Songwriters and artists who want to license their music for film and TV placements, get record deals, publishing deals, and placements in TV commercials and video games have been using TAXI’s A&R service since 1992 for good reason—TAXI has more REAL connections with record labels, music publishers, and top music supervisors than ever.

Why? Because TAXI has been around for more than twenty years, and we filter the music before it’s pitched to the A&R reps, publishing companies, and Film & TV music supervisors.

Why Music Filtering Matters

With millions of songwriters, artists, and composers all trying to pitch their music to what is a relatively small group of professionals in the music business, there has been an ever-increasing deluge of unsolicited music. People who license music, look for artists to sign, and songs they want to publish, just don’t have the time to listen to music that isn’t on target for what they need at a particular time for a particular project.

It’s Not Just WHO You Know…

Knowing somebody at a record company, publishing company, or a music supervisor working on a TV show, Hollywood feature film, or a TV commercial is only half—maybe even a third the battle. Knowing WHAT they are looking for and WHEN they are looking for is the real key to success.

And that’s what TAXI does better than anybody!

TAXI’s Industry Listings were nothing short of revolutionary when the company first opened its doors two decades ago. Though many other so-called music or A&R services have tried to copy TAXI’s business model, the thing that makes TAXI the stand out firm is it’s A&R team. The TAXI imitators don’t have experts filtering music.

Having genre specific experts who pre-screen the music is what has kept Indie Labels, Major Labels, Music Supervisors coming back to TAXI time and time again. And those long-term relationships have translated into thousands of TAXI member songs being licensed for TV shows and films, thousands of publishing deals, and yes, some TAXI members have even landed record deals with major and indie labels, and a couple of number one Billboard hits and platinum records.

“Is TAXI a Scam?”

Ironically, you’ll still find that question posted on message boards and forums all over the Internet. Though TAXI has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, has a success rate that remains unmatched, and success stories posted all over the Internet, there are those who remain unconvinced.

TAXI isn’t for everybody! Our service is for songwriters, artists, and composers who are looking for commercial success, not a pat on the back or stroke to their ego. While some believe that TAXI is only for musicians who write and record music that is targeted ONLY at the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, the opposite is often true. Most of the songs licensed from TAXI members are in genres and styles that won’t be found on that chart at all!

What Kind of Music Gets Licensed Most Frequently?

If you want to know the answer to that question, the quickest way to find out is to simply sign up for TAXI’s Industry Listings before you join! It’s free, and you’ll get an updated list of what music supervisors, music libraries, record labels, and publishers are looking every two weeks. You’ll also daily alerts when music supervisors, ad agencies, and Hollywood movie trailer companies are in a time crunch and need something in hurry.

If you don’t see a lot of requests for the type of music you make, then don’t waste your money on TAXI. Truthfully, we don’t want you to join TAXI if you aren’t going to get any benefit. We like happy customers!

And if you see posts on music blogs and forums from people who weren’t happy with TAXI, please take a moment and listen to their music and ask yourself, “Would I license this music, would I sign this artist to a record deal, or would I pitch this music if I were an industry professional?”

If you wouldn’t, maybe that’s why that person has posted a negative review of TAXI. It’s always easier to blame a music service than it might be to admit your music isn’t ready for prime time.

TAXI Success Stories

Check out this forum thread where TAXI members post their success stories. These are unedited and in the members’ own words. What is the difference between the successful TAXI members and those who post sour grape stories or bad reviews of TAXI’s music service?

The music they make and how well (or not well) they targeted their music at TAXI’s opportunities. Everything else is the same!

Both successful and unsuccessful TAXI members use EXACTLY the same service, have EXACTLY the same opportunities for their music, and get heard by EXACTLY the same experts on TAXI’s A&R team. Only the music and what it is pitched for are the variables.

Is TAXI For You?

Yes, if you want to get your music heard by true experts, and you’re looking for Film and TV music licensing deals, a record deal, or a publishing deal. No, if music is a hobby, you’re not willing to listen to feedback, and you aren’t looking for some form of success on the commercial side of the music business.

TAXI isn’t for everybody, but it may be just what you’ve been looking for if you want to make money with your music!

A list of music supervisors might look like the Holy Grail to the uninitiated. But having a music supervisor directory is only part of the puzzle when trying to pitch your music for film and TV. Knowing what the people on that list are currently working on, and what kind of music they’re looking for at the moment is the true key to success..

Music supervisors aren’t just looking for good music, they’re looking for great music that fills a need. And more often than not, what they need is music that supports the central emotion of the scene. They also need the music to enhance that emotion without getting in the way of the story the script and dialog are telling.

What Music Supervisors Are Not Looking For…

In other words, they generally don’t want a song that tells a story of its own. More than likely, that would conflict with the story already being told. Obviously, instrumental music doesn’t have the issue of conflicting lyrics, but the mood, texture, or overall vibe of just the track could also conflict with the mood.

Imagine a scene showing family and friends mourning at a grave site with a happy, uptempo track playing in the background. Incongruous, unexpected, and probably un-cool!

A music supervisor might also be looking for music that puts the viewer in a physical place or location like an elegant restaurant or a redneck bar. Can you imagine that redneck bar scene with classical music coming from the jukebox? How about the elegant restaurant scene with death metal blaring in the background?

A Music Supervisor List Isn’t Much Help On Its Own

So having a list of TV music supervisors or a directory of the top music supervisors in Hollywood in your hot little hands won’t help you much if you don’t know what they need! How do you find out? Do your homework. Watch TV! Make a list of songs or types of instrumental tracks that particular music supervisor uses on that specific show.

Get Inside the Music Supervisor’s Head

Most shows that use a lot of music have what I would call a musical signature or “sound.” Some of that signature sound is determined by the time period the show takes place in. For instance, Mad Men is going to need a completely different type of music than a show like NCIS. One takes place in the 1960s, and the other is current.

Mad Men sometimes uses 60s-sounding songs to act more like what a score would normally do, while NCIS is more likely to use source music—meaning that it comes from a source like a car radio in a scene where a character is driving somewhere.

Beyond how the time period or types of scenes can dictate the music used, many music supervisors like to be on the cutting edge of cool. They want to be known for using music that’s fresh and new. They want to impress the producers they work with by staying ahead of the curve.

That can be critically important, especially when licensing music for a film. The film might not be released for several months, maybe even a year ahead of when the music is selected and mixed into the movie. If they load the film up with music that was on the charts six months prior to completion, then it could easily be out of fashion when the film is finally viewed by the public.

Music Libraries. Friend or Foe?

While music libraries are arguably being used less these days by music supervisors, I don’t think they’ll ever go completely away. They serve a purpose—providing pre-cleared music at a reasonable price. And many of today’s libraries include songs with lyrics, not just the canned instrumental music found in the libraries of yore.

As a parting thought, you might find it more productive to get your music placed in libraries or repped by a film/TV music agent rather than buying a directory of music supervisors, doing all the research yourself, and trying to contact them on a one-to-one basis to pitch your music. You might be smart to give up a piece of the income in exchange for increasing your odds of success and doing much less of the leg work.

After all 50% of something is always worth more than 100% of nothing!