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| Michael Laskow at the controls |
I wrote a little booklet in 1992 that went out to every new TAXI member. It was called Rules of the Road, and it was a primer for new TAXI members, designed to help them get the most out of our service. That booklet is still in print today, and you can find it on our website by clicking here.
The second to the last line in Rules of the Road has been the same since the day I wrote it. "And finally, don't forget the four P's: Passion, Persistence, Patience, and Professionalism."
It was true then, and it's still true today, but I'd like to add a 5th P, which I will before this article is finished. Gotta say, I'm kind of proud of coming up with those first four in 1992, and that they've stood the test of time.
Passion
If you don't have it, don't bother trying to succeed in the music business. If you're in it just for the money, you probably won't get very far. I've been in the music industry since 1974, ad I've yet to meet anybody who succeeded that didn't eat, breathe and sleep music. If you treat it like a hobby, it will pay you like a hobby. Enough said.
Persistence
I can point to countless examples of successful songwriters, artists and composers who didn't succeed early in the game. I know plenty who worked for ten years or more before they made their first buck. Even the Beatles are famous for being rejected by every label until they landed at EMI. Things turned out pretty well for them in the end.
We all know that it takes years and tons of practice to become a PGA tour-level golfer or an NFL quarterback. Why should it take any less time to become a great songwriter, artist or Film/TV composer? Because it's art? C'mon, we all know better… don't we? There are dozens of stories on our forum from TAXI members who have been persistent and scored Film and TV placements, often a year or two later. Those are typically the people who don't quit after their first year of membership.
Patience
All you really need to know about being patient in the music business is spelled out in the title and the body of this post I found on our online forum today. Read on...
Patience, Patience, Patience
<< Thread Started on Sept 11, 2009, 8:11pm >>
I believe a huge part of the journey of building a catalog and relationships with [production music] libraries to place the catalog is having a great amount of patience.
I just received an email from a [production music] library I was forwarded to on October, 2nd , 2007 (yes, that's 2007) to add the track to their library.
This is a new relationship and the ninth library I've started a relationship with thru a TAXI submission and forward.
TAXI works, especially if one has patience and persistence.
Chuck
And then there is this:
Asian Deal 21 Months later!
<< Thread Started on Oct 1, 2009, 2:42pm >>
Yeah! I just signed an exclusive deal for some of my Asian tracks to a music library! These were forwarded [by TAXI] about 21 months ago! This was when I was pretty new around here and just starting to get forwards.
Jeff Greenleaf
And finally, check this one out:
25 months later!
<< Thread Started on Sept 22, 2009, 10:37pm >>
I just received a deal offer on a piece that was forwarded on 8/23/2007. That's almost 25 months to the day from forward to deal!
Well, the piece in question has already been signed and this is an exclusive deal so I'll have to offer them some other pieces or offer to write them some.
The piece that was forwarded was an arrangement of Satie's Gymnopidie.
For those that have been in TAXI for less than 2 years, this is proof positive that an attitude of patience is helpful. Write, submit, forget about the submission, write some more, repeat until successful.
Cheers!!
Mazz
There are dozens of examples like these on our forums - maybe hundreds! Yet so many of our members get impatient. Some get angry. Some feel dejected. Some give up. It's often the folks that hang in there who collect the rewards in the end. The last guy on the playing field wins the game.
Professionalism
I can sum this one up in a few sentences. When you get a gig to turn in a piece of music for a film or TV placement, make sure you turn it in on time — period! When dealing with any company that hires you for a film-composing gig or to simply license an existing piece of music for a TV show, act like a professional. Don't be a pain in the butt. Make it easy for them to do business with you, and chances are they will do so again and again. It's that easy!
And finally, I know that I promised you a 5th P in this article, so here you go.
Productivity
The people I know who are signing the most Film and TV music licenses and getting the most placements with their songs and instrumental tracks are the people who are simply writing, producing, and submitting the most music. Do the math. More output, more chances.
I know it might not be easy to do a track a day if you've got a day gig, but it's a goal worth shooting for. Perfection is not as necessary in the film and TV music world. It doesn't require giant studios or as many bells and whistles. It's often more about fitting a scene's mood, texture or subject matter than it is to achieve audio nirvana.
I've heard plenty of examples of simple little, solo acoustic guitar pieces or piano tracks that have ended up being licensed in major motion pictures and hit TV shows just because they were right for the scene. Want to learn more about what Broadcast Quality means for Film and TV music? Read this blog post, and you'll hear some great examples!
Start out attempting more basic pieces like that, and get in the groove of at least writing something every day. You might not finish a piece every day, but at the very least you'll begin to develop the habit of working every day. And that, my dear readers, will ultimately lead to success.
Michael Laskow is a multi-platinum engineer, record producer, audio post engineer, manager of two of the world's largest recording studios, a frequent speaker at leading music industry events, a dyed in the wool entrepreneur, and an avid shallow water, light tackle, saltwater fisherman. Don't ask him which he's loved most.
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