“How do I get my music heard?” asked the caller. If I had a nickel for every time a songwriter, artist, band or composer has asked me that question, I could retire! Truthfully, it’s not a great question because it’s so ambiguous. The people who ask the question would get a much better answer if they asked a more specific question.

Here are some examples:

• “How do I get my music heard by an A&R person at a record label?

• “How do I get my music heard by a publisher?”

• “How do I get my music heard by a Film or TV music supervisor?”

• “How do I get my music heard by somebody who books bands?”

• “How do I get my music heard by people who would be interested in buying it?”

Even those questions aren’t really specific enough. Don’t you want to know what kind of music they’re talking about? After all, a music supervisor working on a soap opera is probably not looking for Death Metal so much as singer/songwriter tracks, right? A little common sense goes a long way!

Marketing Your Music Starts with Common Sense

If you’re looking to market your music to the public, the question might be, “Where is a good place to market music from singer/songwriters?”

The more specific you are in your question, the more narrowly focused the answer is going to be.

Let’s take the example of a band that wants to get their music heard by an A&R person at a major record label. The question would be, “How do I get my music heard by an A&R person at a major record label?”

If you’re really on top of your game, you’d be even smarter to be more specific and ask, “How do I get my music heard by somebody who works in the Pop genre at a major record label?”

Getting Film and TV placements has become all the rage, yet most musicians don’t take the time to actually watch the shows and take notes as to what kind of music the shows generally use. The road map is staring them in the face!

Don’t submit Country songs to a show that primarily uses twenty-something hipster, Singer/Songwriter music. And the question that works as the corollary to this is, “How do I get my music to music supervisors who are looking for Singer/Songwriter tracks?”

The next time you’re ready to ask, “How do I get my music heard?” give it some thought and frame your question to be more specific. You’ll be much happier with the answers you get and much more successful in getting your music to the right people!

“Is TAXI Worth it? Is TAXI REAL or is it a Scam?”

I saw that question posted on a forum about an hour ago. I’m not sure why people are still asking that question after nearly 19 years in business and thousands of success stories on the Internet. I know that some of our less than scrupulous competitors create fake posts to make themselves look better. I know that we have some sour grapes folks out there who make it their business to denigrate TAXI as a form of retribution because their music didn’t make the grade.

What I don’t understand is why more people don’t just check out our forum and ask our members if they are having success with TAXI. The evidence is overwhelming!
These are just a few of the thread starter titles on our TAXI Success Stories forum. BTW, all of the forum posts are in the members’ own words and unedited:

• TV theme & 450+ placements… // Thank you!
• Over 90 placements, a TV Theme song and now a “Go To Guy”
• First check from a deal through TAXI
• YET ANOTHER TAXI PIECE, ENDS UP IN AN AD CAMPAIGN

“Each day it seems like I’m one step closer to making this dream of being a full-time composer a reality so I just wanted to say THANK YOU again to Michael and the rest of the TAXI staff for all they do.” Barry French

“Fall of 2009 I had my first deal because of a TAXI connection and signed with a producer who, among other things, supplies music for several day time talk shows. Some few months ago I landed the theme for one of those shows together with my friend and colleague David John. We got to write a lot of additional music for the show as well and within the first two months of the show airing we have had over 450 placements total. It just keeps growing.” Lydia Ashton

If you’ve been on the fence about joining TAXI, then you really need to look at this forum and hear the success stories directly from our members” mouths. You’ll quickly find out that TAXI is most definitely worth it!

“What Are Film & TV Music Supervisors Looking For?” Songwriters, artists and especially composers ask me that question all the time. I’m going to give you the answer in a minute. Be forewarned, you might not take me seriously because it’s so incredibly easy!

Remember when your parents told you not to watch too much TV because it kills brain cells? Well, that might be true for the average person, but maybe not for musicians who want to know what Film and TV Music Supervisors are looking for. It might even be, well… downright educational.

There’s no better way to figure out what kind of music the supervisors need than to watch and hear what kind of music they actually use! I’ve been preaching this for years, but very few people seem to have listened. The success of those who have listened has been obvious.

The road maps are out there, and there are clearly different maps for different destinations. Reality TV tends to have its own sound, dramas have another, comedies another and so on. All you really have to do is turn up the volume a bit, listen past the dialog and take notes. Yes, I said take notes!

