TAXI.com

Ladies and gents,

I've been getting a lot of emails from frustrated members and former members (who quit because they were forwarded and didn't get a deal offer quickly enough). I understand that it must torture people to know that their music is on some industry exec's desk and they're not hearing back right away.

Would those of you who have stories to tell about how long the deal came after a Forward from TAXI, please tell them here. I know you've probably told them before, but I'm going to sticky this sucker at the top of Success Stories for a while.

Thanks... post 'em up folks!
Michael

I almost quit halfway thru my 1st year when I didn't hear back from several forwards I had from the start...
Luckily a good Fren talked me into continuing for the whole year cos abt 3/4 way thru I had a 1 song forward that turned into a very very delicious deal within a week...

Patience is the key in this composing career is what I learnt from that...

I am now expecting more deals to arrive from the older forwards I had before...
Am saving up right now to re-join at a later date cos it's worth it...

K

I've been extremely lucky. the fastest deal offer happened in less than 3 business days, it was from a normal listing. i did Kings of Leon tracks and the company loved them though i thought they were just rough mixes. they asked me to write more and more tracks

another contact happened after about 1 month, it was a dispatch listing.

then the longest for me so far took 6 months, it was also a dispatch listing. i think the email came from a supervisor for a new show for national television.

all these came almost at the same time when i started to think forwards just disappear into cyberspace.

companies do listen to forwarded material. it really depends on how we make music that they want. if they hear something they really want, they will contact very quickly cos they dont wana miss that cool piece of music they asked for.

it is not up to Taxi that determines if listing parties will get back to us or not. Taxi does the filtering, companies do listen, so those guys are doing their work. we CAN make this process work from our side, how we do it..? nail each submission! stick to what listings are asking for, then we get bigger chances of hearing from companies. at source, we can maximize the possibility. thats what ive found.

listings with a la's really helps to know that listing parties really want to license these songs/tracks sounding like bands/aritists referenced. we might get thru one screener though tracks are not perfectly sounding like one of referenced artists (because listing asked for a wide range of.. etc). my guess is that it makes a bit harder to make choice for the company. i would just make music that sounds like one of a la's instead.

but its just my own opinion.

I have been a member for just over a year and started to get great deals only recently, im sure i will keep this happening all thanks to Taxi im glad that i renewed. im on a mission to make 15 tracks a month with my day/night gig.

Taxi, you guys have such a fantastic service. i love it.

Anywhere's from 1 month to 18 months.

So far the longest was 22 months almost to the day. In the interim I had already placed the piece that was forwarded and had written and submitted several more. If you're not doing that, then you're lowering your odds of success.

Rmember, it's not about you, it's about giving the clients what they want. If you're busy writing, submiting and promoting and networking, you won't have time to sit and stew over your forwards. Besides, it's out of yours or Taxi's control at that point. The only thing you have control over is the quality of your music, the quality of your ability to target the listings, and your patience, determination and stomach for the ups and downs of the business. Focus on that and take responsibility for that.

My first deal happened a year and a half after I joined TAXI. I went from getting only a few forwards the first year to getting a lot. I think I had 66 forwards before I got my first deal. I had just joined Dispatch and decided to submit the night before it was due. I was up all night writing and recording. The next day it was forwarded and I received the deal offer one day after. Now this company contacts me all the time with music requests, has nearly 200 of my cues, and I'm getting semi-regular placements. TAXI seriously hooked me up with this one...
I also got a few deals from the earlier forwards up to 2 years later.
Thanks Michael!

My first deal was signed last week, three years after being a taxi member and 16 months after being forwarded. I had even forgotten about the forward. The best thing to do is just to keep moving on and keep creating. IMO

one took a month, another took a year....

I would just keep the mentality of "you are building up your own personal music song/cue library"
and just keep on recording.

How successful can you be with 15 cues to your name?

Say you have 1 blues cue
What about when the library says "Hey we reallu liked that blues cue. Can you forward some more that you have?"
And try to deversify...don't stick to one genre.

Don't worry about how long the deals come...if you are getting forwards, that means you are on the right track.


...if you write it.....they will come

You need to think about it like a farmer. What would happen if a farmer spent all this time and effort to clear a field, till a field, get rid of the rocks and weeds, buy some really great seeds and plant those seeds, water ... water .... weed .... water

MAN - no growth - I QUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think of your music out there growing roots underground while you are working on clearing and preparing another field. Hold the vision of your goal in your mind's eye. Take the actions there are to take (such as following up on any requests from the publisher in a timely manner - AKA watering...). And keep busy working on preparing the next field.

Metaphor equivalents:

clearing a field - learning what you need to learn to be a really great songwriter
tilling the field - writing great songs
getting rid of rocks and weeds - based on feedback, editing those songs so they're even greater!
buying some great seeds and planting - marketing, marketing, marketing
water - follow-up, marketing, follow-up, marketing, responding to inquiries, follow-up, more marketing

rinse, repeat.

Welcome to the music business my friends - that's what it looks like.

I just signed with a really well connected Film&TV library from a Dispatch Forward I had in late October, I think. Looks like they're going to take a whole bunch of my tracks - I am thrilled about it!
So the time that passed after the Forward was in this case was a little more than 5 months. I've also had Forwards where more than a year has passed without feedback though. So, I'll keep checking my e-mail carefully to see what connections come up (and work hard to keep the Forwards coming in the meantime ...)

Cheers,
Dirk