The only interesting Taxi listings lately have been for Dispatch

[PeteCrane]

I'm well into my 3rd year of Taxi membership and I'm starting to regret renewing this year. Not because it's a bad service or that I want to leave the community behind. In fact it's mostly because I'm kept very busy by one particular Music Library I met via Taxi who is getting me great placements. So the system works and I advocate it to others often - I've even got a testimonial in the "Taxi Success Stories" blog.

However this year I'm trying to keep more of an eye on my expenses and Taxi is a considerable one compared to the small amount that comes in from streaming network placements, so I decided to only renew my base membership and leave Dispatch out of it.

Unfortunately, the only listings in my wheelhouse that have come through in many, many months have been for Dispatch. This is the stuff like hybrid horror cues and aggressive electronic stuff. Nothing in the base Taxi membership has been remotely of interest to me specifically. I know this niche interest isn't relatable to everyone, but it's where I sit.

I'm going to stick to my resolution to only maintain my base membership to Taxi this year, and if some of these Dispatch listings don't trickle down to the base layer, I'm not going to renew at all next year.

I really do object to the hidden stratification of Taxi's membership that they don't tell you about until you've already signed up. For my particular niche it feels like all the opportunities are behind a paywall.

I hope Taxi gets rid of the Dispatch model entirely. It feels anti-consumer and out of place amongst Taxi's otherwise composer-friendly ethos. Here's hoping they do the right thing.

[Telefunkin]

is-dispatch-worth-the-extra-cost-t148175.html

[crashgates]

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[Paulie]

There is no "hidden stratification." Regular listings and Dispatch listings are driving by market demand. In other words, Taxi has ZERO control over what it's clients ask for every day. If your focus is hybrid horror and aggressive electronic, your self-inflicted genre limitations are going to decrease your opportunities. That's not Taxi's fault.

[crashgates]

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[PeteCrane]

There is no "hidden stratification." Regular listings and Dispatch listings are driving by market demand. In other words, Taxi has ZERO control over what it's clients ask for every day. If your focus is hybrid horror and aggressive electronic, your self-inflicted genre limitations are going to decrease your opportunities. That's not Taxi's fault.

Locking opportunities behind a paywall is stratification, and the fact that they don't tell you that Dispatch even exists until after you've signed up makes it hidden.
I was just telling you what my wheelhouse is to give an example of the kind of listings I'm not seeing in non-Dispatch listings lately. Your words about "Self-inflicted genre limitations" are completely unconstructive and have nothing to do with my point that I am seeing less diversity in listings outside of Dispatch lately. It's not upon me as a customer to contend myself with (checks latest listings) "Singer Songwriter Christmas Songs", "Latin Instrumentals" or "Relaxation Music", while listings I am interested in are locked behind a paywall. That is Taxi's fault.

[Paulie]

Everyone has their own expectations and perception of "constructive" feedback, You seem to be stuck on the idea that Taxi controls the types of listings that market demands... they do not. Dispatch is an additional service that personally I have not had much luck with, but I see no reason to think that Taxi is cherry picking which listings are run as Dispatch listings. Here is some more context about Dispatch: https://www.taxi.com/member/members-dispatch/

We all have our own target genres. The sync market is saturated... how many hip hop, dramedy and tension drones does the world really need anyway? Personally I'm happy to see more Latin listings, as well as more jazz listings lately, both are specialties for me. But when those genres were not showing up, I didn't blame Taxi for it. I focused on other genres when I didn't see listings I liked... and sometimes there were long stretches where none of the listings appealed to me. I used that time to increase output of other genres so I could pitch full albums to clients. Taxi is not locking down the "good" listings behind Dispatch... that's an absurd suggestion. Think about it... what's "good" to one composer is of zero interest to another... do you think Michael is up in his castle tower thinking of how he can screw clients out of getting access to the listings in their preferred genres and forcing them to pay for the really, really good listings? C'mon man... think about it, that's how you sound right now.

You are not happy to see Christmas and Latin and Relaxation briefs. Fine, go record something else. For context, Christmas music briefs happen roughly three times per year due to production schedules... normally I see the first batch in early Summer. And now there are more requests because we are getting closer to the Holidays. That's normal. The current wave of Latin instrumentals is driven by pop culture demand, and in some cases by a couple of libraries looking to enter this specific market and therefore growing their catalog.

Taxi is just one of many tools out there we can use to get connected in this industry. You obviously have the skills, your music was used as a reference in a listing (as you mentioned in another post). Genre demand ebbs and flows, you need to accept that as part of working in this incredibly competitive and often frustrating busines. Managing expectations is vital.

[Paulie]

I just checked out your music, and it is excellent. Cyberpunk and Industrial Metal are certainly specialty genres, your best path forward into sync, in my opinion, is to create albums in these genres and pitch them to libraries... waiting for Taxi listings in these genres will only lead to frustration. And, instrumental sync is really tough right now... more competition than ever while more libraries are taking more percentages out of our piece of the pie. Having polished batches of 10-12 tracks that are ready to sign with no co-writer drama is the way to go... your music is strong and usable. Spend your mental energy on that.

[crashgates]

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[Casey H]

Keep in mind that Taxi hasn't raised their regular membership price from $299 for probably 2 decades or more. To keep pace with inflation, that could easily be like 2x that now. I just checked and $300 in 2003 is equal to $500 now.

One can debate their sales & marketing strategy (it's not OUR company!), but how many new members would sign up for $499, all listings including Dispatch? For a lot of new members, it's an intro to the world of pitching music and they first need to learn how to even be in the game.

Peter, only you can decide what's worth the money. It's possible that with time (renewals are $199), you will see more regular listings in your styles. I've seen a lot of ebb and flow over the years. But I have no idea, no guarantees at all. Have you been to a road rally? That's great value for the money and you might meet peers who are looking to collab in your styles and have a lot of contacts.

Best,
Casey