Where are all the good listings...for me?

[jmullins73]

I've been a member of Taxi for about 11 months now, so my first year's membership is almost up. I've been trying to decide lately whether I'm going to renew my membership, and I just got an email from Michael Laskow about ambition and intiative. He kind of implied that if I don't renew my membership, that must mean I don't have initiative. And after receiving 11 months of similar emails from Michael about how wonderful Taxi is and how songwriters who don't join Taxi are crazy for not joining, I feel I must speak up.I think what Taxi is doing is great, and I'm sure a lot of people have achieved some success because of Taxi. But one thing is for sure: Taxi is not for everyone. There are many avenues through which to achieve success in the music industry, and what works for one person is not necessarily going to work for everyone else. I understand that success takes a lot of dedication and time, and I never expected to get a deal my first year in Taxi. What I did expect was a decent amount of opportunties to submit my songs to.I joined Taxi mainly to pitch songs to film and tv listings. Although I may not technically be too old to get a record deal and make a living that way, at 34 with a wife, a mortgage, and a kid on the way, I'm pretty damn close. So I figured that film and tv might be a way for me to make some money off my music (while I'm still playing locally and regionally with my band and trying to achieve some success that way too). However, I'm finding it more and more difficult to find listings that I feel match up with my songs. Dispatch listings in particular seem to always be for electronica, hip-hop, boy band sound-a-likes, or some other genre that is extremely far away from what I do. So my question is, is it just me? Is there simply not much of a market for the type of music I write? I'm not one of those people who will sit down and write something with a particular listing in mind. I just write. And then I look for listings that match the songs I've already written and recorded. Is that my problem? I mean, my music isn't really bizarre or anything. It's catchy. I know I'm a good songwriter, and I've achieved a fair amount of success in the Austin music scene. My lyrics don't always have a lot of concrete meaning (which eliminates a lot of listings as possibilities). But I'm not terribly interested in changing the way I write. I actually get a lot of compliments on my lyrics, whether they mean anything or not. If anyone cares to listen to some of my tunes, go to http://www.myspace.com/thedeafears. I recommend listening to "All in the Family" and "Army of Wit". Personally, I think there's a market for songs like these, but I'm not seeing it in the Taxi listings, at least not in the Film and TV listings. I sometimes see listings that seem to match this type of music, but they want touring experience, sales history, and a $300 haircut. Anyway, I'm just getting a little frustrated. And $200 a year is a lot of money if there aren't going to be at least 2 decent opportunities to submit to each month. Maybe Taxi is not for me? I'd love to hear some other people's opinions on this. I can't be the only person who has had trouble finding listings that fit their music. It may be that I just need help figuring out what genre I belong in.Thanks in advance.Joel

[Casey H]

