Gidday Pat.

There are so many variables, it’s like looking for that proverbial needle . . . on a record player. Ha! Gotcha . . . you thought I was going to say . . . haystack . . . right?

The music goes nowhere on your computer – you might as well do something, even if it is wrong. Sending out thousands of CDs, unless solicited by the publisher etc is going to the trash-bin if you don’t have an invite to submit.

That’s why I decided to use Taxi.com – yup it’s expensive BUT industry people are coming to Taxi for help in finding material – not only artists but all the way to music supervisors for TV and Film.

Were I interested in using Taxi.com,I’d spend a few hours reading through the Taxi.com site – there’s loads of info which needs to be read before submitting songs in order to increase the success of a forward.

I think there are other such companies as Taxi.com but one’s enough to manage and do it right – particularly as I don't live in a music Mecca like Nashville or LA. I’ve been submitted and been rejected by Taxi but most of the time I get good critiques and I can fix it and submit it again.

Yes there will be copyright issues – but then again you can get mugged on the street – probably less chance of getting a song stolen if you work within a reputable format/company. After your song gets forwarded, Taxi’s job is done, the rest is up to the company that solicited the material and you, to work the deal.

Many moons ago I registered as a publishing company and artist with a performing rights organization. Every song I write, now is registered with my publishing name – it establishes a date for copyright purposes and gives me 100% rights to the tune with which to strike usage deals.

I think the risk of copyright infringe is worth the risk to crack the business. If you’re trying to breach the wall you can’t sit back and worry about it. Better should read the Taxi listings to get an idea how to put your songs together according to the way they ask for submissions – you’ll see what I mean when you read the listings.

Let’s face it, writers need help. We can’t sit and fret. Yup – may get burned sometime on copyright – it won’t be Taxi but it could be one of Taxi’s clients – still you can’t burn bridges in this business or people stop working with you.
Stay with reputable people and you should be OK. For you Yanks - the Library of Congress.

I just re-enlisted with Taxi – they give you a 50 free song web site – that way all submissions are on-line – and cost $5 per – and a yearly membership $299.99 or $199.99 if renewing – there’s a lot of convenience in using Taxi, you just have to make sure your songs are on target when submitted. Or, no matter how good it is, it won’t get forwarded.
And I’ve had a couple of big “Not on target”.

I’d also say to anyone asking “don’t wait until your song is perfect”. Good home recordings are acceptable and can be overdone. A lot of Film and TV stuff is pretty simple.

Didn’t think I’d write this much when I decided to answer you Pat. But it is exciting waiting for Taxi.com to respond with a critique or to tell you they’ve forwarded your tune.

Cheers - Ian

Ian
My "Original Tunes" Site
My gene pool needs more chlorine.