JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Katy Perry insult to Taxi and it's members

I'll have to call Laskow and get the true story, but I didn't see an actual attack on TAXI in that comment at all. I saw it as an admission of someone not up to that particular job. After years in corporate America, I know I could never go back and do the jobs I once did. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. But there's lots of other good people doing that work now.

As Vikki said, that is the point of their existence, to filter out the stuff that isn't good enough and to let folks know what it is going to take and how to improve what they are doing. It's a VERY tough job and it's the reason why I don't personally give feedback via our awards process. People can send me stuff that none of you reading this would even be willing to sit through. Then, when I don't give them feedback, they demand it. After this goes on a while, I occassionally reply to them do they REALLY want me to give them honest feedback even if it's not what they want to hear. Of course they always say yes. So I tell them and they go on the attack like crazed animals. I've had death threats, threats against my family, threats that my house would be burned down, threats that the reputation of JPF would be ruined.. on and on and on. And this type of crazed response hasn't always come from the run of the mill crazy person, though you'd think they must be a little disturbed to respond that way. Many times it's just someone who actually knows in their heart they're not cut out for the pressure of getting better and writing what people want or need. And that self realization can be a difficult process for some and while it is happening, they lash out. People who really have it may get turned down many many times and they just keep coming back and trying to prove they can do it. That process doesn't include death threats nor does it include writing nasty comments in Billboard magazine.

Stiff like this is EXACTLY what Taxi has to deal with every single day. Sure, not from everyone as most people are reasonable whether they are super talented or will never be good enough, but from enough people to make their work really tough. It's the reason why they went to screener numbers and not real names.

That's not to say there's never a bad screener working there and she certainly sounds like a typical bad screener.. someone who knows what they are doing, but has no real temperment to do the job completely and that includes helping entry level writers get better. Most writers suck when they start. Even truly gifted writers have to develop their skills. Some people just don't have enough talent to ever write commercially viable material. But you can't ban them from being a TAXI member and I know for a fact that Michael Laskow has given full refunds to people who they felt they couldn't help and that often angers them even more even though they are trying to do the right thing. Most of the time they focus on giving each member their membership dollars worth of useful feedback, tips and service. (Not to mention their conference is worth more than the membership fee alone). But there are still many people not willing to accept the truth or help. They've had people after receiving a refund, sign up again (and pay) with a fake name and then present the exact sames songs as if no one would notice. In one difficult case the guy made so many death threats that security had to be hired ahead of an event to protect everyone from the guy's threats. He literally killed himself the night before the event which the police told the TAXI folks about and which really shook them all. THAT is what you have to deal with when you are willing to help anyone who comes forward. And there's no other way for them to do what they do.

They provide a great service to people wanting to learn and develop the skills necessary, they provide a great service to those who are already good enough and want to expand their opportunities (since no one has all the contacts that TAXI does at one time... I've seen many hit writers submitting material to TAXI for extra income) and it's a great service to the labels and publishers because they'd never take ANY of that material because of the risk and hassle and it allows them to find only the most qualified material without all the time wasting and death threats and immense work. It even helps the people who will never have enough talent because they get productive feedback and unless they are mentally troubled or just belligerant, they will learn that perhaps songwriting is not their thing in the end. Songwriting is not easy. Not everyone can do it. And even if you CAN do it, it's STILL not easy because supply of stuff good enough STILL outweighs demand by 1000 to 1. We see it in our awards all the time.

So, I read that comment, as someone who has been there and done that with music submissions even more than the TAXI folks (we get more submissions to our music awards than TAXI gets all year for what they do) and I don't find anything negative against TAXI at all. In fact, it highlights how desperately the industry needs TAXI.

Michael Laskow and his team should be highly praised for the work they do. It's why I get so annoyed by attacks, usually from ignorant people who can't bother to learn the truth, or people who are deluded and think they are ready when they are not and who have gotten angry because TAXI actually told them the truth and like that Nicholson quote in a Few Good Men.. they couldn't handle the truth.

So don't sweat it Joel. But thanks for sticking up for TAXI and for the writing community. Most writers are great people who just want test the commercial waters or learn to write a better song. It's sad that a few bad screeners not up to the task and some mentally unstable people without enough talent to improve have to try and ruin it for a lot of others.

Brian