I joined Taxi just to try it out. I quit after a year. It’s a cool company to get your chops up and get feedback on things to improve on. A lot of my music was rejected some was forwarded but nothing really happened. I started to build my own relationships and a lot of my music that I originally made for TAXI got accepted in other libraries from relationships I formed on my own. Now the music that I originally made for TAXI is getting major placements on NFL, House Wives, Vanderpump Rules etc. All from my personal relationships. You gotta have personal relationships in this business.
@@MakeMusicIncome interesting. Thanks! *. I’ve been watching your videos as well as some others. This is a different side of the industry I’m trying to learn more on.
Well my experience with Taxi couldn't have been better: Subsribed for one year, 6 submissions, 5 forwards, 1 contact by a publisher I still write for. So my calculation is: $200 + $30 = 1 deal, which is what I was hoping for and was lucky to get. However, you can all do this on your own, just as you said. I see Taxi as an uplifter into writing + the potential of a deal. However likely that is. Great video, fair and honest in my opinion. Thanks Eric!
I have been a Taxi member for 6 years and it took me several years to understand the industry and improve my work both in quality and quantity. I had over 90 forwards before my first deal 3.5 years ago. Since then, I have 600 signed tracks and songs across 20+ libraries/publishers and over 250 placements as of my last PRO statement. I do agree that more members have your experience as compared to mine. But I really think that’s because you (and probably others) haven’t given Taxi enough of a chance and taken full advantage of everything Taxi has to offer. First, you must submit more music; 10-20 submissions in a year is not going to yield enough positive results. As you mention, there are many reasons why a forward will not result in you being contacted to sign your work. So you have to create and submit a lot more in order to give yourself a better chance of success. I’ve done nearly 600 submissions to Taxi over the years. More of that was loaded in years 2-4 and more recently has tailed off because libraries and cowriters come to me now (more on this below) so I don’t have as much time to write and submit to Taxi. Next, my experience with the companies that have signed my work through Taxi forwards has been great. They have been high quality both on how they conduct business and the placements I have ultimately gotten through them. I have many friends who are Taxi members both more and less successful than me, and haven’t heard anything bad about any company anyone has signed with through a Taxi forward. If fact, I’ve had a bad experience with a company that I submitted to cold and not through Taxi. And Taxi vets these companies to make sure they are of good quality which is much harder to do as a composer just searching on the internet. In addition, these companies ask Taxi for music so they have a need right now. When you submit music to Taxi to fill that need, and if it gets forward and ultimately signed, there’s a much higher chance that you will get a placement. If you contact libraries cold and send them music you’ve done, if they don’t need it, they will probably ignore you. However, they may sign it even if they don’t need it right now. But there’s a much lower probability of placement of that work if they don’t actually need it and just want to fill out their library with more tracks. Now that I have provided lots of music to libraries and they have placed some of that music, they send briefs out or ask me directly to provide them with specific music. And, again, this work has a higher change of placement. This underscores your point that personal relationships are important. To me that is a great BENEFIT of being a Taxi member. You get introduced to the companies by forwards, and then you get to keep and maintain those relationships beyond Taxi. And while Taxi is a middle man in the sense of screening submissions, they are very good at it. Of course they may get one wrong here or there, but mostly they don’t. Most libraries looking for music come to them specifically BECAUSE they screen the submissions so that they don’t have to. Many good companies don’t accept cold submissions because they don’t want to review them. It’s WAY too much effort. And Taxi provides very good feedback when your work is returned (not forwarded) which you can use to help your work improve. Even if you got a response from a cold submission to a library, they aren’t going to give you details on why they aren’t signing you. Again, they don’t have the time. At best it will be yes or no, and as I said, probably no response. An important aspect of Taxi is the forum where you can get feedback from peers, find collaborators, and generally learn about the industry. You can hear music that has been forwarded and you can learn about deals that others have gotten. And the biggest part of Taxi missing from this video is the Taxi Road Rally held in Los Angeles on the first weekend of November. The event is free for members (and one guest) and is an invaluable source of information and networking possibilities. At the most recent event, I met a publisher that I did 4 songs for and then he asked me to produce 5 albums over the next several months (one solo and 4 with other artists). I have learned so much at the classes there and listening panels where random member’s music is played and critiqued live. And I have met so many of my collaborators and friends, many of which we have signed and placed works together. The rally is the single most important reason why I have success in this industry. My observation is that those Taxi members that are successful are taking advantage of ALL that Taxi has to offer like Taxi TV episodes, the forum, the forwards blog and road rally. They are using these tools as well as the feedback from submissions to improve their work and to make excellent connections. All this being said, Taxi is not for everyone. I know that my experience might not be the same as some other members. But you get out of it what you put in. If you want to be struck by whatever your muse is and just write a dozen tracks a year and try to find someone to publish them, you can do that without Taxi. You can find some low level libraries that will get you a few dollars, maybe hundreds. But if you want composing and/or song writing for sync to be your full time income then you have to do the music that is needed, you need to do it excellently and you need to do a lot of it.
Thanks for your comments here Greg! And congrats on your continued success! If anyone would like to see an interview about Greg about TAXI we did on this channel, check out the TAXI Playlist on this channel!
Great video. As a TAXI member you really did hit on some great points without denigrating TAXI. I have to say it's extremely frustrating to not hear anything back from a forward. I have had forwards that resulted in deals, one in particular that turned out to be a great company that I now have a relationship with. I agree with you about who is listening to what's submitted and sometimes question the return but I have also taken the criticism constructively and used it to turn songs into better pieces that have resulted in forwards but with no further results. I do think TAXI is a good company, I've learned a lot over the years & am thankful for them, but I do have concerns about results lately .BTW, I've been wondering about submitting music to other libraries unsolicited but didn't think you could. You've got me interested, I've subscribed.
Thanks for your openness and honesty. Regarding return on investment, correct me if I’m wrong, but the majority of TAXI’s clients look for exclusive deals which pay a lot more than non-exclusive stock libraries. A bit of quick maths; if, say, you’re making around $500/mo on around 1000 tracks uploaded with various non-exclusive libraries, that’s around $6k a year. Just one exclusive track can net you a significant amount in comparison, possibly more than your annual income on all those non-exclusives, so even if a track lies dormant for a year or two (or longer), it might still be worth it. I didn’t hear you cover that trade-off in your video. Once you submit a track to non-exclusive you can never go exclusive with it. An aspect to consider when weighing up pro’s and cons of either strategy. I’ll be following your channel because I like it, so thanks again 👍
Actually depending on which stock libraries you submit to, you can certainly take them out if accepted to an exclusive library. And while you are right about the possibility of making more with an exclusive track, I know ppl who make thousands a month with stock and those are corporate tunes that may not have a place in sync. Also songs can sit in sync libraries and never make a dime. But generally I agree with you.
@@MakeMusicIncome Thanks for writing back. After watching your very helpful video, I was tempted, almost excited, to just go for it and start uploading to all the libraries I can, but then I paused to think about the aspect of exclusivity. Maybe my patience will pay off, maybe it won’t! Who knows right!? I think I’ll do a bit of both, since there’s obviously a lot of demand for corporate media and smaller productions. All the best and keep those videos coming! Most importantly, keep your soul alive making music 🎸
@@RogerBadgerDSFlyer Personally I try to draw a very solid line between music I make for exclusive libraries and what I make for non-exclusive/Spotify. I then know exactly what to do with each, including PRO, publishing, Content ID, etc.
Great video. I have been a member of Taxi since Nov 2020. I have had about 25 forwards and signed with one library. No $ ever.! I think the reviews on the submission are most of the time not helpful and it is really almost impossible to get anything through them! I am realizing you need to do it on your own.
Thank you for this particular video on Taxi Music. I was a Taxi member for almost 9 years which seems incredible when I see it written here. It would break my heart if I tallied it up in dollars. In all of those years I had 2 forwards which were so long ago that I don’t remember what songs they were. I also felt some guilt when I didn’t think I was submitting enough music to the briefs/listings. Living in NYC struggling to pay rent & bills I never made it to one of their Road Rallies in Los Angeles. I couldn’t spare the money for them. I finally had enough and quit about 4 years ago but I still get their briefs and will occasionally watch episodes of Taxi Tv based in the subject of the day. I still get their emails for discount priced offers to rejoin at the cheaper prices but I can’t make myself pull the trigger on it. Maybe it’s my deeper wisdom and remembrance of what it was like before… Thank you for your channel Mr. Eric… 🙏🏾
Great take on your journey with taxi. I used to pay for a service and nothing came out of it. I eventually learned like you that I could pitch my music on my own. Now I'm in 6 libraries earning money
Just found your channel today as it coma on my time line. Its funny beacaus I am starting my journey for sync im greatful for this information. Very valuable. Wanted to do TAXI but was hesitant at first for years. Thanks againfor this. Nothing but continued success to you. Blessings! 💯
Thanks, Eric, for sharing your experiences! I don't have too much money to waste, already done that in other ways, so it's great to get a nuanced view on these things, based on experiences, and I'll read what other people say about it. Happy New Year 🙂
I've had about 10 submissions and 6 forwards. Only one of my forwards resulted in a connection, so now I'm writing for a music library. I don't know if I could have done it on my own because I simply didn't know how to submit to a library for consideration. I think Taxi is great for people who are new or breaking into writing commercially, but for someone with a long track record and existing connections, it doesn't seem like you would need Taxi. Thanks for this video!
