“What are music supervisors looking for?” asked the audience member during a panel at the most recent TAXI Road Rally convention. Rookie question? Maybe. But everybody in the ballroom wanted to know the answer!

Music supervisors are looking for whatever music works best with a particular scene. Music supervisors are NOT looking for music that is simply great! And that’s probably the biggest misconception among musicians.

The right music is better than great music. Music that’s both right and great is what music supervisors are really looking for! Music that gets licensed for film, TV, and commercials always fills a need.

Music That Makes Viewers Feel…

Plugging music into a TV commercial about a new anti-depressant? You’d most likely need a somewhat stripped down mid-to-uptempo, singer/songwriter style song with a lyrical theme about, “It’s a great new day,” or “The sun is shining, I feel good,” or “I’m living and loving my life.” You want prospective buyers to feel what the product is going to do for them.

In this example, the ad agency wants viewers to feel good about life instead of being depressed. The music and the lyric need to add up to making the viewer feel good!

Even if you had the greatest Heavy Metal song ever written, it probably wouldn’t be right for that TV spot. The same is true for scenes in feature films and TV shows. Music supervisors are looking for songs or instrumentals that enhance the emotion they want you to feel when you watch that scene.

Other considerations can include the time period of the film or TV show. The hit series, Mad Men exclusively features music from the 1960s to help authenticate the time period and make viewers feel like they’re in that era, along with the characters.

Music Has a Job To Do!

Music can help finish a thought or complete a story line. Ever notice the music that plays along with those montage scenes at the end of a lot of TV shows? The lyric often completes the thought or tells the rest of the story. A lyric that says, “I’m broken hearted and moving on” could work well for a scene with no dialog, that shows a character sitting in a candle lit room, all alone, trying to figure out what to do with her life after her boyfriend dumper her.

Conversely, oftentimes the music supervisor is looking for music that’s not too “on the nose.” They don’t think it’s “cool” to use a song that matches the scene or story line too closely. Most music supervisors wouldn’t be looking for a song with that same, “I’m broken hearted and moving on” lyric, for a scene in which the character just said, “I’m broken hearted. I just need to move on.”

As a friend of mine who is an interior designer would say, “That’s too matchy-matchy!” We already knew what the character was doing because of the dialog, so what was needed lyrically was something that supported the underlying emotion.

What Is That Emotion?

Well, it could be sadness. It could be relief that she’s figured out that it’s time to move on. A lyric that says, “Sadness can’t stop the world from spinning,” could work for that scene. So could, “The time has come, the weight’s been lifted.” Both support the emotion, but they aren’t too “on the nose.”

What Music Supervisors Are Looking For, Made Easy!

Everything you need is right in front of your face. It’s called your TV! Watch any show, and take notes as to what kind of music is used. Ignore the score. Pay attention to source music, like what might come from a jukebox or a car radio. Pay even closer attention to featured uses that have no dialog over them.

There are also several sites on the Internet where you can search for the music used on episodes of your favorite shows. Get to know each show’s musical signature, and you’ll start to see patterns emerge. And while you’ll never be able to predict exactly what music supervisors are looking for in specific scenes, you will get to know the genres, tempos, and lyric themes often used.

Another quick and easy way to see what supervisors are currently looking for is to scour TAXI’s Industry Listings. Looking at the Industry Listings is a great way to grab a consolidated look at current and immediate needs from some of Hollywood’s top music supervisors.

You can also sign up here to get fresh, daily updates when Music Supervisors need something in a hurry!

Music industry contacts are most useful if you know how to use them correctly. Sadly, many musicians don’t take the time to learn what to do if they make a new contact in the music business. Hard to come by, easy to blow the relationship!

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of website that give out free listings of music industry contacts, along with contact information for the A&R people at record companies, music publishers, and film & TV music supervisors. While it’s great that you can get your hands on that information, there are some critical things to think about before using that information.

First and foremost, unless the list of labels, publishers, and supervisors is updated monthly, chances are that much of the information is old, and therefore useless. Check to make sure the list you want to use is fresh and updated often.

How to Use Music Industry Contacts the Right Way!

The first thing to consider is what you want to do with your music. Most musicians will answer, “I just want to get my music heard.” That’s great, but heard by whom, and for what purpose.

