Originally Posted by Brian Austin Whitney
Originally Posted by Pat Hardy
TAXi is actually an honest place to submit music. That being said, there's something about their system I do not like.

You are NEVER submitting to the people requesting, who will ultimately decide on your song. You submitting to a gate keeper.

The problem with that set up is that the gate keeper is very narrow. Anything that they percieve falls even slightly outside of what they believe the MIP ( music industry pro ) is looking for, they won't forward it.

Here's the problem I see with that. In marketing, there's a concept called 'point of purchase sale'. Someone goes into a convenience story to buy something, and when they are standing at the counter, some other stuff is sitting on the counter right in front of them, though not the actual item they were seeking, it's not too far off ( a different type of candy bar you didn't know exist, but looks good, etc ) and this often leads to a purchase they didn't realize they wanted.

Gate keepers effectively prevent the possibility of a point of purchase sale.

For example, say the MIP tells taxi they want "something that sounds like traditional country, and mention a couple of names "Johnny Cash, Merl Haggard", for example.

Say your composition is, indeed, an older style, in the general ballpark, but not a homerun, but in the above mold. Because its "not on target" ( TAXI's verbiage ) they won't forward it.

Thing is, these submissions are usually for spots in a TV show or Film, The producers/music directors/MIPs get this idea of what they want, but it's quite possible they might like something, because it is good, and it just may work in the script , a little outside their request parameters, because they can't foretell everything that might work, or they might like, until they see/hear it put right in front of them, similar to the 'point of purchase' example above.

Now, the TAXI guys do have a good rationale for doing this, and I understand it, they just want to prevent wasting their client's time, and that's understandable.

However, from my vantage point, what TAXI's needs are and mine are, as a composer, don't quite jive in this regard.

There, I'm done ranting. Just had to get that off my chest. I"m not knocking TAXI, this is one of the few honest submission places on the net.

I'm just sayin'



Pat,

Thanks for your post. This is something I know more about than anyone outside of current TAXI employees.

Your first complaint: They make you submit to Gatekeepers At TAXI who are too selective.

Yes. That is the entire point of TAXI. If they did not do this, they wouldn't need to exist. But why? Because those companies ONLY accept the unsolicited music from folks like you BECAUSE TAXI essentially makes them solicited. They "hire" TAXI to find them specific things they want. TAXI does ALL the search legwork for these folks. TAXI provides this service for them, while ALSO providing several services for you. First they give you a chance to even be CONSIDERED by these companies, most of which are A list entities. Without TAXI, you would have ZERO chance to ever be heard by them for these needs. They do not want to sift through random submissions from the entire world and waste their time. TAXI not only knows what they want in great specificity, but they ALSO get to know their own members over time and often can be proactive when an urgent need comes up, they can say, you know 2 months ago Pat Hardy sent us this song that was not right for that opportunity, but it had a hook line that would be PERFECT for this one. They do deals like that for their members constantly. Additionally, when you send something in and have missed the mark, they tell you WHY you missed it (*unless they tell you in advance they aren't offering feedback.. more on that later). That way you at least know what to change, improve or if you simply aren't doing what they are looking for. That happens. Not everyone has the talent to make it via TAXI. But if you improve in the ways they tell you, you have a far better chance.

TAXI wants nothing more than to find something to make the client happy (they can't always do that) and to make their members happy (so they can succeed as a company) so any notion they are holding you back is counter-intuitive. They are beholden to the labels/music supervisors. If they can't consistently find what they need, they will stop using TAXI. But nearly 40 years on, they do more than ever.

I think you're misinformed a bit as well. They do not simply send something that matches 100%. They send a predetermined (as set by the receiver) # of entries that come the closest. So in your example, in most cases if they didn't have say 5-10 songs that fit exactly, they would add those that came closest as well.

Where your disagreement comes in is that they simply haven't felt your material was close enough. If you have some examples of rejects, post the offering, your submission and their feedback and let's openly discuss it from the facts. It would be good for everyone.

Brian



One particular dispute is probably more of thing with their client. One particular client only wants authentic old sounding recordings, but the recordings must have been recorded, say, in the 60s/70s/80s/90s. Once they had a request for bossa nova music, which is my specialty, but the recording had to be recorded in the 60s. This was a request that was made a few years ago. I think the assumption was that in order for the track to sound authentic, the client assumes it had to be recorded at the time when the music was popular ( two Brazilian jazz tunes had made the charts back in the 60s ) .

While I was alive in the 60s, there was no such thing as individuals owning multitrack professional recording systems, and studios in those days were like $200 an hour, which, in '60s dollars, was way out of reach for a teenager ( that I was ), and I didn't compose my first bossa until I was 23. I just felt the request was unreasonable, and how many songwriters today have composed bossa novas and were recorded in the 60s? My guess is that they would have a tough time finding a recording for that request. They have made similar requests for swing jazz tunes ( I think they wanted it recorded in the 70s, for that one, and studios in the 70s were around $300 an hour, which was two months rent on a one bedroom apartment in LA in those days). Again, similar problem.

Now I see them wanting authentic 80s an 90s sounding music recorded in these time periods. It's as if they believe no one can do the genuine article on modern equipment, and since the recordings are used in films, music in the background, will the audience even care? I feel that whoever the firm is ( and I understand it's one of the majors ) the request is unreasonable. Wouldn't you agree?

I had one request, an R&B tune, and they wanted a soul tune recorded in the 80s, but in the 80s, I was only able t afford one instrumental track and one vocal track, and it was recorded on digital, which was a new thing in '88, digital recorders, mics, etc, still too expensive for me. still, sound not full enough to meet the request. I gave up on that particular firm. I wish I were able to know who they were so I could contact them and try and persuade them on the lack of wisdom of their request But, it's TAXI, and there is no getting past the gate keeper.

Last edited by Pat Hardy; 04/18/20 12:51 PM.