What Motivates You When Frustrated?

[jsprior]

Warning: I am going to be grumbling a bit in this one!

To me, the best use of Taxi has been prompting the creation of tracks outside of my wheelhouse. I am grateful for that - and my catalogue appreciates it too!

I entered my sync journey a year and a half ago, and have signed exactly 50 tracks in that time - over thirty of which were custom. Of those fifty, only seven of them were from Taxi listings - two separate listings but the same company. Of those seven, only two or three signed to this company were forwarded, the rest were screener returned - yet still, the company wanted the other tracks.

That grumble leads to an instance this month where I wrote a track to a listing and absolutely got at the very LEAST objectively close enough for a forward (allowing a lot of grace in that statement). Got a return, reached out to the head screener, email went un-responded (twelve days ago as of this post, no word). As is always the case, I paid for the chance to work for free and got a return on something that shouldn't have been returned - and then ghosted when I addressed it. It has expanded my catalogue as all returned custom tracks do, sure - but it's reasonably frustrating.

Of the 30+ forwards I've gotten since starting Taxi last year I have only signed with (or even HEARD from!) one publisher through Taxi and they were the ONLY publisher I've ever used my lawyer for (the contract was all over the place). None of my work in either my television or music career has required use of my lawyer until the publisher I got from the listing.

Most returns make sense - but some were actively, mathematically, quantifiably wrong. More than a few have been overruled by the head screener, when he replies.

I'm not going to stop using Taxi any time soon - it is a good motivator and the odds are still better than the lottery. But in the face of more frustration than reward, what motivates you to keep paying for a service that has served you (in my case) only 14% of your signed work at the expense of (again, for me) collectively over a thousand dollars when the remaining 86% was self-sourced and either paid upfront or at least was free of expense?

I appreciate the good while acknowledging the bad - I am still grateful for the existence of Taxi in my life and the indirect downstream effect it is having. But when dropping money on something, it's probably important to recognize that "downstream" is the only effect so far, right?

[cosmicdolphin]

Congrats on signing 50 production music tracks! Taxi may only be one option to get your music to libraries of several, but it offers benefits beyond the forward/return process. You can meet potential collaborators who might help you get into other libraries, get valuable peer feedback, and connect with people further along in the journey who’ve been where you are right now.

30 Forwards and one libary connection seems a little on the high side, mine was around 20 Forwards for each time I got contacted but it can be highly variable - sometimes more - sometimes less. But it sounds like you're in the ballpark.

Paying for a lawyer to review a standard boilerplate library contract is like hiring a Michelin-star chef to microwave a frozen dinner—overkill and unnecessary. Most of these contracts are non-negotiable anyway, so the effort (and cost) often doesn't justify the outcome. Run it through ChatGPT and have it give you the bullet points, then decide whether it's acceptable.

As for returns, most people can't be objective about their own music, so it's best to post the track, the listing, and the feedback for peer review to get fresh perspectives. Others can help you spot why it might not have fit the brief, highlight production issues, or confirm if the return was unfair.

What motivated me when I was paying for Taxi ? Deadlines - Other members - Filling in my giant spreadsheet with all my stats - Getting Tunesat Detections - My first royalty payment ( £6 ) - Reading other people's success stories.

Mark

[jsprior]

Congrats on signing 50 production music tracks! Taxi may only be one option to get your music to libraries of several, but it offers benefits beyond the forward/return process. You can meet potential collaborators who might help you get into other libraries, get valuable peer feedback, and connect with people further along in the journey who’ve been where you are right now.

30 Forwards and one libary connection seems a little on the high side, mine was around 20 Forwards for each time I got contacted but it can be highly variable - sometimes more - sometimes less. But it sounds like you're in the ballpark.

Paying for a lawyer to review a standard boilerplate library contract is like hiring a Michelin-star chef to microwave a frozen dinner—overkill and unnecessary. Most of these contracts are non-negotiable anyway, so the effort (and cost) often doesn't justify the outcome. Run it through ChatGPT and have it give you the bullet points, then decide whether it's acceptable.

As for returns, most people can't be objective about their own music, so it's best to post the track, the listing, and the feedback for peer review to get fresh perspectives. Others can help you spot why it might not have fit the brief, highlight production issues, or confirm if the return was unfair.

What motivated me when I was paying for Taxi ? Deadlines - Other members - Filling in my giant spreadsheet with all my stats - Getting Tunesat Detections - My first royalty payment ( £6 ) - Reading other people's success stories.