Do you want a record deal? More specifically, do you want to get singed by an Indie Record Label or Major Label? Independent labels are known for having smaller artist rosters, and giving more attention to each artist. They also have much smaller marketing budgets for their artists, and often have to rely on grassroots marketing techniques, and the landscape is unbelievably crowded with songwriters, bands, and artists who are all clamoring for attention from the same music buyers.

Major record labels have more money for marketing and promotion. They also have larger staffs of radio promotion people, field sales reps, and product managers. The downside is that the major labels are well known for dropping artists if their record doesn’t get significant radio airplay in the first few weeks.

You should also look at what genre of music the labels you’re reaching out to are best at marketing. Don’t send your Country demo to a Hip Hop A&R person. Do your homework and find out which A&R people at which labels are the right people to submit your music to.

Film and TV Music Supervisors Are the New “Rock Stars”

Many musicians have given up on the idea of getting a record deal altogether. Instead, they’ve turned their attention to the film and TV music market because it appears to be an easier route to make money with your music. Because there has been a huge increase in the number of people who wan to license their music to TV shows, films, and movie trailers, music supervisors have become the hot ticket.

And while you can get free lists of music supervisors, the same rules apply when submitting your music to them. You need to know who they are, what shows or films they need music for, and what kind of music they need. Do your homework before you reach out to them!

One Chance to Submit Your Music

You may only get one chance to contact a music supervisor, so don’t waste their time with sending them music they don’t need. If they work on a TV show on the CW network, they’ll probably need songs that skew to a younger audience. If the music supervisor you’re contacting mostly works on sports programs, they’re going to need testosterone driven Rock or Hip Hop, not love songs.

If you want to submit Dubstep to a music supervisor, chances are you’ll do well by submitting to supervisors who work on film trailers, because Dubstep works well for the quick cut projects that are common in the Hollywood blockbuster film trailer world.

In any case, it’s key to remember that just like A&R people at record labels, Hollywood’s top music supervisors have very limited time to audition music, and they only want to hear the very best music targeted at their immediate and most pressing needs. Because there are so many free lists of music supervisors, they are getting bombarded with independent songwriters, bands, and artists who want their attention. Those who are best prepared and submit the right kind of music are the few that will get a chance to get their music heard.

The Best Way to Get Your Music Heard…

While free lists of contacts in the music industry are great because they have no cost involved, the truth of the matter is that most people in the music business only want to hear music that comes to them from reputable sources who have already filtered the music before it gets to them. It saves time and trouble, and in today’s world, time is at a premium.

TAXI has been serving record labels, music publishers, and music supervisors for more than twenty years. The reason they come to TAXI to find the best indie artists, songwriters, and composers is because the music we submit to them is always pre-filtered to fit their exact needs at any moment in time.

As a matter of fact, TAXI publishes music Industry Listings that are updated lists of exactly what people in all facets of the music business need every day. Thousands upon thousands of songwriters, artists, and composers have been successful using TAXI. Click here to see their success stories in their own words.

Click here to learn how TAXI can help you target your music submissions better than just using a free list of music industry contacts!

Want to see what record labels, music publishers, and Film and TV music Supervisors need right now? Click here!

Ken Eichler “watched” TAXI for 10 years before he became a member. He had his doubts. Do any of these questions sound familiar?

“Is TAXI legit?”

“Do I have the right music?”

“Should I build up my catalog before I join?”

Ken Finally Joined After Waiting 10 Years, and This is What Happened…

“Since joining TAXI I have signed hundreds of pieces of music with top-name licensing companies, which has led to hundreds of placements in the past few months alone.”

If Ken hadn’t waited for 10 years to join TAXI, he could have had thousands of placements by now. Read this unedited excerpt from an interview with Ken we recently ran in our newsletter:

What was it that made you become a TAXI member?

Curiosity, hope. The concept of TAXI seemed really good to me. I just wanted to make sure it was legit before I dropped $300 on it.

How has TAXI helped you and your career?

Hmm. Let’s start with hope. Without hope, it is hard to focus on a goal and my goal was to resurrect my career in music after a 25-year hiatus.

TAXI gave me hope that serious industry insiders would actually consider my recorded music. Then TAXI gave me information-better yet, a real education-and knowledge is power!

The TAXI Road Rallies [TAXI's FREE, Members-Only Convention] have been amazingly worthwhile-so many experts sharing so much experience-I never stop trying to learn and improve, and TAXI has been perfect for me in that respect. TAXI’s critiques have also helped me to produce music that is better suited for TV and film.

