Originally Posted by Mark Kaufman
Hello,

I've written a variety of music over the years and never gave a thought to trying to sell the songs. Now I'm interested in culling from the best of them, re-tooling, and taking the shot. Sadly, I'm not a country music kind of writer...so I understand that takes away the biggest buying market of them all. I'm more rock/alternative/pop oriented... the kind of songs the bands themselves usually write.

Once I've assembled the best I can do and have listened and responded to good criticism, and cut some acceptably produced demos...comes the next step. I have zero contacts in the industry. So I am curious about your experiences with TAXI. You spend $300 a year to be involved, and $5 per song submission...and IF THEY LIKE IT, they may or may not pitch the songs in the right places.

Has this worked for anyone here? Is it something to try or not?

It seems like a better way to go than to send out dozens of demos that never get looked at...

Apologies if this topic has already been covered, but new threads yield new answers. Any informed advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

-Lyle


You are quite correct about the differences in opportunity between the country and rock/pop markets. Whether you should join or not depends on your goals. If you don't write country, you will have a very difficult time getting songs cut for albums. if you examine the listings, the typical country add (posted mainly by A&R people or music publishers) is looking for cuts for artists for upcoming albums. The bar is set ultra high on these so the song has to per perfect. It is incredibly competitive. It amazes me how much talent country music writers have.

In the pop/rock listings, they are usually looking for bands and the adds tend to be posted by management companies looking to work with the next Fall Out Boy. The only real song opportunities are music libraries that place songs to TV and film projects. Read Michael's article this month. He talks about how to make great money by focusing on the TV/film/video market.

Fisherman hook fish; songwriters fish for hooks

______________

Music Site
Political Forums