Thanks for all of the info you provide! I gave Taxi a try too, had a couple forwards but no deals. I don't think it's a scam like some, but it is a huge time-consuming process to write for briefs that most likely produce nothing on the other end. One positive I'm taking is getting used to seeing briefs and hearing what current libraries are looking for. I'm only a few months into this sync world, I've learned more from a few of your videos than any other resource so far. Happy to subscribe and thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience!!
I so agree with you! I don't believe in any pay to pitch. I've had close to 6000 placements and I agree with you that we must pitch directly, do our research, make it happen! Good for you! Perhaps the Taxi Road Rally is a worthwhile event but not the briefs/pitching.
I got Taxi 3 months ago and I find them comical, like you I wanted to get my songs in more libraries but I don’t like there middle man! I’m a 40 year veteran of the music industry with pub deal with Universal, Sony ATV, etc and myself being a former A&R VP at a major label in the 90’s I think their A&R is a joke and I will not use them again
I'm so glad I came here. I didn't feel right with signing up and spending my money with them without more knowledge. I needed more info and y'all gave me all the info I needed ❤
Great job being gracious to a company that states they can help you get placements but does little to none of that. I was a member for one year, received 4 forwards and no call backs, and its been 3 years. And I'm ok with that. Here's my problem with Taxi and it is very valid. Taxi denied a song, I pitched the same song with no changes in production to an accredited library and it got licensed making cash as we speak. So, Thanks for this VID. Peace to you
Eric... My compliments on the way you handled this -- You made great points while not bashing Taxi. You were a gentleman. So, I just want to say I have been doing the Taxi thing for a few years and my experiences mirror yours and some of the other folks here. As a result, I'm fairly convinced that Taxi might not be all they suggest they are.
Well, all we can say fairly is it didn’t work for us. Now time to focus on the things we can control: good music and good relationships we can make for our careers in a different direction.
THANK YOU BROTHER!!!!! This helped me so much... I had a decent experience back in the day with TAXI, though I yielded no success... I had 2 songs forwarded that went nowhere. I gave up for 10 years and am now back in it up to my neck. LOL (Kids are grown and I can't stay away I guess LOL!) I'm now steadily producing, writing, recording and performing in several venues again... I am working as a partner in a local studio and minor label. I'm about to revisit the sync licensing; and although confident in my craft, very nervous and needed some direction... This was a true gift of enlightenment for me buddy. Again, Thanks...Cheers and Blessings man.
You could have attended - or can attend The Taxi Road Rally (included for free in your $199 membership), and make face-face connections that way (build those personal relationships). I understand your frustration, especially when you have been in the game for a while and are also 'doing it on your own, your way'. I personally would have given it 5 or 6 years, and yes, written to the brief ( yes - $1000 of member fees), but I'm sure that's nothing compared to what you've spent on equipment , computers, software/plugins, insurance, years of learning etc etc. I have heard the record is 7.5 years(@ Taxi) - where a member was contacted from a forward. So you just may get that call from your 'forwards' - best of luck.
Well, I would have spent all that in computers, software, etc anyway, so that doesn’t make up for spending what would have been $1500-$1800 on TAXI in 5-6 years. 7.5 YEARS for a call back? That’s almost $2000 to wait for a call back. I can do that for free and don’t have to wait! But thanks for your comments…
THANK YOU THIS REALLY HELPED ME. I WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE SKEPTICAL ABOUT JOINING TAXI. IM A MUSIC PRODUCER MOSTLY PRODUCE RAP/RNB/TRAP /URBAN ETC. BUT I LOVE ADDING MY DOGS NAME ON SONGS SO IM THINKING OF CREATING JINGLES AS WELL
Thanks, Eric. I had a very similar experience and did not renew this year. I got some good feedback, but that is the only value that I got out of the $200 + each of the $5 submissions. I've been kind of thinking that maybe I did not do enough work (taxi guilt). Glad to know I am not the only one.
A friend of mine had a track approved by a library via TAXI but he ultimately passed on the opportunity because of the same reasons you mentioned. The client was very blunt and impersonal in his response, the website was outdated and unprofessional and there was no indication as to what the track was going to be used for.
Hello. I found a few sites that have the same type of sevice. I'm very independent. I like doing my own thing. I pitch my own work. Another thing that I don't like is having to compose music for anything specific. I just want to compose music, because I want to. What ever is on the library is what I have to offer. Take it, or leave it. 🙂😄
Great video! You put my thoughts into words. I relate to the guilt feeling, and the never ending briefs overwhelm. I haven’t had much luck with forwards. The comments back have been helpful with seeing what I need to work on with production. The yearly conference is free which is nice.
@MakeMusicIncome Your video of Reason No. 3 - the gatekeeper listening to my music to determine if it's good enough to get to the libraries... also a turn-off... Your video came into my life, just when I needed to hear it, Thank you!
I do both. I write for briefs and proactively, write for libraries on my own and you can do either or both. Either way, it works. I agree with this and believe that you can find your own libraries and do well.
Thank you for the video Mr Eric, it's practical to hear a person with longer experience in a new field of music. I apprieciate Taxi service for creating more job opportunities for talented, independent musicians. However, I think it's not the best solution to return the music material, if there is small detail in a song, that could be efficiently corrected, as it takes place in traditional way of cooperation.
I did a couple of years, got accepted into several libraries and then went on my own. I'm in a dozen libraries now - mostly exclusive that I found myself. What you have to consider is whilst you or I may have joined Taxi with many years of producing experience , a lot of people join up with music that is not ready for Primetime ( i.e. dated, not well produced etc ) so even if they did try by themselves they'd never be accepted. I think Taxi can be a reality check for some people. Whether that's worth $200+ a year is another question.
@@MakeMusicIncome I know - I tell everyone to join Jesse's Sync Academy if they need to improve writnig / productio rather than chase Forwards at Taxi without the right skillset
Thanks a lot for your help and input about this. I’ve been analyzing this company for a while. I agree I believe they’re a good company but overpriced. As I get into to this, I totally agree with you that you shouldn’t pay to be apart of something that’s not returning value or “possible” chance of being placed. $300 a year for a “maybe” is not reasonable or can be justified. In my opinion
You might check Music libraryreport.com, but really the work is on you to find the right library for your music. They are out there and easily find a on Google.
@Make Music Income That's awesome. I'm watching all of your videos and I'll let you know if I correctly processed the information. Thanks for the inspiration!
Yeah...I get that. I have made a ton of money writing music, gave Taxi a try, and got "feedback" ("work on your mix"???) 1 yr was enough. fool me once...well...you know....
Started Taxi at the beginning of 2021, full force, 67 forwards (forward rate 47%), 6 contacts ( contact rate about 10% of the forwards), signed 6 contracts, only 3 companies were serious. In 2022, 47 forwards for 26 listings, 2 contacts from the SAME two companies I have already a good relationship with! So: ZERO new contact in 2022! I will renew in 2023 BUT only pitch tracks that will have a home in my libraries if they’re not getting forwarded by Taxi or if they are, will not get a response from the company that run the listing, which happens in a sobering 90% of the cases😮So by the end of 2023 we will see. I owe Taxi everything I got so far concerning relationships in production music, BUT at one point maybe it’s time to walk on your own. Let’s see!
@@MakeMusicIncome kinda is the right word! That I had 0 new contacts in 2022 makes me go like hmmm 🤔 but we will see, I’m in for the long game! Good channel and top vid Eric!!! Thanks 🙏🏻
Thank you for this. I especially related to when you said that writing to a brief wasn’t for you. I got into songwriting because I wanted to inspire people not write about squirrels for some brief. I’d be interested to hear your take on approaching famous artists directly vs publishers or their reps for those with a song demo to pitch.
while some taxi members succeeds with sync licensing, pitching to recording artists (especially famous artists), is a TOTALLY different game. to succeed in this, you have to be somebody in the industry (or at least be in the position to work with somebody who's a somebody), live where the action is, and NETWORK. it's extremely unlikely that you'll get a cut with a famous artists without some serious connections. i don't even think taxi should be running these listings, it's simply disingenuous. but i see why songwriters who doesn't know how the industry works feel tempted when they see listings like SUPERSTAR LOOKING FOR SONGS or MAJOR LABEL ARTIST LOOKING FOR SONGS. i know, cause i've been there. and i've learned. and if you think that even writing a potential smash hit is gonna do it, think again. it's personal relations first, THEN the songs. and artists seem to cowrite more and more. that's how they connect to the songs, being apart of the creative process, as opposed to having songs "thrown" at them. think about it, if YOU were the artist, how likely would it be that you would fall in love with outside songs, particularly from someone you've never heard of or have no connection to.
Some examples are Crucial Music, ScoreKeepers Music, TripleScoop Music. Clients of these libraries might include music supervisors looking for music for TV, film, and advertising.
