TAXI.com

Has anyone done anything like this? Or is anyone planning on submitting to it? I think I'd like to throw my hat in the ring but I don't really know what, specifically, they're looking for. If it's music for seriously ill children, I have to assume there are topics that might be awkward?? Does 'personalized' mean they'll want something with little Jimmy's name in it? I dunno. I just don't know enough about what they want to even know if I'm asking the right questions.CHILDREN'S MUSIC SONGWRITERS/ARTISTS are needed to balance out roster of a non-profit organization whose mission is to create personalized, fully-produced, original songs for children who are seriously ill, free of charge. ÊHere's the scoop in their own words: Ê"I suppose the best thing for us would be a singer who specializes in Kids' Music, but can crossover into other styles such as pop, rock, country, etc. ÊPreference is given to those who can produce their own work. What we are listening for: good vocal quality (intonation, style, diction), full MIDI/band production, recording quality, quality of writing. ÊCompensation starts at $75/song and quickly goes up to $100 based on performance. ÊSome writers do 5+ songs per month. ÊThe company has grown rapidly in the past year and continues to expand, so there is possibility of steady, long-term work for writers who are a good fit. ÊWe have been featured in many major media, including 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Parade Magazine and most recently the ABC World News." Please submit two to three songs per CD/online, include lyrics/photo/bio. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than Oct. 12, 2007. TAXI # S071012CH

Quote:Has anyone done anything like this? Or is anyone planning on submitting to it? I think I'd like to throw my hat in the ring but I don't really know what, specifically, they're looking for. If it's music for seriously ill children, I have to assume there are topics that might be awkward?? Does 'personalized' mean they'll want something with little Jimmy's name in it? I dunno. I just don't know enough about what they want to even know if I'm asking the right questions.CHILDREN'S MUSIC SONGWRITERS/ARTISTS are needed to balance out roster of a non-profit organization whose mission is to create personalized, fully-produced, original songs for children who are seriously ill, free of charge. ÊHere's the scoop in their own words: Ê"I suppose the best thing for us would be a singer who specializes in Kids' Music, but can crossover into other styles such as pop, rock, country, etc. ÊPreference is given to those who can produce their own work. What we are listening for: good vocal quality (intonation, style, diction), full MIDI/band production, recording quality, quality of writing. ÊCompensation starts at $75/song and quickly goes up to $100 based on performance. ÊSome writers do 5+ songs per month. ÊThe company has grown rapidly in the past year and continues to expand, so there is possibility of steady, long-term work for writers who are a good fit. ÊWe have been featured in many major media, including 60 Minutes, the New York Times, Parade Magazine and most recently the ABC World News." Please submit two to three songs per CD/online, include lyrics/photo/bio. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than Oct. 12, 2007. TAXI # S071012CHA Taxi friend of mine living in Australia submitted, got forwarded and a deal when these guys ran a previous listing. This is kind of like a composer listing. Rather than "scoring to film" like a composer, you'd be writing based on a descriptive request, kind of like a Taxi listing but maybe with a little more detailed info.The song requests come from the children themselves through the non-profit org. A child might say that their favorite band is "Plain White T's" and make a song request based on that. A song request might also revolve around some kind of scenerio where the lyrical content is what drives the creation of the song. In short, the songwriters need to be able to cover a fairly wide variety of music styles and would be able to turn a request into a fully produced song.If I were submitting I'd want to submit the widest variety of styles, maybe a children's song, pop, and country. Something to show convincing flexibility.

They don't seem to pay much for individual songs. What is the back end like on something of this nature? Is it normal?

Quote:They don't seem to pay much for individual songs. What is the back end like on something of this nature? Is it normal?Well...it's a non-profit...I don't think this is something you'd be doing for the money.I imagine there wouldn't be any backend unless the song was played in one of the stories done on this company (i saw one in a news magazine once).The main thing you'll get out of something like this is the satisfaction of doing a good thing, potential exposure, a credit that rates high on the brownie point scale and tons of good karma (where's johnny? ).matto

Quote:Well...it's a non-profit...I don't think this is something you'd be doing for the money. I imagine there wouldn't be any backend unless the song was played in one of the stories done on this company (i saw one in a news magazine once).At this point, every buck that comes in is a buck I can put toward better samples. So.. a couple of these under my belt and suddenly I can afford some EastWest stuff.

And that's a great attitude! I think far to many people turn down "little" deals, thinking they are somehow an insult...but you gotta start somewhere and I've seen so many little things lead to much bigger things that I think you can't always look at a deal in isolation...you have to think of the potential of the connection and credit it may represent.So more power to you and best of luck!

Quote:And that's a great attitude! I think far to many people turn down "little" deals, thinking they are somehow an insult...but you gotta start somewhere and I've seen so many little things lead to much bigger things that I think you can't always look at a deal in isolation...you have to think of the potential of the connection and credit it may represent.So more power to you and best of luck! absolutely - this just makes me remember to all those littel production for a small fee, that not only brought my first references (with which I was able to go shopping and showing that I'm able to produce music to the customers satisfaction), but also the experiences it brought me. hell, a few years back I didn't really know what a "master" means, what to look out in contracts, not to speak of musical topis (arrangement, etc).so, definitly - we all need to start somewhere; and than grow from wherever you are.cheers,martin