May 23, 2008, 10:03am, jmullins73 wrote:I've been a member of Taxi for about 11 months now, so my first year's membership is almost up. I've been trying to decide lately whether I'm going to renew my membership, and I just got an email from Michael Laskow about ambition and initiative. He kind of implied that if I don't renew my membership, that must mean I don't have initiative. And after receiving 11 months of similar emails from Michael about how wonderful Taxi is and how songwriters who don't join Taxi are crazy for not joining, I feel I must speak up.I think what Taxi is doing is great, and I'm sure a lot of people have achieved some success because of Taxi. But one thing is for sure: Taxi is not for everyone. There are many avenues through which to achieve success in the music industry, and what works for one person is not necessarily going to work for everyone else. I understand that success takes a lot of dedication and time, and I never expected to get a deal my first year in Taxi. What I did expect was a decent amount of opportunities to submit my songs to.I joined Taxi mainly to pitch songs to film and TV listings. Although I may not technically be too old to get a record deal and make a living that way, at 34 with a wife, a mortgage, and a kid on the way, I'm pretty damn close. So I figured that film and TV might be a way for me to make some money off my music (while I'm still playing locally and regionally with my band and trying to achieve some success that way too). However, I'm finding it more and more difficult to find listings that I feel match up with my songs. Dispatch listings in particular seem to always be for electronica, hip-hop, boy band sound-a-likes, or some other genre that is extremely far away from what I do. So my question is, is it just me? Is there simply not much of a market for the type of music I write? I'm not one of those people who will sit down and write something with a particular listing in mind. I just write. And then I look for listings that match the songs I've already written and recorded. Is that my problem? I mean, my music isn't really bizarre or anything. It's catchy. I know I'm a good songwriter, and I've achieved a fair amount of success in the Austin music scene. My lyrics don't always have a lot of concrete meaning (which eliminates a lot of listings as possibilities). But I'm not terribly interested in changing the way I write. I actually get a lot of compliments on my lyrics, whether they mean anything or not. If anyone cares to listen to some of my tunes, go to http://www.myspace.com/thedeafears. I recommend listening to "All in the Family" and "Army of Wit". Personally, I think there's a market for songs like these, but I'm not seeing it in the Taxi listings, at least not in the Film and TV listings. I sometimes see listings that seem to match this type of music, but they want touring experience, sales history, and a $300 haircut. Anyway, I'm just getting a little frustrated. And $200 a year is a lot of money if there aren't going to be at least 2 decent opportunities to submit to each month. Maybe Taxi is not for me? I'd love to hear some other people's opinions on this. I can't be the only person who has had trouble finding listings that fit their music. It may be that I just need help figuring out what genre I belong in.Thanks in advance.JoelHi Joel"Taxi is not for everyone. There are many avenues through which to achieve success in the music industry, and what works for one person is not necessarily going to work for everyone else." "I'm not one of those people who will sit down and write something with a particular listing in mind. I just write." I think TAXI is awesome for a lot of people. A lot of my friends on this board have had deals and/or placements because of TAXI. However, IMHO TAXI works better for people who (1) can quickly turn around new music in response to listings, often with a focus on "a la's" and/or (2) have a catalog already that is doing well with forwards. You also said you are not looking to change the way you write your music. So, if something is not working for you with your current approach to music and you are not interested in changing it (which is fine), it doesn't seem like this is your path.I DO encourage you to consider changing your approach if you want to write for film/TV. Writing whatever you want with no specific target in mind limits (not eliminates) your chances for success here. Much of film/TV writing is about imitation. Now, IF you decide that then both TAXI and this forum are great resources. Here people trade ideas on everything- writing, production, engineering, how to target songs for listings, etc.Best of luck whatever you decide, Casey

[jmullins73]

Thanks for the advice, Casey. That definitely makes sense that people who are writing and recording songs in response to specific listings are going to have more success with Taxi. But for me, I just want to be able to write whatever I feel like writing, at least at this point in my life. So maybe I should just focus more on my band and less on film/tv possibilities. I guess I have more thinking to do. Joel

[Casey H]

May 23, 2008, 2:27pm, jmullins73 wrote:Thanks for the advice, Casey. That definitely makes sense that people who are writing and recording songs in response to specific listings are going to have more success with Taxi. But for me, I just want to be able to write whatever I feel like writing, at least at this point in my life. So maybe I should just focus more on my band and less on film/tv possibilities. I guess I have more thinking to do. JoelBTW, if you want to post links to 1-2 of yours songs, plenty of people here will give you feedback on where they may or not fit in the market out there. You can PM me too...CheersCasey

[hummingbird]

The answer is actually in an article that Kelly posted yesterday.http://www.lamusicproductions.com/Artic ... p.htmlI'll repeat my post here:---You know, this is EXACTLY why Taxi works for me (and many others). It teaches us to think like this...1. Find out what the market needs.2. Give it to them.Ergo, the listings come out, I read them, I pick out the ones I have music for. And I pick out the ones I don't have music for but could write music for. Then I proceed to write new pieces to submit.Why? Cause the listings tell me what the market needs. In addition, I've been a member long enough to know what kind of listings generally come up again over the course of a year. So I try to focus on building that part of my cataloque.And, I play Dispatch Challenge - because the vast majority of Dispatch listings are from Music Supervisors looking for something very specific. Like this article says.----Further:Therefore - with all due respect to your creativity and talent - if your music isn't working for you then you need to rethink (assuming of course, that getting deals is your goal), because - assuming production isn't the issue - then composition is. Whatever you are composing is not the kind of music, in the majority of cases, that music supervisors are looking for, right now. The Taxi listings are a fair meter of the average "wants" of the industry, IMO.That doesn't mean you have to stop doing what moves you. It doesn't mean you have to sell out. I defy anyone to say I've "sold out" by re-framing. I used to write music, then look for the market. Now I look for the market, and write music. It's just as challenging, just as creative. Someone says, "I need a high octane orchestral-techno hybrid piece" - I say, "I can do that."In addition, there is nothing to stop you from writing according to the needs of the market - a skill in itself, AND writing other pieces that you feel more passionate about.You know, in a lot of ways, this is like the job market. You may be excellent & have experience in category "A". But if everyone is looking for category "B", then you need to think about moving forward.That's what I did - and now I have signed deals with music I wrote specifically for the market. Just my two cents. And I speak from experience, because 4 years ago when I joined Taxi, nothing in my cataloque was commercial. So I'm not judging you I'm just telling you my point of view, what works for me. warmlyHummin'bird