I've never joined TAXI, as I thought it was overpriced and I had already been making contacts and placements with Music Libraries all without needing TAXI. There's other similar services that don't cost nearly as much.
Of course. And as I showed with two years and lots of submissions, I’m not against pay for play, until it just shows that it won’t work for my music and goals.
the reason why taxi exists is because those music supervisors and libraries are not easy to approach. If they were I'd have my music on tv shows already. I do feel you on them being the middle man and skipping over a song that may be perfect for a show. I wonder what the most efficient and successful way to get music on TV is.
TAXI represents such a small amount of what Music Supervisors are hearing and finding it’s not even worth talking about. Many of TAXI’s clients are actually libraries which are one source that Music Supervisors go to find music.
Do both don't just rely on Taxi. Certain things about Taxi are bullshit and it's kinda scammy. If you didn't figure out it's about keeping the money coming. But still you can use it to get feedback and learn what kind of songs work in the industry. My mixing got way better using taxi, and I realized I needed to be simpler.
Thank you for putting this video on TH-cam and it was very interesting and informative and I understand your opinions. But in my case Taxi has been amazing at opening doors for my music over the past two years and I love knowing what particular briefs are looking for and then writing to that specific requirement. This is an entirely different way of writing and of course I do both now and I also pitch to other groups and have some of my earlier music on Spotify and TH-cam and other streaming platforms I highly recommend Taxi as it was through them that I signed with a major publisher, and also have been writing for libraries through briefs that were forwarded and accepted. I have a lot to learn, but have found that by networking with other songwriters, this alone is worth every single penny I have spent. Thank you for all you are doing for those of us who are just starting out as serious songwriters and I look forward to hearing more of your ideas.
You almost have to look at Taxi as a Baseball analogy. You're on the Team. You get a chance to step up to the plate. You strike out = RETURN Next you hit a single..= FORWARD. Then you get a double = CONTACTED. On to a triple = SIGNED The best thing is getting a homer = On a The TV anywhere. The only difference is baseball players get paid.
I have to say that I have had more success on my own, but it was a fluke. A music manager just picked up my song off of a stream and put it on their show and I still get paid for it every month. So far, with Taxi in 3 years, I have had a few forwards and one sign with a library... but that cue fell into a black hole. I have been amazed at what the screeners can hear though. I have gotten really good feedback from them, though they were returns. Though the reason may be because I just suck, the money spent ($5 a week plus the subscription) with no rewards and many many many rejections feels like some kind of self-inflicted abuse.
I know the feeling LOL. Keep at it though. Not TAXI, but improving your craft. Make the music you love because you love making it. If things like TAXI or licensing make it feel gross, then leave those things behind and make the music you love.
@@MakeMusicIncome Oh I can't stop. It's impossible. Licencing definitely doesn't make me feel gross. Just ranting.It's nice to know someone who understands.
No, I did watch some of the 2021 online Rally, but Cali is a hard reach from FL. Wish more people would do middle of the US or Eastern music conferences.
@@MakeMusicIncome Yeah. A few happen in NY. Not directly stock licensing though. Most of them are in Texas and in California (I just did a segment on 2023 conferences for another community. LOL).
I was considering Taxi and researched it; I started seeing people's posted videos, saying that they were excited that they finally had a song forwarded...but I kept hearing them say, they had to submit @53 submissions first, or 54, or 52, 55...I did inquire with Taxi as to what is the "Real" price then? $200+ 50 something X $5.00? Why was EVERYONE saying they had close to the same submissions first🤔? Didn't get a response back. PS: But I think Michael over there has really great info on his own videos👍 regarding sync, cue sheets, etc.
I have three videos about TAXI and gave it a solid try for two years. I spent $600 or so total and got a good number of forwards but no responses from anyone. Meanwhile I just reached out to libraries in the meantime and signed to them…
My biggest gripe about Taxi is how songs can get rejected for the most minor things. For example, one of my songs was rejected because the screener thought the piano velocities were hitting too hard. Otherwise, they had all positives to say. How about saying, "Piano velocities hitting too hard.. take the 30 seconds it would take to fix that and resubmit."
Seems like if you're quick at writing for briefs and you like it you might be able to do decently, anything returned you can easily push over to stock, I'd bet. Even if it was cheaper I'm not sure it'd be for me, I am anything but quick (something I need to work on, get focused way to much on minor details) Also the fee to submit on top of the yearly fee seems excessive. Thanks for giving it a fair shot, I'm sure it works well for a specific type of composer.
I DO think I gave it a fair shot especially in my second year. The problem isn’t that I can’t write to briefs,and I am also quick. I had many submissions and forwards I made in a day. The real problem is for me nothing came of them.
Hello! I’m wondering if there’s a path forward for me. I’ve written an album’s worth of songs in the Country/Americana realm, but I’m not a performer nor do I want to be. My music is in the form of rough demos - enough to get the songs across. I feel that my lyrics are very good and have gotten positive feedback from live performances over the years. I need a way to get my songs into the hands of artists who need material, but I don’t want to spend the thousands of dollars that it’d take to record these songs for real. Thoughts?
Well this is a tough one. I think we all wish we could do something with rough demos. The problem is everyone has those. All of us who write songs wish we had a pipeline to someone who could do something with them, pay us royalties, and then we just write more songs. Unfortunately most of the time it’s not that easy. SOMEONE has to do the work. SOMEONE has to put the money behind those songs and get them heard and published. Luckily, you are in the country genre and that means there may be doors open with a Nashville publisher. But still you are up against thousands like you who have rough demos. And it’s easier than ever to create great sounding demos that sound better than demos. So, this isn’t likely very helpful to you, but my advice is that you either need to find an artist you can partner with who doesn’t write and will pay to have the songs recorded, or make better quality demos to pitch and maybe find a publishing deal.
I joined taxi to get reviews on my songs, but they don’t help… A typical review is this… I like the spirit of the song, but it doesn’t sound enough like the references so I’m returning it… How does that help me grow the song? I’d sign up again tomorrow if the reviews were any good… I don’t have any aspirations of making it in music, but I would like feedback on my songs.
Yeah, I think they just get overrun and it all becomes about yes or no to the brief. They sell that the “critiques” will make you better, but it sounds like they really have stopped critiquing with any thing constructive.
Sometimes it felt like Taxi forwarded the songs that best represented themselves as a credible, quality, reliable supplier, and maybe were not interested in anything terribly creative. Sometimes I would write to spec from that more cynical standpoint and got more positive results, and THAT was depressing. I had to quit.
@@MakeMusicIncome Yep about 400 submissions overall if memory serves... of which about 160 were forwarded... (this was all about 5 years ago) and as I said... nothing, not even one followup from any library. Even so, I don't think it’s a scam, but rather a case of music overload, near misses, and probably just not good enough or the right fit - in truth I came away realizing I could easily do well in sync if I was willing to do a lot of the library shopping and solicitation myself -
I know they honor it, but not sure about after a full year. Would be good to know so keep us updated! But, I wouldn’t ask for a refund if you haven’t submitted to briefs, like at least 5-10. But then again, it’s your right to ask for one.
I just realized that you never posted our collaborative interview here Eric. Pretty sure we agree to post it on both of our channels. Here's where you can find it. th-cam.com/video/GJ_iCrahh_4/w-d-xo.html
Yeah sorry about that. I think it fit TAXI’s channel better than mine since it turned out pretty TAXI focused for your marketing purposes, and didn’t really make sense in that I had just done a video a few months before about how I had already rejoined. I wish continued success to you and TAXI, but just not right for me.
I'm a newbie in the Sync business, so I can't really speak too loudly about it, but what concerns me about Taxi is that they charge so much money for every single thing. Many other libraries I'm checking and applying to are free for submissions and pitches, then if you get rejected ok and if you get accepted and placed they take their fee out of your fee and that's it but they don't charge you money to put your music there or to pitch. Why do these guys charge you for every single operation? When so much money is charged, I smell scams.
