Originally Posted by Indigo_of_STO
[quote=Bill Robinson]
As for places like TAXI, I sent things in so as to get a critique and got nothing!!! No comment on anything good or bad. No advice at all, and believe me...I'd love to know what the industry pros are thinking. After this went on for some time, I saw that it was an obvious waste of money, for my cause.


You got nothing? No reply? No critique, no advice? I find that terribly hard to believe. You always get a reply from Taxi. Some listings are 'no critique' listings, you know that going in, but you always get a reply. Every other regular listing has a critique. Their custom critiques are great.

I don't spend money unwisely, and as far as I am concerned, for ME, my investment in Taxi has been the best investment I could have made for my musical career, bar none. I've signed 5 songs through Taxi. Because my music makes the grade. And it makes the grade because Taxi pushed and pulled me, kicking and screaming, into the reality of the commercial music industry... and made me work my ass off. and I paid them to do it.

**Now let's talk about Jason Blume "Selling Out" and writing music that many of you don't respect. Uh huh. Let's see you do it. Let's see you get a number one hit with your 'selling out lyrics'. Do it for me, to prove your point. Just one hit this year, and then you can go back to being true to your vision of yourself.

Here's my take on it - someone works their ass off over a decade or so to finally get a major cut with a huge band (Back Street Boys). He finally proves to everyone who thought he was crazy to live on $10,000 a year that he could crack the music industry using the talent, skills and network that he grew over that decade. After some more successes as a Staff Writer (which I don't anyone on this thread is), he writes a book called "6 Steps to Songwriting Success". IMO one of the best books on songwriting out there that I recommend to aspiring songwriters all the time because everything in it is what I learned painfully over 4 years from membership in songwriting boards, Taxi, getting critiques, etc. He also has a book called "Inside Songwriting" which is a great journal-like tome about his experiences in trying to break into the industry, and this little book reflect his creativity. And he pens a book called "This Business of Songwriting" in which he gives a lot of information on how the music industry works & how songwriters get paid. In addition, he becomes a respected teacher of songwriting. And a Mentor for Just Plain Folks. And you get up on your high and mighty horse and diss him.

Jimi Heath said something on her blog that I think applies here. She says "...as a writer who is trying to make it you HAVE to respect the work that was put into getting that song recorded by that artist and then give props to the writer. Remember, that writer worked his ass off to get where he/she is and at the end of the day, the check is coming to their mailbox, not yours. Like the song or not, is to be respected. You never know, one day it might be YOUR song that some newbie writer thinks sucks."

Nuff said.


Vikki Flawith: Songwriter/Composer, Singer/Voice Teacher

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