on target” not getting the forward."I think one's ability to assess their skill set before joining TAXI or a country club might be in order."This pretty much summed up what I was getting at with the post! But I guess I'm looking for Taxi to say that straight up front with all the marketing to potential members. BTW my forward rate for the last two years:66 submissions, 6 forwards = 10% forward ratio.BestTroywww.troycastellano.com

[trocat]

Doh , I didn't realize those links were only visible under my login. I'll try to post the links in another format you can view soon.Troy

[hummingbird]

Quote:Seems to me then that the replies here have been almost solely on the education that Taxi provides. Yet their number one pitch is about the listings, connections and opening the doors to a potential deals.I said: "The track was forwarded in Dec 2006, I was contacted by the library in Dec 2007, and we signed the deal in March 2008. I had my first solo Forward in March 2007, I was contacted by the library in May 2007 and I signed the deal in June 2007." I didn't say that one of those Forwards led to a deal for 3 more tracks in 2008. I have since been forwarded to several major libraries and publishers, and have additional multi-track deals because of these connections.Quote:Perhaps instead of membership screening taxi could start TaxiU.com and have division based mainly on the education of songwriting and production. Once the person has graduated from TaxiU then they are eligible to start submitting, knowing that they have a lot lot better chance of getting a placement or deal (which is the main pitch of the Taxi service).My whole post is an illustration of what "TaxiU" has done for me, and I repeat my assertion that the first year membership with a money-back guarantee gives you a chance to try your hand at real world opps & learn. Does it not? And in that year you can make submissions and/or get custom critiques, start to understand how the industry views your tracks (ahhh what you think is contemporary country is classic folk with an Enya vocal), and work on improving your craft. However, I will agree that more listings with full critiques would be helpful to those of us studying at "TaxiU". I'd vote to have submission deadlines moved up so that TAXI would have more time available to accomodate this request.

[mazz]

"However, I will agree that more listings with full critiques would be helpful to those of us studying at "TaxiU". I'd vote to have submission deadlines moved up so that TAXI would have more time available to accomodate this request."H.A.L.,Many (maybe most) times the deadlines are set by the listing client. If the deadline is tight, there probably isn't enough time for the screeners to give an ultra detailed critique (Y/N listings or Dispatch, for instance). I think that a custom critique, even at 20.00 is, in some cases, a worthwhile investment and is at least a similar price (or maybe less) than a custom from someone like Jason Blume or John Brahaney.Troy,Thanks for understanding that no one was attacking you, that's most appreciated!!A lot of what you are saying, in my interpretation, presupposes a person's ability to view their music and it's quality in comparison to the bar in a detached manner. While that's a skill that I feel is essential to develop and master (and is a lifelong practice, I've found), no one is born with that native ability. Depending on where a person is in their development, their music may sound, to them, just like what they hear on the radio, when in fact, it may be miles from the mark and their mind is tricking them in to thinking otherwise. If this person is willing to learn and take a hard look at where they stand, that's great, but they still need to develop that ability. Where are they going to go to learn? They can't really rely on family, friends and fans from live shows because there's a large emotional connection (and all that implies), which is a great thing, but may not be an accurate measure of how good the music is in the light of the larger marketplace. So if they are truly seeking some assistance and knowledge, they may find TAXI and decide that it may be helpful to them as one avenue to learn (notice I didn't say the only avenue). Again, this person may not feel that they are wasting $5 every time they submit if they are getting what they need from the critiques and using that information to improve. It's a gradual process, as you know.To me, what you are saying is that TAXI is one component of your musical marketing activities and it has helped you learn some things about the business that you may not have learned on your own. But I think the bottom line is that you are driving your career and not just depending on TAXI to "make you successful". That's the whole point and I, for one, totally agree and get where you are coming from.Hang in there and continue to keep an open mind.Peace,Mazz

[hummingbird]

Mar 16, 2009, 8:59am, mazz wrote:H.A.L.,Many (maybe most) times the deadlines are set by the listing client. If the deadline is tight, there probably isn't enough time for the screeners to give an ultra detailed critique (Y/N listings or Dispatch, for instance). I think that a custom critique, even at 20.00 is, in some cases, a worthwhile investment and is at least a similar price (or maybe less) than a custom from someone like Jason Blume or John Brahaney.Dispatch is totally understandable.I'm talking Regular Listings. In the past I've seen New Y/N Listings with deadlines that were 4 and 6 weeks after the listing email. I agree the Custom Critique is an excellent value and I highly recommend it. But one of the reasons I am a TAXI member is to have my submissions screened and receive a critique that explains the return / forward. John Braheny & Jason Blume don't assess instrumental tracks. I can't afford to pay TAXI $20 to assess every instrumental track I create. I write many tracks for listings, and I like to get feedback. That's one of the reasons I am a member.HOWEVER, I have noticed that with the changes that TAXI has recently implemented, there ARE many more "TAXI will screen & critique" new listings and that makes me very happy. In addition, I have noticed that we are getting our results faster. Kudos to TAXI for making these changes.