What I don't like about TAXI Dispatch

[Onaginoffegin]

What follows is solely my own personal opinion, and will be my first negative post about TAXI since I joined more than three years ago:

Frankly, I don't know why Dispatch is a thing.
For those of you who don’t know, Dispatch is a separate group of listings — apart from the regular listings — that have too quick a turn-around time to be put in the regular listings, according to the TAXI website.
Also according to TAXI, this turn-around time is typically between 24 and 48 hours.
But on March 13, when I wrote my original Dispatch post about identical duplicate listings, I saw one Dispatch listing that’s due March 17, and another that’s due March 21.
That's not exactly 24 or 48 hours.

As far as I know, the listings are mostly, if not all, instrumentals.
Dispatch costs about $150 a year, on top of the regular annual membership fee.

Also, as far as I know, there are no Dispatch listings for composers in genres other than instrumentals. So if you compose rap, pop, rock, singer-songwriter, etc., you get all your listings for the regular annual membership fee.
Instrumental composers used to get all their listings for the regular annual membership fee until a few years ago when Dispatch was introduced.

Personally, I don't buy the " too quick a turn-around time to be put in the regular listings" rationale.
If you're serious about the music business, you're looking at TAXI listings on a daily basis.
If you're serious about the music business, and you've been at it for some years, you probably specialize in a genre or genres that have proven successful for you. You've become proficient in those genres and can more than likely compose a cue in 48 or even 24 hours. We're talking about instrumentals after all — no lyrics to write, no vocals to record.
I specialize in tension cues, jazz and pieces for solo piano. Admittedly, I'd be hard-pressed to compose an epic orchestral in 24 hours, but I've watched videos in which someone composed one in 45 minutes, so I know it's possible.

As far as the three genres I specialize in, I'm confident I can compose a piece within 24 hours. So the " too quick a turn-around time to be put in the regular listings" doesn't fly with me.

Another reason it doesn't fly is you may not even have to compose something in 24 hours. Because if you're serious about the music business, you're composing every day.
In my case, I try to compose a tension cue a day. That means I have a bunch of cues that are so new, I haven't submitted them to any listing or music library yet.
So if I see a listing for tension cues, with a 24-hour turn-around time, I already have plenty of material to submit.

My final beef with Dispatch listings is a small one, but a personal pet peeve. Dispatch listings I get via email have four links you can click on, but no "Submit to this Listing" link, like all regular listings have.
This is a pet peeve because on multiple occasions I've asked TAXI employees why this is the case. In every instance I've gotten the same answer: "I don't know, but I'll look into it."
Well, apparently they still don't know and are still looking into it, because Dispatch listings still don't have a "Submit to this Listing" link.

I know Dispatch is optional, but personally I think instrumental composers should receive all their listings in the instrumental category of the regular listings, just like other composers do in their respective genres.

Having said all that, if a Dispatch listing gets my music into a library or on a TV show, it's worth the extra $150.
But for crying out loud, include a "Submit to this Listing" link.


Henry

[daveydad]

Interesting Henry. Unless these are quick turnarounds... I think they should just include them in the regular listings. $150 is also a hefty extra cost in addition to the membership fee. My .02

[VanderBoegh]

I've been a Dispatch user multiple times over the course of my time with Taxi. Just getting ready to re-up my Dispatch membership today, actually, which is why this post caught my eye.

In my experience, Dispatch listings are ran by industry people who need music very quickly. Maybe the turnaround time on the submission deadline isn't exactly 24-48 hours (could be a handful of days longer), but the key point is that the person who ran the listing is desperate to find music. They need is quickly, and they'll sign it quickly.

Whereas with regular listings, a music library might say "I'll eventually need to beef up my pop-rock catalog. Might as well see what's out there." Then they'll run a listing. Members will get forwarded. Then nobody hears back, for maybe months, years, or never. That's because the library wasn't in a time-crunch, and just wanted to bulk up their catalog for future use. It wasn't a priority, and maybe by the time they finally get around to listening to the Taxi forwards, their needs changed or some all-star composers already gave them plenty of tracks like they requested from Taxi, and now they have no need for more.

Dispatch listings, on the other hand, are very urgent requests. A library will get contacted by a show or music supervisor saying their new "Show X" is in editing right now, and they need 100 new urban trap tracks within the next two weeks. They'll run a listing with Taxi. Members will get forwarded. And those exceptionally good tracks made by composers who appear to have their ducks in a row will get contacted and signed extremely quickly.

That is the selling-point to Dispatch, as well as its focus on urgency. It's not necessarily "how quick are the submission deadlines for Taxi members", but more "how quick does the industry need this music".

And - for what it's worth - in my experience, Dispatch forwards turn into deals far more frequently than regular listings, due to everything I wrote above.

~~Matt

[Onaginoffegin]

Matt, thanks for your input. I appreciate your insight.

And David, thanks for your two cents and your insight as well.


Henry

[mobster85]

I agree with Matt 100%. My first deal was from Dispatch and I have gotten more forwards through Dispatch. It also makes you work with in a tighter time frame in my opinion which only helps you down the road when people need stuff from you quickly. I just renewed my Dispatch yesterday. Good luck with it.

[Onaginoffegin]

Good points, Bob.
Thanks.
And good luck to you as well.


Henry

[niallyboy]

Here's my latest experience with DISPATCH:

--Every year I wait until there's something I can confidently pitch to before I enlist;
--That opportunity came up February 18th, when I joined and submitted six tunes, whose listing deadline was February 23rd;
--Five of those tunes were forwarded to the client on March 9th;
--The company that ran the listing contacted me yesterday (March 13), apprising me of their acceptance of those tunes, and asking for more.

So, in the span of a little more than 3 weeks, I have another end user of my material, and another potential money stream. I'm very happy with this.

Niall