[stevebarden]

Joel,I feel for you. I listened to your tracks on MySpace and I like them a lot! They appeal to me as I'm sure they appeal to a lot of other people as well. I'm of the belief that there is an audience for every kind of music out there.Your music has a definite 70's flavor and your singing has a nice Billy Joel quality. Like I said, it appeals to me. I am in a similar situation. I'm a product of the 60's and I love the Beatles and the Beatles sound is part of me whether I like it or not. My music is not "marketable" by today's standards and has a limited audience. In fact, my demographic seems to be women 45-60 years old! I'm cool with that. I do have some younger fans, I've managed to sell my CD to people from all over the world, and I've had airplay on both Internet and terrestrial radio.I have no allusions of becoming a commercial success. That being said, Taxi's purpose is to provide commercial music for TV and film and commercially acceptable songs for artists. If you're willing to depart from your comfort zone and work in a competitive market and adhere to industry standards then you're sure to find success. You have a lot of talent.Of course, if you're an established artist then you have room to work outside the box and do whatever you want!I wish you the best of luck!Steve

[cameron]

Joel,Did you submit anything for listing # S080519SS? (MALE SINGER/SONGWRITER ARTISTS along the lines of Rufus Wainwright, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, Sondre Lerche, Jose Gonzalez, Badly Drawn Boy, Ed Harcourt, etc). I guess it closed a few days ago but when I heard your songs I thought at times you sounded a lot like Rufus Wainwright (with a little George Harrison thrown in).I also feel I've been writing decent songs that have no market right now, but because of Taxi I'm at least aware that I need to work on that. That could be why I haven't written anything this week, lol! Anyway, your songs are very good and you're obviously really creative, so you've got a leg up on some of us. Cameron

[slideboardouts]

hey Joel,I think you have to really evaluate what you want out of music and in a music career. If you want to make a living from film and TV placements (or even just a little bit of money), you are going to have to adapt. TAXI or no TAXI. Keep in mind that TAXI is a reflection of the music industry. If you don't see many opportunities in the TAXI listings for your genre, chances are you aren't going to find too many outside of TAXI. I've gone back and forth on the "TAXI isn't for everybody" argument and I can't really tell you for sure whether I agree with that statement or not. On the one hand, if you only do one genre and record 10 songs a year then I can see where it might not be worth it. On the other hand, TAXI gives you opportunities for that one genre you do that you otherwise wouldn't have. If you get a 45 second vocal background cue on a major network you get what... around $1,300 in performance royalties alone (I'm vaguely remembering that from a post matto made a while back)? That would cover a number of TAXI subscriptions.So I don't know...what I do know is that if you aren't branching out a little, then you aren't truly taking advantage of what TAXI has to offer. Whether or not you WANT to branch out to other genres is really up to you, and that goes back to what you REALLY want out of music and a career in music. If you don't want to write in different genres and for specific listings then thats cool, but just remember that you won't have nearly the kind of results as someone who writes 10 different genres (well) and records often. Both in the TAXI world and out.In the end its totally up to you. I know that I will be sticking with TAXI for quite a while as it has FAR surpassed my expectations within the first year Good Luck,-Steve

[squids]

If you're giggin' and you like it, you've got a fan base and you're enjoying that and you've tried this and don't like it, well.....what can I tell you? To capitalize on Taxi's offerings, you have to write to market. Sucks but there it is. If you don't wanna do that, you can relax. You know a lot more now than you did, right? And it's useful information. Figuring out how we want to spend our time is one of the most important things we can do in our lives. Jes my .02. I wish you joy in your music, no matter your decision.

[jmullins73]

Wow, this is a lot of good stuff to think about! Thanks everyone for your input. It seems that if I'm going to get the most out of Taxi, I need to make writing and recording music for specific Taxi submissions my number one priority as far as music goes. But I'm just not ready to do that. I'm still gigging and recording and releasing albums and working my tail off to promote my band. So when I sit down to write, I'm trying to write songs for my band; I'm trying to write songs that turn me on and get me excited, and I'm not at all concerned with whether it's commercial or not. As long as I like it and my bandmates like it, then I'm happy. (But obviously, I hope others will like it too.) I could definitely see this changing at some point in the future. So it's possible that I need to wait a few years until I'm ready to take a break from being in a band and start spending my musical time writing music for specific listings. I would probably have a lot more time to write in that situation, which would be cool. Thanks again,Joel