I understand where you are coming from, but I think you’ve made some incorrect assumptions, and I think there are several inaccurate points in this very well produced video. Your stated goal of joining Taxi was “to find more libraries for my sync licensing music.” You already have some library relationships, you want to expand your contact list. Makes absolute sense, it is the exact same reason I rejoined Taxi last year after taking a few years off. Taxi briefs are specific instructions, they are guidelines on how to craft music that their clients want. In topic #5 you specifically said “The briefs are good” then said “I just don’t enjoy writing for briefs.” Hmm... It is incredibly important to understand the following point: Writing music for tv is a SERVICE INDUSTRY. We are ARTISANS first, ARTISTS later. This is how business works. As a sax player, if I feel that the bride's first dance at a wedding really could use some John Coltrane influenced saxophone playing over her chosen love song, I'm not going to make the bride happy, and I'm probably not going to get hired by that band again either. If I'm a chef and get hired to cater the wedding and they specifically ask for no cilantro or onions in the dishes, and I still use both because "I know how to cook," guess what... I'm probably not going to get paid for the gig, and my reputation in the business will take a hit because I care more about my craft than I do about serving the needs of people that I want to give me money. You MUST write for the briefs. And this means you must read the briefs and then meet those requirements. You also mentioned waiting until the last minute, freaking out over the deadline, and then rushing to complete a track and submit it in time. That is not a formula for success. Then you said “I created something I didn’t want to create for a brief, hoping to reach someone, but I got nothing back in return.” You also said "Briefs can be distracting…" and that you "could be writing instead of reading briefs." This doesn't make any sense. You are being asked for something specific, you need to deliver what is being asked for. Looking at it another way: You signed up for a service with the primary function of delivering client briefs to composers, but then say that you don't want to write for briefs and you could be doing other things with your time. That makes NO SENSE at all. :) Let me be clear… I’m a huge promoter of Taxi because it has worked for me and hundreds of others. BUT… it is not perfect, no company is. I too have been frustrated by returns that I thought were absolutely wrong, screeners make mistakes. And I too have taken my returns and had them accepted by libraries, and I have had returns end up placed on tv shows. I think your dissatisfaction is due to you not being an ideal client for Taxi. You have existing library relationships. You have other sources of music income. And you have experience writing music good enough to get placed on tv. In my opinion Taxi excels at helping people newer to the industry… I’m a graduate of one of the finest music schools in the world and have decades of performing experience. But when I first joined Taxi in 2015 I knew nothing about the sync music business. Then, it took me a couple of years to get my bearings and find success. The foundation of my tv music success is the education I received from Taxi, the mentoring I received from veteran Taxi members, feedback from the Taxi forum, and of course, some fantastic networking opportunities at the annual rally. Today, my music has been used on more than 60 different tv series on more than 30 networks in abut 30 different countries. And last year I got my first and second movie credits thanks to two different libraries that I met thanks to Taxi; one from a forward years ago that started a relationship, the other from a library owner I met at my first Taxi mentor lunch at the rally. So with regard to Taxi’s clients, every one of them that I have met has been top notch, professional and successful. There are always exceptions, but quality is the norm, not the exception. I appreciate that you repeatedly asked people not to bash Taxi but to share their experiences in the comments. At the end of the day, I think you are not the right type of person that can get the most value from the service Taxi provides. You don’t want to write to briefs (your words), you said “the briefs are good” but then said that all of the briefs “can be distracting”. Taxi is delivering the very product you signed up for, yet you think they are sending you too much? This sounds more like an organizational skills or time management skills issue. Rushing to write for a brief at the last minute is a horrible thing to do, all it does is stress you out while delivering an inferior product, after which you somehow come to the conclusion that Taxi is the issue? So yes, the “brief is king” if you want to be successful in this business. And yes, you can also be successful by reaching out to libraries on your own. I’ve got music in more than 30 libraries, the vast majority I got into on my own. But, today I focus on writing for about 5-6 libraries and almost all of them I met through Taxi-related relationships. I’ll end with this: You say you “tried really hard” during your second year with Taxi. Forty pitches in two years is not trying hard, especially if you were not focused on your strongest genre. I think a lot could be learned if you shared with your viewers some of the music that was forwarded, along with some of the music that was returned. This business is a numbers game that requires focus and discipline. If you have too many irons in the fire, Taxi will not work for you if you can’t focus, and if you can’t bring yourself to write to the brief. BTW… text never delivers the intended sentiment, I am certainly not trying to bash you at all. I’m trying to deliver honest content, and sometimes people get stressed out by the truth. I appreciate you sharing your opinions, it is my mere opinion that your expectations and effort ended up not being worthy of success with Taxi. You are entirely correct that you can get your music into libraries on your own. I’ve done that as well. Taxi is ONE of many options out there that composers can use. However, it is also comes with many benefits to help composers along the way. Sure, try it on your own, but those that do should not be surprised if you burn some bridges along the way by making newbie mistakes with your music or your business practices. Success requires that you treat your music like a business, which includes organization skills, time management, handling feedback of all kinds, reading client documentation, responding to communication in a timely manner, etc. There is a “starving artist” stereotype for a reason… so many artists can’t get their stuff together enough to find success. Thanks again for the video.
Hi Paul, you articulated what I was thinking. To summarize, it is a service industry. If you don’t want to write to the specs of the client and in a timely manner, do something else. Maybe I am naive and my ego is too inflated, but to me $200 a year is a small price to pay especially when the Poster here is talking about paying Nashville studio musicians to work on his projects. Top drawer studio guys come at a high price!
I'm struggling to see what the point of a video like this really is? If I don't want to shop at Walmart then I just go elsewhere. Is there any fresh, new revelation here that people really need to see?If your music is flying and you don't need a service like Taxi, just don't use it. If you can offer a better service than Taxi it'll naturally rise to the top.
Taxi. ...sends msgs often "lots of this or that" for unknown parties...send us your fees people to submit " lots" of you. If you submit enough fees taxi will send you a compliment sandwich ...w a "tip" to reproduce your song bc Taxi does not place original songs but rather productions it appears. Thats my perspective and experience w their unknown critiquers ( reviewed by # ...not a name ever) Lots of unknown untraceable "leads" , With unknown untraceable " reviewers " for ongoing fees.
Taxing has severely inconsistent screening. And this is coming not from a bitter guy who gets none of my work forwarded. A lot of mine do. I never complain when my music didn’t fit criteria. But when you send the same composition to two trailer briefs, and one said this is perfect for a trailer, and the other says this doesn’t sound like a trailer it sounds like a cue, it completely feel like an unprofessional company. I had a piece that was featured song of the month. It was forwarded every time, around 4 times, then the last time a screener returned it and said the brass was too low or something about the lack of melody or motif. It was total nonsense. I have also not been contacted from a single forward besides one for a non exclusive library that wanted to exclusively own my music for three years but sell my music non exclusively for under $100 in which they would keep 40%. I feel very disappointed by the whole experience
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I joined Taxi just to try it out. I quit after a year. It’s a cool company to get your chops up and get feedback on things to improve on. A lot of my music was rejected some was forwarded but nothing really happened. I started to build my own relationships and a lot of my music that I originally made for TAXI got accepted in other libraries from relationships I formed on my own. Now the music that I originally made for TAXI is getting major placements on NFL, House Wives, Vanderpump Rules etc. All from my personal relationships. You gotta have personal relationships in this business.
Agreed and congrats! Great story!
I had the exact same experience
That’s incredible, how did you make these personal connections?
@@hannanathan564 Mosly watching TH-cam, searching Google, researching libraries.
@@MakeMusicIncome interesting. Thanks! *. I’ve been watching your videos as well as some others. This is a different side of the industry I’m trying to learn more on.
Well my experience with Taxi couldn't have been better: Subsribed for one year, 6 submissions, 5 forwards, 1 contact by a publisher I still write for. So my calculation is: $200 + $30 = 1 deal, which is what I was hoping for and was lucky to get.
However, you can all do this on your own, just as you said. I see Taxi as an uplifter into writing + the potential of a deal. However likely that is.
Great video, fair and honest in my opinion. Thanks Eric!
Congrats Andreas!
Could we have a link to some of your music?
Sure, just search John Eric Copeland on Spotify or Apple
Over the years I belonged to Taxi and Broadjam. I left both for the same reasons you outlined.
I have been a Taxi member for 6 years and it took me several years to understand the industry and improve my work both in quality and quantity. I had over 90 forwards before my first deal 3.5 years ago. Since then, I have 600 signed tracks and songs across 20+ libraries/publishers and over 250 placements as of my last PRO statement. I do agree that more members have your experience as compared to mine. But I really think that’s because you (and probably others) haven’t given Taxi enough of a chance and taken full advantage of everything Taxi has to offer.
First, you must submit more music; 10-20 submissions in a year is not going to yield enough positive results. As you mention, there are many reasons why a forward will not result in you being contacted to sign your work. So you have to create and submit a lot more in order to give yourself a better chance of success. I’ve done nearly 600 submissions to Taxi over the years. More of that was loaded in years 2-4 and more recently has tailed off because libraries and cowriters come to me now (more on this below) so I don’t have as much time to write and submit to Taxi.
Next, my experience with the companies that have signed my work through Taxi forwards has been great. They have been high quality both on how they conduct business and the placements I have ultimately gotten through them. I have many friends who are Taxi members both more and less successful than me, and haven’t heard anything bad about any company anyone has signed with through a Taxi forward. If fact, I’ve had a bad experience with a company that I submitted to cold and not through Taxi.
And Taxi vets these companies to make sure they are of good quality which is much harder to do as a composer just searching on the internet. In addition, these companies ask Taxi for music so they have a need right now. When you submit music to Taxi to fill that need, and if it gets forward and ultimately signed, there’s a much higher chance that you will get a placement. If you contact libraries cold and send them music you’ve done, if they don’t need it, they will probably ignore you. However, they may sign it even if they don’t need it right now. But there’s a much lower probability of placement of that work if they don’t actually need it and just want to fill out their library with more tracks. Now that I have provided lots of music to libraries and they have placed some of that music, they send briefs out or ask me directly to provide them with specific music. And, again, this work has a higher change of placement.