Mark

Thanks for the reply Mark! As far as the lawyer goes, I've been developing and licensing television programs for the past ten years and currently work in cable syndication so legalese is a very, very, veeeerry familiar language - this particular contract had red flags all over it so I had to sic my lawyer on it to be safe.

I agree there are definitely times where I have had difficulty being objective about songs I submitted that weren't written to the listing. That was a big learning curve and one I'm glad to say has been overcome - the hurdle is when you can objectively quantify mathematically that you checked at LEAST enough of the RIGHT boxes and it still gets returned. Maybe that's just how my brain works but I see music all as a finite, solvable math equation. Perhaps the next step up the ladder is to move out of that, but it's served me well so far! Probably a blend would be best.

While I've got you here, what do you consider your proudest moment in this Taxi journey? More specifically, what was the most fulfilling part of your time here?

[cosmicdolphin]

While I've got you here, what do you consider your proudest moment in this Taxi journey?

I'm not sure there is one I could single out. A few notable moments woudl include my first forward which was actually the 2nd track I submitted, my first placement which came from some music I signed to a Taxi library - being able to hear something I'd written in TV show and my first royalty payment.

More specifically, what was the most fulfilling part of your time here?

The friends I have made along the way. Two of them in particular who I have co-written with , message pretty much daily and have met up with personally.

[CTWF]

the hurdle is when you can objectively quantify mathematically that you checked at LEAST enough of the RIGHT boxes and it still gets returned. Maybe that's just how my brain works but I see music all as a finite, solvable math equation.

This makes you sound like an A.I. Still, as a mathematician it makes me curious. I guess there is a degree of freedom in whether any box is checked in the end, or not.

[CTWF]

The friends I have made along the way. Two of them in particular who I have co-written with , message pretty much daily and have met up with personally.

Not to forget the frenemies, either.

[cosmicdolphin]

Not to forget the frenemies, either.

How can I when you keep replying

[BradleyHagen]

Warning: I am going to be grumbling a bit in this one!

To me, the best use of Taxi has been prompting the creation of tracks outside of my wheelhouse. I am grateful for that - and my catalogue appreciates it too!

I entered my sync journey a year and a half ago, and have signed exactly 50 tracks in that time - over thirty of which were custom. Of those fifty, only seven of them were from Taxi listings - two separate listings but the same company. Of those seven, only two or three signed to this company were forwarded, the rest were screener returned - yet still, the company wanted the other tracks.

That grumble leads to an instance this month where I wrote a track to a listing and absolutely got at the very LEAST objectively close enough for a forward (allowing a lot of grace in that statement). Got a return, reached out to the head screener, email went un-responded (twelve days ago as of this post, no word). As is always the case, I paid for the chance to work for free and got a return on something that shouldn't have been returned - and then ghosted when I addressed it. It has expanded my catalogue as all returned custom tracks do, sure - but it's reasonably frustrating.

Of the 30+ forwards I've gotten since starting Taxi last year I have only signed with (or even HEARD from!) one publisher through Taxi and they were the ONLY publisher I've ever used my lawyer for (the contract was all over the place). None of my work in either my television or music career has required use of my lawyer until the publisher I got from the listing.

Most returns make sense - but some were actively, mathematically, quantifiably wrong. More than a few have been overruled by the head screener, when he replies.

I'm not going to stop using Taxi any time soon - it is a good motivator and the odds are still better than the lottery. But in the face of more frustration than reward, what motivates you to keep paying for a service that has served you (in my case) only 14% of your signed work at the expense of (again, for me) collectively over a thousand dollars when the remaining 86% was self-sourced and either paid upfront or at least was free of expense?

I appreciate the good while acknowledging the bad - I am still grateful for the existence of Taxi in my life and the indirect downstream effect it is having. But when dropping money on something, it's probably important to recognize that "downstream" is the only effect so far, right?

I understand some of your frustration, but the way I look at TAXI in general is this: It is more of an Educational thing....It forces me to write for briefs, and in the event of returns (and I have had my fair share for sure..) a chance to learn from mistakes. Plus the people in this community and at the Rally are awesome! As far as the Head Screener issue goes, I have contacted him a couple of times, and have always heard back within 24 hours....I know who it is, and he has always been completely on point, polite, and professional, so I am sorry if you have achieved a different result... With that said, I only reach out to the head screener very rarely, when I absolutely cannot understand the return at all..... i.e., when I objectively cannot wrap my head around the feedback, not when I merely disagree with the return. Hope that helps and Happy Holidays!

[Casey H]

What Motivates You When Frustrated?
Well...

Drugs.

Just kidding!! Happy Holidays to all!

Casey

[DesireInspires]

Frustration motivates me. Fight through the pain.