TAXI.com

Question for for all of you who have been blessed with a forward please: (Not sure if this is the right place to ask this but this concerns the forwarded lovely creatures!) Do you guys actually compose for a request in the TAXI listing or do you just submit your own songs? Also, if you have been forwarded and accepted do you start composing in that same style or form so your chances improve?

Hello Istanbul! I compose for both the listings and whatever gets me inspired. Recently, I signed with a library that needed me to pick a bunch of genres that they needed (they needed to fill some spaces in their roster of cues). As far as getting forwards and staying with that particular genre.. uh...sometimes? It's probably something I should do, but a lot of times I get sidetracked with other music work. I think it's generally best to find your strengths and write to those, but it is also good (at least inspiring to me) to try writing different genres to get into a new headspace.Hope that helps,Mark

Dec 1, 2009, 11:29am, ethnopot wrote:Do you guys actually compose for a request in the TAXI listing or do you just submit your own songs? Also, if you have been forwarded and accepted do you start composing in that same style or form so your chances improve? For me now it's both. I'm a home studio guy doing instrumentals so I can write, record, etc for listings or any other thing. When I came back to music (after a long time away) in 2004 I had 0 songs. So anything I did I had to "write for the listing". Now I don't always have time to write for listings (thanks to Taxi actually... stay pretty busy) but I have a fair collection of material in a variety of styles so I can match existing music to a listing and just send it. For me though, I do much better writing music when I have something to write to or for... the listings are great reasons to write new music and great guidelines on what to write. It took a little while (a year or more at least) after joining Taxi for me to "find myself" musically speaking... what music I seemed to do better at. So yes, once I saw/heard that certain styles came to me more naturally I definitely focused on those but also I try to step out and experiment now and then with something new. HTH,Dave

Quote:Do you guys actually compose for a request in the TAXI listing or do you just submit your own songs?Yes. I write specifically for listings, and I submit previously composed tracks. I focus on writing my strengths, but I also pick out listings that will encourage me to research and develop skills in a different genre/sub-genre.Quote: Also, if you have been forwarded and accepted do you start composing in that same style or form so your chances improve? Depends on how frequently that style comes up in listings or in needs.

I do both. I am also an instrumental composer and can knock out full productions from my spare room studio.Like Dave, I enjoy writing for the listings because it motivates me to write. Like Vikki, I enjoy exploring new styles from time to time as a "stretch" exercise.Ultimately, I'd like to develop a "voice", even if it cuts across several genres, but in the meantime, a lot of the fun and challenge is in trying to hit the target, both musically and schedule-wise.Good luck and I wish you many forwards.Mazz

I find I write mostly for listings rather then just whatever I want. Sounds strange but I tend to be more creative if boundaries are set. But having said that I do like the occasional fun of starting with a blank canvass and just seeing what comes out with no prior preconceptions...I feel like Mazz in that I'm still developing my voice and that voice seems to want to cut across several genres....There's a lot of fun in targeting genres for listings as well as mixing and matching just for the heck of it....often just not enough hours in the day to do everything I'd like to.Derek

Put me in the camp that does both as well. I joined TAXI in January of last year and didn't really have any songs ready to pitch at that time. So when listings came out, I would try to find some that were in my particular genre of strength (rock/metal). So the first several months, I was writing songs that were tailored for the listings. Fast forward to now... I've been blessed with several forwards and deals (thank you TAXI!) and find that I'm spending more time at the present, writing songs for my particular deals. But occasionally now and then I will still try and write a track that is tailored for a specific listing (typically rock/metal).While I think my "voice" is definitely guitar-driven rock/metal/pop-punk, I'm trying to expand that a bit to incorporate some other elements. I'm currently working on a metal track that incorporates a violin as a lead instrument... a distorted violin that is One of the best things about writing for the listing is that it gives you a target. A goal. It helps you stay focused on the task at hand. So if you end up writing a couple of tracks for a listing and they don't get forwarded (for one reason or another), you still have a couple of tracks now that you didn't have when you started. You can use the feedback you get from the critique (if it's not a Y/N listing) and do what it takes to get your tracks to that next level (or matched to the appropriate listing).This (the music business, not just TAXI) is a marathon and not a sprint. So hop in and come along for the ride and may you be blessed with many forwards along the way!- Big Blue

Guys thanks so much 4 taking the time! That was really enlightening. I wanted to find out how you guys do it. I suppose it sort of makes sense to compose with a listing in mind. I have a wide range of already composed stuff and have sold to record labels but I would like to try TAXI for more regular work (hopefully ). What I found useful in your comments is that you are also trying to write for different genres. I think thats great. It is a nice get away from one's self . Comparing Broadjam and TAXI listings It seems the TAXI listings are more beefy. Have you guys submitted to both ? Any differences ?Thanks a lot!

I tried BJ listings a while back just after Taxi and BJ split. Also another listing service based in UK. Nothing ever came of them and I hated the funky peer review/submission system BJ had. Couldn't dispel the feeling that my stuff was disappearing into the ether along with the submission fee in both cases.......So haven't done anything with either of them since then. Not saying that they're not legit that's just my experience. At least with Taxi you get an acknowledgment that they got your stuff in the form of a forward or return. Also I know that the Taxi model works and it is legit and deals do come from Taxi forwards (Not saying that all forwards become deals) so I trust Taxi 100% and use it as one vehicle for success. Derek

RE: exploring other genres -- I joined as an instrumental composer but (for some kind of comical reasons) ended up writing country for the first time, in response to TAXI listings, for the last couple of years. Now, coming back around to focus on instrumentals, I'm fairly certain that I'm writing better instrumental melodies because of having studied contemporary country.You can't go wrong by working hard, heeding the critiques, getting help from the awesome people on this forum, and... working hard.