This underscores your point that personal relationships are important. To me that is a great BENEFIT of being a Taxi member. You get introduced to the companies by forwards, and then you get to keep and maintain those relationships beyond Taxi.
And while Taxi is a middle man in the sense of screening submissions, they are very good at it. Of course they may get one wrong here or there, but mostly they don’t. Most libraries looking for music come to them specifically BECAUSE they screen the submissions so that they don’t have to. Many good companies don’t accept cold submissions because they don’t want to review them. It’s WAY too much effort. And Taxi provides very good feedback when your work is returned (not forwarded) which you can use to help your work improve. Even if you got a response from a cold submission to a library, they aren’t going to give you details on why they aren’t signing you. Again, they don’t have the time. At best it will be yes or no, and as I said, probably no response.
An important aspect of Taxi is the forum where you can get feedback from peers, find collaborators, and generally learn about the industry. You can hear music that has been forwarded and you can learn about deals that others have gotten.
And the biggest part of Taxi missing from this video is the Taxi Road Rally held in Los Angeles on the first weekend of November. The event is free for members (and one guest) and is an invaluable source of information and networking possibilities. At the most recent event, I met a publisher that I did 4 songs for and then he asked me to produce 5 albums over the next several months (one solo and 4 with other artists). I have learned so much at the classes there and listening panels where random member’s music is played and critiqued live. And I have met so many of my collaborators and friends, many of which we have signed and placed works together. The rally is the single most important reason why I have success in this industry.
My observation is that those Taxi members that are successful are taking advantage of ALL that Taxi has to offer like Taxi TV episodes, the forum, the forwards blog and road rally. They are using these tools as well as the feedback from submissions to improve their work and to make excellent connections.
All this being said, Taxi is not for everyone. I know that my experience might not be the same as some other members. But you get out of it what you put in. If you want to be struck by whatever your muse is and just write a dozen tracks a year and try to find someone to publish them, you can do that without Taxi. You can find some low level libraries that will get you a few dollars, maybe hundreds. But if you want composing and/or song writing for sync to be your full time income then you have to do the music that is needed, you need to do it excellently and you need to do a lot of it.
Thanks for your comments here Greg! And congrats on your continued success! If anyone would like to see an interview about Greg about TAXI we did on this channel, check out the TAXI Playlist on this channel!
Hello Greg, I found you report on Taxi highly informative and it's made me curious, I'd love to hear some of your music, is that possible? Cheers
@@KeithHutchinsonYT
Lol Greg is a plumb he has no music he just likes to talk 😂
Great info, you are most transparent I’ve seen In my 4/5 years and 3 or 4 groups I’ve been involved with learning about sync music!
Thank you so much!
Great video. As a TAXI member you really did hit on some great points without denigrating TAXI. I have to say it's extremely frustrating to not hear anything back from a forward. I have had forwards that resulted in deals, one in particular that turned out to be a great company that I now have a relationship with. I agree with you about who is listening to what's submitted and sometimes question the return but I have also taken the criticism constructively and used it to turn songs into better pieces that have resulted in forwards but with no further results. I do think TAXI is a good company, I've learned a lot over the years & am thankful for them, but I do have concerns about results lately .BTW, I've been wondering about submitting music to other libraries unsolicited but didn't think you could. You've got me interested, I've subscribed.
Thank you so much for your thoughts here. It’s all about the relationship with the library. I just found I did not need to pay for it.
I worked for Taxi for about 5 years, and I never heard of anyone in all that time who had a license cover. It’s great that you finally left.
License cover?
As a fellow songwriter/ producer I respect your independent spirit and dedication. I will like and subscribe sir..All the best
Thank you so much !
Thanks for your openness and honesty. Regarding return on investment, correct me if I’m wrong, but the majority of TAXI’s clients look for exclusive deals which pay a lot more than non-exclusive stock libraries. A bit of quick maths; if, say, you’re making around $500/mo on around 1000 tracks uploaded with various non-exclusive libraries, that’s around $6k a year. Just one exclusive track can net you a significant amount in comparison, possibly more than your annual income on all those non-exclusives, so even if a track lies dormant for a year or two (or longer), it might still be worth it. I didn’t hear you cover that trade-off in your video. Once you submit a track to non-exclusive you can never go exclusive with it. An aspect to consider when weighing up pro’s and cons of either strategy. I’ll be following your channel because I like it, so thanks again 👍
Actually depending on which stock libraries you submit to, you can certainly take them out if accepted to an exclusive library. And while you are right about the possibility of making more with an exclusive track, I know ppl who make thousands a month with stock and those are corporate tunes that may not have a place in sync. Also songs can sit in sync libraries and never make a dime. But generally I agree with you.
@@MakeMusicIncome Thanks for writing back. After watching your very helpful video, I was tempted, almost excited, to just go for it and start uploading to all the libraries I can, but then I paused to think about the aspect of exclusivity. Maybe my patience will pay off, maybe it won’t! Who knows right!? I think I’ll do a bit of both, since there’s obviously a lot of demand for corporate media and smaller productions. All the best and keep those videos coming! Most importantly, keep your soul alive making music 🎸
@@RogerBadgerDSFlyer Personally I try to draw a very solid line between music I make for exclusive libraries and what I make for non-exclusive/Spotify. I then know exactly what to do with each, including PRO, publishing, Content ID, etc.
Great video. I have been a member of Taxi since Nov 2020. I have had about 25 forwards and signed with one library. No $ ever.! I think the reviews on the submission are most of the time not helpful and it is really almost impossible to get anything through them! I am realizing you need to do it on your own.
Thank you for your experience and comments! Good luck as you pursue on your own. We’ll be talking a lot this year about sync and doing it on your own.
Thank you for this particular video on Taxi Music.
I was a Taxi member for almost 9 years which seems incredible when I see it written here. It would break my heart if I tallied it up in dollars.
In all of those years I had 2 forwards which were so long ago that I don’t remember what songs they were. I also felt some guilt when I didn’t think I was submitting enough music to the briefs/listings. Living in NYC struggling to pay rent & bills I never made it to one of their Road Rallies in Los Angeles. I couldn’t spare the money for them.
I finally had enough and quit about 4 years ago but I still get their briefs and will occasionally watch episodes of Taxi Tv based in the subject of the day.
I still get their emails for discount priced offers to rejoin at the cheaper prices but I can’t make myself pull the trigger on it.
Maybe it’s my deeper wisdom and remembrance of what it was like before…
Thank you for your channel Mr. Eric… 🙏🏾
I think you’ve done your time.
Great take on your journey with taxi. I used to pay for a service and nothing came out of it. I eventually learned like you that I could pitch my music on my own. Now I'm in 6 libraries earning money
Absolutely, and same. All of that I got outside of TAXI and absolutely with nothing to do with it. May work for some, didn’t for me after 2 years.
Just found your channel today as it coma on my time line. Its funny beacaus I am starting my journey for sync im greatful for this information. Very valuable. Wanted to do TAXI but was hesitant at first for years. Thanks againfor this. Nothing but continued success to you. Blessings! 💯
Glad it helped
And good luck. Follow the channel for more on my sync journey. New albums hitting libraries consistently but it will take a lot!!
Thank you so much for your honest unbiased review. Appreciate this and will not be wasting my time nor my money.
Thanks, Eric, for sharing your experiences! I don't have too much money to waste, already done that in other ways, so it's great to get a nuanced view on these things, based on experiences, and I'll read what other people say about it. Happy New Year 🙂
Thanks THomas!
I've had about 10 submissions and 6 forwards. Only one of my forwards resulted in a connection, so now I'm writing for a music library. I don't know if I could have done it on my own because I simply didn't know how to submit to a library for consideration. I think Taxi is great for people who are new or breaking into writing commercially, but for someone with a long track record and existing connections, it doesn't seem like you would need Taxi. Thanks for this video!
Thanks for all of the info you provide! I gave Taxi a try too, had a couple forwards but no deals. I don't think it's a scam like some, but it is a huge time-consuming process to write for briefs that most likely produce nothing on the other end. One positive I'm taking is getting used to seeing briefs and hearing what current libraries are looking for. I'm only a few months into this sync world, I've learned more from a few of your videos than any other resource so far. Happy to subscribe and thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience!!
Thanks so much and glad the videos have helped! Let’s go!
I so agree with you! I don't believe in any pay to pitch. I've had close to 6000 placements and I agree with you that we must pitch directly, do our research, make it happen! Good for you! Perhaps the Taxi Road Rally is a worthwhile event but not the briefs/pitching.
Thanks for watching and your comments!
@@MakeMusicIncome Thank you! A pleasure!
I got Taxi 3 months ago and I find them comical, like you I wanted to get my songs in more libraries but I don’t like there middle man! I’m a 40 year veteran of the music industry with pub deal with Universal, Sony ATV, etc and myself being a former A&R VP at a major label in the 90’s I think their A&R is a joke and I will not use them again
I'm so glad I came here. I didn't feel right with signing up and spending my money with them without more knowledge. I needed more info and y'all gave me all the info I needed ❤
Sounds like these briefs keep a true creative in a box that may feel stifling.
