TAXI.com

Hi all. Just wondering...Is it just me or are instrumental listings with full critiques a thing of the past? Admittedly, I submit primarily to instrumental listings so I don't know if it applies to other categories. I can't seem to recall the last time I saw any with a full critique, though. It seems that almost all listings are yes/no basis only these days. I emailed Taxi about this a couple of weeks ago, but haven't heard back.

I've found the full critiques to be very helpful (in most cases) to my improvement overall and one of the best features of a Taxi membership. Again, maybe I'm completely overlooking them (which is entirely possible) but I was wondering if any of you have noticed this or have any insights. Thanks!

Hi Chris, on returns with no critiques, I generally head over to the Taxi blog on forwards, http://blog.taxi.com/forward/ , and check out the tracks that were forwarded. After listening to a few of the forwarded tracks, I can usually get a better idea of why my track was returned. Hope this helps.
robb

Thanks for responding, Robb. I do look at the forwards section of the forum for insight into what worked for a particular listing, which is actually very useful. I guess I was just wondering if the full critique is being phased out. I could pay for a full critique, but I probably should just use the peer to peer section more--I know that would be really helpful. Most of the time, though, I seem to be finishing right at the deadline for the listing.

Many of the Film/TV listings, especially instrumental cues are "U", "Y", or "D" (dispatch) so they only offer mini-critique (check boxes and optionally a comment). My understanding is these tend to have quicker turn around times. I do wish more Film/TV listings had full critiques but I understand the limitations. I don't think this has changed much recently.

What I do now and then if I really want a professional's opinion is get a custom critique and include with that a list of specific questions. It's important to be clear about your goal for a track so Taxi can assign it to the right screener. For Film/TV vocal songs, I request Screener #347. He/She gives awesome, detailed reviews. Well worth the $20 investment! For instrumental cues, I don't have a particular screener in mind but you could just be clear that it's a Film/TV instrumental cue and that will guide Taxi to get you the right screener.

Best,
Casey

Thanks for the good advice, Casey. I just might have to do that on a few of my upcoming submissions.

I'm pretty much going to pay for full reviews if the listing is an important one for me, i.e. is a stretch or involves crucial chops.