I know, I know… you thought you had finished school. Well, I promise you this education will be more fun than high school even was, and I guarantee there aren’t any bullies in the hallways waiting to stuff you in a locker.

Set aside just one hour per night to do your “homework.” Make sure you watch at least two of each type of show or movie and write your research down.

How many instrumental cues overall? Did any similarities pop out? Which genres? Instrumentation?

How many tracks were songs with lyrics? What subjects were the lyrics about? Which genres? Male or female vocals predominant?

What types of scenes did each play in? How long did each piece run?

Was the music in the clear or under dialog? Was it a background piece, did it appear to come from a source (like a jukebox in a bar scene), or was it featured performance (like a band playing in a bar) with no dialog over it?

Was the music current sounding or did it sound like it came from a particular time period like the 70s?

After doing this for a couple of weeks, you’ll have enough data build a spreadsheet and probably start to see some patterns forming. The trick is to find the patterns and types of music that best match your skill set. In other words, if you’re a little weak at writing lyrics, then maybe you’d be better off concentrating on instrumentals.

Common sense, right? Sometimes those things are easier to see when somebody else points them out. The next time you wonder what Film and TV Music Supervisors are looking for all you need to do is go watch some TV to figure it out.

You can also sign up to get FREE updates of TAXI’s Industry Listings so you can see exactly what TV and Film Music Supervisors are looking for every two weeks.

Good luck!

Jeff Greenleaf shows up in the Success Stories section of our Forum quite often. Want to know how he’s used TAXI to build his fast-growing success?

How to improve your odds of writing a hit song.  It’s part art, with some science that can dramatically increase your odds of writing a chart busting hit.  Ralph Murphy is  a leading expert on this melding of art and science.

It’s a new year, but I’m going to revisit a topic from last year… any year for that matter.

Can you record Broadcast Quality Music if you have a limited home studio? Yes, but it depends what you’re recording. If you’re trying to do big, lush Orchestral tracks, you’re going to need outstanding virtual instruments or samples and lots of tracks.

If however, you want to start out with some simple ideas that can and very well should get some Film and TV placements, you’ll be surprised by how little recording gear and instrumentation you can get by with.

Imagine a chase scene in a Dukes of Hazard type show. Can’t you just hear a Jew’s harp melody and a washboard percussion track? How hard would that be to record? Just about any microphone would work fine, but I’d recommend a Shure 57. Everybody has one, they’re pretty cheap and they handle a lot of level, which I’m sure you’ll get from that washboard!

Bang out a simple “Hillbilly” melody and rhythm, lay down two minutes and give it a buttoned ending, and bammo, you’re good to go! Make sure you’ve got nice, healthy levels while recording and get a good blend while mixing and you may have just created a contender for a Production Music Library and eventual placement in a TV show or movie.

Want to try another? How about a scene in biker flick? Imagine a hot, dusty scene outside of a biker bar in Noweheresville, Nevada. The head of the biker gang just came out the front door, only to notice his 1964 Harley had been knocked over and is on its side, spilling gas.

I’d go for a haunting slide guitar part combined with a distorted harmonica to add some tension.

Want to hear a great example of exactly this type of track? Here’s one done by TAXI member Jeff Greenleaf. It recently got a TV placement in MTV’s Nitro Circus. Here’s his forum post about the placement and a link to the track.

Harmonica on Nitro Circus

I just heard 2 of my harmonica/slide guitar songs on MTV’s Nitro Circus episode 9 (season finale)!
They played both songs in entirety, which was very cool.

I’ll attach the songs and if you want to watch the episode it’s in beginning of part 2 (from 5:27-6:14 and then 6:40-7:10).

Songs: http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2163400

Video: http://www.mtv.com/videos/nitro-circus- … list.jhtml

Happy Holidayz!

And then there is this little beauty! TAXI member Bob Mete had a solo piano track (that he wrote thirty-five years ago!) licensed by a major fragrance company for an entire year on a worldwide basis. The licensing fee alone on this was $15,000. Go Bob!

Yes, the licensing fee was $15,000 for a solo piano piece! Can you record a solo piano piece and make it sound good in your home studio? Read Bob’s story here.

I hope I’ve inspired you to get off your tush and start listening to more TV to see how many simple tracks are used every day. They’ve got to come from somebody, and that somebody might as well be you!

Record labels, music publishers, production music libraries and music supervisors haven’t traditionally accepted music submissions directly from songwriters, artists and composers. Unsolicited music was unfiltered, often a waste of their time, and rarely targeted to fit their needs.