Great job being gracious to a company that states they can help you get placements but does little to none of that. I was a member for one year, received 4 forwards and no call backs, and its been 3 years. And I'm ok with that. Here's my problem with Taxi and it is very valid. Taxi denied a song, I pitched the same song with no changes in production to an accredited library and it got licensed making cash as we speak. So, Thanks for this VID. Peace to you
Glad it Helped and same experience.
Eric... My compliments on the way you handled this -- You made great points while not bashing Taxi. You were a gentleman. So, I just want to say I have been doing the Taxi thing for a few years and my experiences mirror yours and some of the other folks here. As a result, I'm fairly convinced that Taxi might not be all they suggest they are.
Well, all we can say fairly is it didn’t work for us. Now time to focus on the things we can control: good music and good relationships we can make for our careers in a different direction.
@@MakeMusicIncome I agree Eric. Stay well.
THANK YOU BROTHER!!!!! This helped me so much... I had a decent experience back in the day with TAXI, though I yielded no success... I had 2 songs forwarded that went nowhere. I gave up for 10 years and am now back in it up to my neck. LOL (Kids are grown and I can't stay away I guess LOL!) I'm now steadily producing, writing, recording and performing in several venues again... I am working as a partner in a local studio and minor label. I'm about to revisit the sync licensing; and although confident in my craft, very nervous and needed some direction... This was a true gift of enlightenment for me buddy. Again, Thanks...Cheers and Blessings man.
Excellent, good luck in your adventures! Glad this helped!
You could have attended - or can attend The Taxi Road Rally (included for free in your $199 membership), and make face-face connections that way (build those personal relationships). I understand your frustration, especially when you have been in the game for a while and are also 'doing it on your own, your way'. I personally would have given it 5 or 6 years, and yes, written to the brief ( yes - $1000 of member fees), but I'm sure that's nothing compared to what you've spent on equipment , computers, software/plugins, insurance, years of learning etc etc. I have heard the record is 7.5 years(@ Taxi) - where a member was contacted from a forward. So you just may get that call from your 'forwards' - best of luck.
Well, I would have spent all that in computers, software, etc anyway, so that doesn’t make up for spending what would have been $1500-$1800 on TAXI in 5-6 years. 7.5 YEARS for a call back? That’s almost $2000 to wait for a call back. I can do that for free and don’t have to wait! But thanks for your comments…
THANK YOU THIS REALLY HELPED ME. I WAS ALWAYS A LITTLE SKEPTICAL ABOUT JOINING TAXI. IM A MUSIC PRODUCER MOSTLY PRODUCE RAP/RNB/TRAP /URBAN ETC. BUT I LOVE ADDING MY DOGS NAME ON SONGS SO IM THINKING OF CREATING JINGLES AS WELL
Thanks, Eric. I had a very similar experience and did not renew this year. I got some good feedback, but that is the only value that I got out of the $200 + each of the $5 submissions. I've been kind of thinking that maybe I did not do enough work (taxi guilt). Glad to know I am not the only one.
The guilt is real. Thanks for your thoughts!
A friend of mine had a track approved by a library via TAXI but he ultimately passed on the opportunity because of the same reasons you mentioned. The client was very blunt and impersonal in his response, the website was outdated and unprofessional and there was no indication as to what the track was going to be used for.
Hello. I found a few sites that have the same type of sevice. I'm very independent. I like doing my own thing. I pitch my own work. Another thing that I don't like is having to compose music for anything specific. I just want to compose music, because I want to. What ever is on the library is what I have to offer. Take it, or leave it. 🙂😄
Thanks for sharing!
Great video! You put my thoughts into words. I relate to the guilt feeling, and the never ending briefs overwhelm. I haven’t had much luck with forwards. The comments back have been helpful with seeing what I need to work on with production. The yearly conference is free which is nice.
Thanks for sharing!!
@MakeMusicIncome Your video of Reason No. 3 - the gatekeeper listening to my music to determine if it's good enough to get to the libraries... also a turn-off... Your video came into my life, just when I needed to hear it, Thank you!
Understood. I get it.
loved Taxi..member from 1990 - 2000...multiple forwards
Forwards weren't the problem. Not Hearing from anyone forwarded to was the problem.
@@MakeMusicIncomeah yes, I love eating forwards for dinner and using forwards to keep warm and my lights on
I do both. I write for briefs and proactively, write for libraries on my own and you can do either or both. Either way, it works. I agree with this and believe that you can find your own libraries and do well.
And many people don’t know you can see the TAXI briefs for free on their site, so great prompts for writing even if you can’t afford them!
Thank you for the video Mr Eric, it's practical to hear a person with longer experience in a new field of music.
I apprieciate Taxi service for creating more job opportunities for talented, independent musicians. However, I think it's not the best solution to return the music material, if there is small detail in a song, that could be efficiently corrected, as it takes place in traditional way of cooperation.
Thank you very much! Yes I think you are right.
I agree...it is much better to build your own business relationships rather than giving money to middlemen.
Agreed!
@@MakeMusicIncome I hear Bob James playing in the background.
Very uplyfting video, uber excited for the year ahead!
LOL!
Excellent advice. They were on my list of potentials👍👍
Thank you Tony!
I did a couple of years, got accepted into several libraries and then went on my own. I'm in a dozen libraries now - mostly exclusive that I found myself. What you have to consider is whilst you or I may have joined Taxi with many years of producing experience , a lot of people join up with music that is not ready for Primetime ( i.e. dated, not well produced etc ) so even if they did try by themselves they'd never be accepted. I think Taxi can be a reality check for some people. Whether that's worth $200+ a year is another question.
Great comment! Yes, it can be a teaching or reality check tool. But it can also be expensive.
@@MakeMusicIncome I know - I tell everyone to join Jesse's Sync Academy if they need to improve writnig / productio rather than chase Forwards at Taxi without the right skillset
Thanks a lot for your help and input about this. I’ve been analyzing this company for a while. I agree I believe they’re a good company but overpriced. As I get into to this, I totally agree with you that you shouldn’t pay to be apart of something that’s not returning value or “possible” chance of being placed. $300 a year for a “maybe” is not reasonable or can be justified. In my opinion
Yeah, the “possible” never materialized for me. And need to concentrate on more than “maybe”s this year, spend less, earn more.
Many thanks. Is there a resource for a list of good libraries and the genres they like?
You might check Music libraryreport.com, but really the work is on you to find the right library for your music. They are out there and easily find a on Google.
As a Christian artist ( who's not mainstream) I'm hoping your valuable information helps me reach people and make a few bucks... Subscribed.
Nice! I have worked with and for Christian artists for over 30 years!
@Make Music Income That's awesome. I'm watching all of your videos and I'll let you know if I correctly processed the information. Thanks for the inspiration!
I’ve struggled a little bit to find a quality CCM library. Thoughts?
Yeah...I get that. I have made a ton of money writing music, gave Taxi a try, and got "feedback" ("work on your mix"???) 1 yr was enough. fool me once...well...you know....
Started Taxi at the beginning of 2021, full force, 67 forwards (forward rate 47%), 6 contacts ( contact rate about 10% of the forwards), signed 6 contracts, only 3 companies were serious. In 2022, 47 forwards for 26 listings, 2 contacts from the SAME two companies I have already a good relationship with! So: ZERO new contact in 2022! I will renew in 2023 BUT only pitch tracks that will have a home in my libraries if they’re not getting forwarded by Taxi or if they are, will not get a response from the company that run the listing, which happens in a sobering 90% of the cases😮So by the end of 2023 we will see. I owe Taxi everything I got so far concerning relationships in production music, BUT at one point maybe it’s time to walk on your own. Let’s see!
Excellent! Glad it has kind of worked for you! It can be an education that’s for sure. And we often pay for education…
@@MakeMusicIncome kinda is the right word! That I had 0 new contacts in 2022 makes me go like hmmm 🤔 but we will see, I’m in for the long game! Good channel and top vid Eric!!! Thanks 🙏🏻
I tried a year of taxi. Tracks that I made for those briefs to no results have since been signed and placed by working directly with a music library
Yes I had this same experience. So some would say writing to those briefs had purpose!
Great video. Please what is that sound treatment panel on your wall?
Auralex Sonoflat panels
Still has helped me get better.
It absolutely can for sure!
Thank you for this. I especially related to when you said that writing to a brief wasn’t for you. I got into songwriting because I wanted to inspire people not write about squirrels for some brief. I’d be interested to hear your take on approaching famous artists directly vs publishers or their reps for those with a song demo to pitch.
I think trying to approach one person with one or a few songs is hard unless it’s a library owner. That has been my path to sync success.
while some taxi members succeeds with sync licensing, pitching to recording artists (especially famous artists), is a TOTALLY different game. to succeed in this, you have to be somebody in the industry (or at least be in the position to work with somebody who's a somebody), live where the action is, and NETWORK. it's extremely unlikely that you'll get a cut with a famous artists without some serious connections. i don't even think taxi should be running these listings, it's simply disingenuous. but i see why songwriters who doesn't know how the industry works feel tempted when they see listings like SUPERSTAR LOOKING FOR SONGS or MAJOR LABEL ARTIST LOOKING FOR SONGS. i know, cause i've been there. and i've learned. and if you think that even writing a potential smash hit is gonna do it, think again. it's personal relations first, THEN the songs. and artists seem to cowrite more and more. that's how they connect to the songs, being apart of the creative process, as opposed to having songs "thrown" at them. think about it, if YOU were the artist, how likely would it be that you would fall in love with outside songs, particularly from someone you've never heard of or have no connection to.