Since joining TAXI, I have signed hundreds of pieces of music with top-name licensing companies, which has led to hundreds of placements in the past few months alone.

What musical/career achievement are you most proud of?
That’s a hard question, but I recently got one of my tunes placed in the opening scene of a Criminal Minds episode. That was definitely a rush.

What has TAXI taught you about the music business?
How much time do you have? Seriously, a lot! Way too much to fit into a couple sentences.

What are your goals for 2013?
To write and record more music, increase my catalogue, generate more income from music, and to have fun doing it.

And Here’s the Genius in Ken’s Plan!

Now, instead of watching from the sidelines while other TAXI members are having success, Ken is using TAXI to create the right music. And it’s working for him!

A Few Musicians Have Earned Millions Because They Joined TAXI.

Others quit their day jobs and earn their living making music now. Many are just starting out-making a couple hundred here, a few thousand there. But they’ve all done three critical things you probably haven’t done yet.

• They didn’t wait until their music was “ready” before joining TAXI. They used our expert feedback to get ready.

• They didn’t wait until they “had more music.” Instead, they used TAXI to build a catalog of the right music.

• And they all moved past that fear that makes so many musicians “watch TAXI” from the sidelines for years before joining.

What is That Fear?

It’s that insidious little voice of doubt that lives deep inside the heads of most creative people.

“Am I good enough?”

“Is my music ready?”

“What if I’m ‘rejected?’”

You’ve Been Robbed…

That voice of doubt is a “procrastination generator,” and I’ll bet it’s already robbed you of your dream of doing music and nothing else. Stephen Baird joined TAXI, and here’s what he wrote (unedited!) in a recent email:

Hey Michael,

I joined TAXI in September of 2007 with nothing more than Reason 2.5 and an old Roland keyboard from the 1980′s.  Until joining TAXI, I knew nothing about the Film/TV/Advertising market. Actually, I was quite the newbie.

Now, nearly 5 years later, I’m in my second year of making a full-time living writing music for TV Shows, Commercials, Promos, and Movie Trailers. Nearly every penny I’ve made can be traced back to TAXI-either through my music being sent to a company by TAXI, or through people I’ve met at TAXI’s free convention, or on the TAXI forum.

I’m really quite ecstatic with the way things have turned out. Not only am I making as much or more money than most of my friends, but I’m doing so via a career that I have dreamed about since I was a child.

If it weren’t for TAXI, I wouldn’t have a music career. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like right now.

So, I’d just like to thank you for offering such a great service to aspiring musicians, composers, artists, and bands.  Not just for the opportunities offered through TAXI’s Industry listings, but for creating such a great environment for musicians to learn and grow.

You’ve definitely changed my life, and for that, I am forever grateful.

Stephen Baird

Don’t Expect a Miracle…

I want to be frank with you. It’s not likely that you’ll join TAXI and start making money right off the bat. Like any other business, raw talent usually isn’t enough. You need to invest your time and energy to make it work. And you need to be patient!

Are Ken and Stephen Exceptions or the Rule?

Click here and judge for yourself!

And click here too!

The bottom line is our most successful members all seem to do what I’m about to tell you.

Three “Secrets” That Improve Your Odds…

1.     Carefully read all of TAXI’s Industry Listings and be selective when you pitch your music.

2.     Use the feedback you get from our experts.

3.     Become part of the community on our Forum.

And Here’s a FREE Bonus!

Watch TAXI TV every Monday. Nearly every successful member I met at our recent convention told me they regularly watch TAXI TV. You can watch the live shows and all the archived shows here!

Another FREE Bonus!!

In case you didn’t notice, virtually all of our successful members come to our FREE, members-only convention (the Road Rally) every year. Click here to see what you’ve been missing.

Do TAXI members meet industry people and sign deals at the Rally? Again, you be the judge after you click here.

Are You Ready to Get Your Music Heard?

If you’ve read this far, you’re obviously serious about doing something with your music. You have a couple choices. You can sit on the sidelines another year, or you can start NOW, and learn what the music industry needs and how to give it to them!

Remember Ken Eichler, who waited ten years before he joined TAXI, then got hundreds of placements in a few months?

Make sure you don’t waste another year. Start down the path of making money with your music right now!

P.S. Need a refresher course on how TAXI works? Click here!