TAXI.com

Does anyone think this recent dispatch listing, looks a lot like the one posted in the "main" listings, how many reality shows can there be about the partying disenfranchised?

Dispatch:

HARD ROCK and METAL INSTRUMENTAL and VOCAL TRACKS NEEDED a la Korn, Godsmack, Metallica, Alice in Chains etc., for publisher servicing top-rated cable reality show aimed at the disenfranchised. Think malcontents partying out of control. Melodic hooks and aggressive riffs are good. No speed metal. Must be broadcast quality with attitude and TV-friendly lyrics. Placements receive 100% writers, 50% publishing attached to placement only; no upfront sync fee. You retain copyrights. Please submit one to three instrumentals/vocal tracks online or per CD. All submissions will be screened on a YES/NO BASIS - NO CRITIQUES FROM TAXI - and must be received no later than Noon (PST) on Wednesday, August 18, 2010.

Main listing:

NEW LISTING -- HARD ROCK/ HEAVY ALTERNATIVE ROCK SONGS and INSTRUMENTALS a la Godsmack, System Of A Down, Deftones, Alice In Chains, Slipknot, etc., needed by the Music Supervisor for the flagship reality show of a Major Cable Network. They are looking for up-tempo songs/instrumentals, but are open to mid-tempo tracks as well. The songs/tracks submitted should focus on, attitude, rebellion, anger, partying, and getting into trouble either lyrically or stylistically in tone. Broadcast quality needed (excellent home recordings are fine). This listing was recently run as Dispatch listing # D100714HR, so if you submitted to that listing, please send in new material this time around. Please submit one to three songs and/or instrumentals online or per CD, include lyrics if applicable. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than Thursday, September 9, 2010.
TAXI # S100909HR

It probably is the same. They probably need music now (which they can only get via Dispatch) AND they'd need music for the shows later on in the season (or maybe for the next season)... hence the regular listing (where they'll also get a wider and bigger selection of music).

davewalton wrote:It probably is the same. They probably need music now (which they can only get via Dispatch) AND they'd need music for the shows later on in the season (or maybe for the next season)... hence the regular listing (where they'll also get a wider and bigger selection of music).

+1 on this.

I just want to add that we composers could help our chances in the production business overall by learning something about how that business functions. We are one of several "suppliers" of content to these folks, and it is possible they had to bust a$$ to get the first couple of episodes in the "can", hence the quick need for stuff, and now they need to fill the rest of the season which could last several months.

I've also seen situations with the daytime TV gig where a senior producer gets a wild hair to try something new and puts out a call for a specific thing (often with a vague description, though), which starts a big flurry of activity by several people, the last of which is the composer. They need it "tomorrow" so a few folks pull an all nighter only to find out the next day the producer changed their mind, or the project schedule got moved by someone higher up on the food chain. Those folks who's day gigs are in corporate America know that it's no different from this world, just because it's the music business doesn't mean it's not immune to the same craziness as in pretty much any other business on the planet.

So thinking outside our little studio box and realizing that we're a cog in the production wheel is a good exercise for a composer. A bigger view of things makes it easier for us to help apply a little grease to the wheels, and if we do it well and consistently, the folks that put music in shows just might start to look for our music specifically. That's a good thing!

This isn't to imply that solardaze doesn't already realize this, just a reminder to myself mostly!! blah blah blah blah................

Cheers!

Mazz

hey mazz, thanks for te detailed response, that is all new to me, so thxs for enlightening me!!

At first, I thought they were the same too... But then I re-read the listings a little bit closer... The regular listing is for a music SUPERVISOR of a reality show... The dispatch listing is for a music PUBLISHER that services a reality show... While they could be the one in the same, I started thinking they just might be different. So I figured the best thing to do would be to call TAXI and find out for myself whether or not it's the same.

Turns out... it is NOT the same listing party for these listings.

hth,
- Big Blue