Great video, thanks again Eric.
My pleasure, thanks for watching!
What are some examples of "libraries" and who has access/pays for your song(s) on it?
Some examples are Crucial Music, ScoreKeepers Music, TripleScoop Music. Clients of these libraries might include music supervisors looking for music for TV, film, and advertising.
I've never joined TAXI, as I thought it was overpriced and I had already been making contacts and placements with Music Libraries all without needing TAXI. There's other similar services that don't cost nearly as much.
Of course. And as I showed with two years and lots of submissions, I’m not against pay for play, until it just shows that it won’t work for my music and goals.
the reason why taxi exists is because those music supervisors and libraries are not easy to approach. If they were I'd have my music on tv shows already. I do feel you on them being the middle man and skipping over a song that may be perfect for a show. I wonder what the most efficient and successful way to get music on TV is.
TAXI represents such a small amount of what Music Supervisors are hearing and finding it’s not even worth talking about. Many of TAXI’s clients are actually libraries which are one source that Music Supervisors go to find music.
Do both don't just rely on Taxi. Certain things about Taxi are bullshit and it's kinda scammy. If you didn't figure out it's about keeping the money coming. But still you can use it to get feedback and learn what kind of songs work in the industry. My mixing got way better using taxi, and I realized I needed to be simpler.
Thank you for putting this video on TH-cam and it was very interesting and informative and I understand your opinions. But in my case Taxi has been amazing at opening doors for my music over the past two years and I love knowing what particular briefs are looking for and then writing to that specific requirement. This is an entirely different way of writing and of course I do both now and I also pitch to other groups and have some of my earlier music on Spotify and TH-cam and other streaming platforms I highly recommend Taxi as it was through them that I signed with a major publisher, and also have been writing for libraries through briefs that were forwarded and accepted. I have a lot to learn, but have found that by networking with other songwriters, this alone is worth every single penny I have spent. Thank you for all you are doing for those of us who are just starting out as serious songwriters and I look forward to hearing more of your ideas.
You almost have to look at Taxi as a Baseball analogy. You're on the Team. You get a chance to step up to the plate. You strike out = RETURN Next you hit a single..= FORWARD. Then you get a double = CONTACTED. On to a triple = SIGNED The best thing is getting a homer = On a The TV anywhere. The only difference is baseball players get paid.
Yeah, I doubt we’d have much baseball if the players had to pay US!
Interesting. Quitting Taxi, expensive. Dave is making it the Year of Taxi!
Yeah, it’s a great idea. Dave should do well in it, because…he’s Dave!
I never signed up with them. What do you know abut Amurco Music?
I don’t believe I have heard of Amurco.
Thank you for saving us money!!I do not agree even how PRS Copyrights Association working.Should be FREE!!!!!!!
Thank you for your comments!
Why in the world should it be free...if you needed to find a house..you pay the Realtor...
I have to say that I have had more success on my own, but it was a fluke. A music manager just picked up my song off of a stream and put it on their show and I still get paid for it every month. So far, with Taxi in 3 years, I have had a few forwards and one sign with a library... but that cue fell into a black hole. I have been amazed at what the screeners can hear though. I have gotten really good feedback from them, though they were returns. Though the reason may be because I just suck, the money spent ($5 a week plus the subscription) with no rewards and many many many rejections feels like some kind of self-inflicted abuse.
I know the feeling LOL. Keep at it though. Not TAXI, but improving your craft. Make the music you love because you love making it. If things like TAXI or licensing make it feel gross, then leave those things behind and make the music you love.
@@MakeMusicIncome Oh I can't stop. It's impossible. Licencing definitely doesn't make me feel gross. Just ranting.It's nice to know someone who understands.
Did our ever go to a Road Rally? I never used Taxi and don’t plan on it. lol.
No, I did watch some of the 2021 online Rally, but Cali is a hard reach from FL. Wish more people would do middle of the US or Eastern music conferences.
@@MakeMusicIncome Yeah. A few happen in NY. Not directly stock licensing though. Most of them are in Texas and in California (I just did a segment on 2023 conferences for another community. LOL).
I was considering Taxi and researched it; I started seeing people's posted videos, saying that they were excited that they finally had a song forwarded...but I kept hearing them say, they had to submit @53 submissions first, or 54, or 52, 55...I did inquire with Taxi as to what is the "Real" price then? $200+ 50 something X $5.00? Why was EVERYONE saying they had close to the same submissions first🤔? Didn't get a response back.
PS: But I think Michael over there has really great info on his own videos👍 regarding sync, cue sheets, etc.
I have three videos about TAXI and gave it a solid try for two years. I spent $600 or so total and got a good number of forwards but no responses from anyone. Meanwhile I just reached out to libraries in the meantime and signed to them…
excellent viewpoints thx
Thank you!
My biggest gripe about Taxi is how songs can get rejected for the most minor things. For example, one of my songs was rejected because the screener thought the piano velocities were hitting too hard. Otherwise, they had all positives to say. How about saying, "Piano velocities hitting too hard.. take the 30 seconds it would take to fix that and resubmit."
Yes it is certainly frustrating.
just checking out this video now :)
Let me know what you think…
Would love to hear your comments about this video or an experience with TAXI, but please keep all the comments helpful please!
Seems like if you're quick at writing for briefs and you like it you might be able to do decently, anything returned you can easily push over to stock, I'd bet. Even if it was cheaper I'm not sure it'd be for me, I am anything but quick (something I need to work on, get focused way to much on minor details) Also the fee to submit on top of the yearly fee seems excessive. Thanks for giving it a fair shot, I'm sure it works well for a specific type of composer.
I DO think I gave it a fair shot especially in my second year. The problem isn’t that I can’t write to briefs,and I am also quick. I had many submissions and forwards I made in a day. The real problem is for me nothing came of them.
Hello! I’m wondering if there’s a path forward for me. I’ve written an album’s worth of songs in the Country/Americana realm, but I’m not a performer nor do I want to be. My music is in the form of rough demos - enough to get the songs across. I feel that my lyrics are very good and have gotten positive feedback from live performances over the years. I need a way to get my songs into the hands of artists who need material, but I don’t want to spend the thousands of dollars that it’d take to record these songs for real. Thoughts?
Well this is a tough one. I think we all wish we could do something with rough demos. The problem is everyone has those. All of us who write songs wish we had a pipeline to someone who could do something with them, pay us royalties, and then we just write more songs. Unfortunately most of the time it’s not that easy. SOMEONE has to do the work. SOMEONE has to put the money behind those songs and get them heard and published.
Luckily, you are in the country genre and that means there may be doors open with a Nashville publisher. But still you are up against thousands like you who have rough demos. And it’s easier than ever to create great sounding demos that sound better than demos.
So, this isn’t likely very helpful to you, but my advice is that you either need to find an artist you can partner with who doesn’t write and will pay to have the songs recorded, or make better quality demos to pitch and maybe find a publishing deal.
How does one find these libraries you speak of?
Research! TH-cam! Google! Also this! th-cam.com/video/yHgQiOkO2aU/w-d-xo.html
@MakeMusicIncome, you earned a subscriber from the truths of this video!
Excellent! Glad to have you aboard my friend!
Can you do sync without vocals?
Of course. They love vocals but most stuff used is instrumental
I joined taxi to get reviews on my songs, but they don’t help… A typical review is this… I like the spirit of the song, but it doesn’t sound enough like the references so I’m returning it… How does that help me grow the song? I’d sign up again tomorrow if the reviews were any good… I don’t have any aspirations of making it in music, but I would like feedback on my songs.
Yeah, I think they just get overrun and it all becomes about yes or no to the brief. They sell that the “critiques” will make you better, but it sounds like they really have stopped critiquing with any thing constructive.
Sometimes it felt like Taxi forwarded the songs that best represented themselves as a credible, quality, reliable supplier, and maybe were not interested in anything terribly creative. Sometimes I would write to spec from that more cynical standpoint and got more positive results, and THAT was depressing. I had to quit.
Yes. Heard.
How do you send music directly to music libraries?
Identify a library that has music like yours, then send a well-crafted, brief email, with LINKS to your music. No MP3s.
@@MakeMusicIncome for example??
You didn't explain how to pitch directly to libraries
Try this: How to Find and Contact Sync Music Libraries | Clips from the "Getting in Sync Course"
th-cam.com/users/livef0U4BGq3wvE?feature=share
Hmmm... Similar for me, I had nearly 160 forwards in 2 years... and nothing, no library followups... no emails, no calls... nothing -
Wow. That is a lot of five dollar fees.
@@MakeMusicIncome Yep about 400 submissions overall if memory serves... of which about 160 were forwarded... (this was all about 5 years ago) and as I said... nothing, not even one followup from any library. Even so, I don't think it’s a scam, but rather a case of music overload, near misses, and probably just not good enough or the right fit - in truth I came away realizing I could easily do well in sync if I was willing to do a lot of the library shopping and solicitation myself -
Thanks for your thoughts!
Does anyone know if Taxi actually honors their full refund offer? I'm coming up on the one-year mark and want to ask them for a refund.
I know they honor it, but not sure about after a full year. Would be good to know so keep us updated! But, I wouldn’t ask for a refund if you haven’t submitted to briefs, like at least 5-10. But then again, it’s your right to ask for one.
I just realized that you never posted our collaborative interview here Eric. Pretty sure we agree to post it on both of our channels. Here's where you can find it. th-cam.com/video/GJ_iCrahh_4/w-d-xo.html
Yeah sorry about that. I think it fit TAXI’s channel better than mine since it turned out pretty TAXI focused for your marketing purposes, and didn’t really make sense in that I had just done a video a few months before about how I had already rejoined. I wish continued success to you and TAXI, but just not right for me.
I meant to say licensing opportunities.
Wow, that's pretty telling.
I'm a newbie in the Sync business, so I can't really speak too loudly about it, but what concerns me about Taxi is that they charge so much money for every single thing. Many other libraries I'm checking and applying to are free for submissions and pitches, then if you get rejected ok and if you get accepted and placed they take their fee out of your fee and that's it but they don't charge you money to put your music there or to pitch. Why do these guys charge you for every single operation? When so much money is charged, I smell scams.
Pitching is free. It's just an email.
I'll never to pay this tip of library. To sale my music
I understand where you are coming from, but I think you’ve made some incorrect assumptions, and I think there are several inaccurate points in this very well produced video.
Your stated goal of joining Taxi was “to find more libraries for my sync licensing music.” You already have some library relationships, you want to expand your contact list. Makes absolute sense, it is the exact same reason I rejoined Taxi last year after taking a few years off.
Taxi briefs are specific instructions, they are guidelines on how to craft music that their clients want. In topic #5 you specifically said “The briefs are good” then said “I just don’t enjoy writing for briefs.”
Hmm...
It is incredibly important to understand the following point: Writing music for tv is a SERVICE INDUSTRY. We are ARTISANS first, ARTISTS later. This is how business works. As a sax player, if I feel that the bride's first dance at a wedding really could use some John Coltrane influenced saxophone playing over her chosen love song, I'm not going to make the bride happy, and I'm probably not going to get hired by that band again either. If I'm a chef and get hired to cater the wedding and they specifically ask for no cilantro or onions in the dishes, and I still use both because "I know how to cook," guess what... I'm probably not going to get paid for the gig, and my reputation in the business will take a hit because I care more about my craft than I do about serving the needs of people that I want to give me money.
You MUST write for the briefs. And this means you must read the briefs and then meet those requirements. You also mentioned waiting until the last minute, freaking out over the deadline, and then rushing to complete a track and submit it in time. That is not a formula for success. Then you said “I created something I didn’t want to create for a brief, hoping to reach someone, but I got nothing back in return.” You also said "Briefs can be distracting…" and that you "could be writing instead of reading briefs." This doesn't make any sense. You are being asked for something specific, you need to deliver what is being asked for.
Looking at it another way: You signed up for a service with the primary function of delivering client briefs to composers, but then say that you don't want to write for briefs and you could be doing other things with your time. That makes NO SENSE at all. :)
Let me be clear… I’m a huge promoter of Taxi because it has worked for me and hundreds of others. BUT… it is not perfect, no company is. I too have been frustrated by returns that I thought were absolutely wrong, screeners make mistakes. And I too have taken my returns and had them accepted by libraries, and I have had returns end up placed on tv shows.
I think your dissatisfaction is due to you not being an ideal client for Taxi. You have existing library relationships. You have other sources of music income. And you have experience writing music good enough to get placed on tv. In my opinion Taxi excels at helping people newer to the industry… I’m a graduate of one of the finest music schools in the world and have decades of performing experience. But when I first joined Taxi in 2015 I knew nothing about the sync music business. Then, it took me a couple of years to get my bearings and find success. The foundation of my tv music success is the education I received from Taxi, the mentoring I received from veteran Taxi members, feedback from the Taxi forum, and of course, some fantastic networking opportunities at the annual rally. Today, my music has been used on more than 60 different tv series on more than 30 networks in abut 30 different countries. And last year I got my first and second movie credits thanks to two different libraries that I met thanks to Taxi; one from a forward years ago that started a relationship, the other from a library owner I met at my first Taxi mentor lunch at the rally. So with regard to Taxi’s clients, every one of them that I have met has been top notch, professional and successful. There are always exceptions, but quality is the norm, not the exception.
I appreciate that you repeatedly asked people not to bash Taxi but to share their experiences in the comments. At the end of the day, I think you are not the right type of person that can get the most value from the service Taxi provides. You don’t want to write to briefs (your words), you said “the briefs are good” but then said that all of the briefs “can be distracting”. Taxi is delivering the very product you signed up for, yet you think they are sending you too much? This sounds more like an organizational skills or time management skills issue. Rushing to write for a brief at the last minute is a horrible thing to do, all it does is stress you out while delivering an inferior product, after which you somehow come to the conclusion that Taxi is the issue?
So yes, the “brief is king” if you want to be successful in this business. And yes, you can also be successful by reaching out to libraries on your own. I’ve got music in more than 30 libraries, the vast majority I got into on my own. But, today I focus on writing for about 5-6 libraries and almost all of them I met through Taxi-related relationships.
I’ll end with this: You say you “tried really hard” during your second year with Taxi. Forty pitches in two years is not trying hard, especially if you were not focused on your strongest genre. I think a lot could be learned if you shared with your viewers some of the music that was forwarded, along with some of the music that was returned. This business is a numbers game that requires focus and discipline. If you have too many irons in the fire, Taxi will not work for you if you can’t focus, and if you can’t bring yourself to write to the brief.
BTW… text never delivers the intended sentiment, I am certainly not trying to bash you at all. I’m trying to deliver honest content, and sometimes people get stressed out by the truth. I appreciate you sharing your opinions, it is my mere opinion that your expectations and effort ended up not being worthy of success with Taxi. You are entirely correct that you can get your music into libraries on your own. I’ve done that as well. Taxi is ONE of many options out there that composers can use. However, it is also comes with many benefits to help composers along the way. Sure, try it on your own, but those that do should not be surprised if you burn some bridges along the way by making newbie mistakes with your music or your business practices. Success requires that you treat your music like a business, which includes organization skills, time management, handling feedback of all kinds, reading client documentation, responding to communication in a timely manner, etc. There is a “starving artist” stereotype for a reason… so many artists can’t get their stuff together enough to find success.
Thanks again for the video.
Thanks for your views.
Hi Paul, you articulated what I was thinking. To summarize, it is a service industry. If you don’t want to write to the specs of the client and in a timely manner, do something else. Maybe I am naive and my ego is too inflated, but to me $200 a year is a small price to pay especially when the Poster here is talking about paying Nashville studio musicians to work on his projects. Top drawer studio guys come at a high price!
Being my music is more street and urban and soulful with some hip hop taxi didn't seem to understand and I feel they are a scam
It may be that the song wasn’t right for the brief…
I am not convinced about the business model of taxi.
Many are not. Some are.
Dance to your own drummer....good luck...
Better to drive taxi
LOL!
I have found nothing positive about Taxi anywhere I've looked. Sorry for your losses.
There are positives. You can read some in the comments here. But everything is not right for everyone.
I'm struggling to see what the point of a video like this really is? If I don't want to shop at Walmart then I just go elsewhere. Is there any fresh, new revelation here that people really need to see?If your music is flying and you don't need a service like Taxi, just don't use it. If you can offer a better service than Taxi it'll naturally rise to the top.
Yep. Exactly.
Taxi. ...sends msgs often "lots of this or that" for unknown parties...send us your fees people to submit " lots" of you. If you submit enough fees taxi will send you a compliment sandwich ...w a "tip" to reproduce your song bc Taxi does not place original songs but rather productions it appears. Thats my perspective and experience w their unknown critiquers
( reviewed by # ...not a name ever) Lots of unknown untraceable "leads" ,
With unknown untraceable " reviewers " for ongoing fees.
Taxing has severely inconsistent screening. And this is coming not from a bitter guy who gets none of my work forwarded. A lot of mine do. I never complain when my music didn’t fit criteria. But when you send the same composition to two trailer briefs, and one said this is perfect for a trailer, and the other says this doesn’t sound like a trailer it sounds like a cue, it completely feel like an unprofessional company. I had a piece that was featured song of the month. It was forwarded every time, around 4 times, then the last time a screener returned it and said the brass was too low or something about the lack of melody or motif. It was total nonsense. I have also not been contacted from a single forward besides one for a non exclusive library that wanted to exclusively own my music for three years but sell my music non exclusively for under $100 in which they would keep 40%. I feel very disappointed by the whole experience
We have all been there.