TAXI changed all that starting in 1992. It was the first company of its kind – a true game-changer for independent musicians – TAXI has been the industry leader ever since.

I just got off the phone with a Film and TV composer from Dallas, Texas who inspired me to write this. He said, “I’ve been to your website and the websites of three other companies that look like they do the same thing and I don’t see any huge differences.” Maybe I’m not doing a great job of communicating exactly how TAXI is different and better than our competitors.

Immediately after finishing the phone call with the composer, I went to TAXI.com and confirmed that he was absolutely right! Our Website doesn’t do a great job of telling you why TAXI is better and different. Blogging about those differences seems like the quickest way to get the word out. Here goes!

• TAXI offers a Money-Back Guarantee.

None of the other companies have a guarantee at ALL!

• TAXI gives you TWO FREE tickets to a Best-In-Class convention for songwriters, artists and Film & TV composers.

None of the other companies do.

• TAXI guarantees that every song you submit will be heard by a TRUE industry professional specializing in the genre of music you submit.

None of the other companies do.

• TAXI gives you detailed feedback on your music from heavy-duty music industry professionals.

Other companies do not.

• TAXI only presents you with opportunities to submit your music to top shelf, pre-qualified companies.

Other companies do not. In fact, some of the other companies split your submission fees with the company or individual running the “listing.” That could encourage them to run a “listing” just to make money from their cut of the submission fees, whether or not they actually need the music.

• TAXI has multi-decade long relationships with executives from nearly every Major Record Label, Top Music Publishers, and hundreds of Film and TV Music Supervisors and publishers who specialize in Film and TV music.

None of the other companies can say that.

• TAXI has successfully helped thousands of songwriters, artists and composers get record deals, publishing deals and Film and TV music placements since 1992.

None of the other companies can say that.

• TAXI fosters transparency by providing its members and the general public with a public forum where they can post unedited comments. We’re not afraid of the truth!

None of our competitors have a public forum. Some had them, but took them down.

• TAXI is a member in good standing with the Better Business Bureau and we’ve enjoyed an Excellent rating during our entire tenure.

None of the other companies can say that.

But let’s talk about you and your situation. If you’ve got the time and the know-how, you can often submit music to the music industry yourself.

Ten Steps to Submit Your Music to Record Companies,

Publishers and Music Supervisors.

Step One:

• Identify the type of artist or songwriter you are; Rock, Pop, Country, Singer-Songwriter, Urban, etc.

Step Two:

• Research which companies typically sign artists or use songs in the genre you fall under.

Step Three:

• Identify the person (s) at the company who signs the type of artist you are or uses the genre of songs you write. Don’t waste your time pitching your material to people or companies who are not in your genre. They have no use for your music, and even if they love it, they’re not the right people for you if they don’t work with your genre.

Step Four:

• Find the phone number or email addresses for the people you’d like to pitch your music to. Organize a database or spreadsheet with all the contact info for the record labels, publishers and music supervisors by category. Systematically cold call or email them and request permission to submit music to them.

Step Five:

• When submitting your music to them, make sure to be brief and concise. They’ll be more likely to listen if you’re direct, to the point and give an accurate description of your style when you submit your music.

Step Six:

• Don’t just make one submission of your music and wait to hear back before you make more. Keep identifying new targets and systematically submit music every day of the week. The faster you submit your music, the more likely it is that you’ll make that one submission that gets somebody in the music industry excited.

Step Seven:

• If Country is your genre, don’t submit your music to New York or LA record labels or publishers. If you are a Film composer, chances are you’ll do best by submitting your tracks in LA and maybe New York. In other words, use common sense when making your music submissions. It will save you lots of money and get a better result.

Step Eight:

• Be very patient and accept reality! Most people will not give you permission to submit music to them. Most music industry executives are not sitting at their desk anxiously awaiting your submission. What is crucially important to you is just another person submitting music to them.

Step Nine:

• Don’t pester them once you’ve submitted your music. You’ll only make them hate you. If they love your music, they’ll contact you. If they don’t love the music you submitted, you will probably never hear from them. They’ve got better things to do than tell you why they didn’t love your music and what you can do to make it better. If you do get a chance to ask them why they didn’t like it and what you can do to improve, they’re likely to refer you to TAXI.

Step Ten:

• Write more songs and record more music. Getting a record, publishing or Film/TV placement isn’t typically a one shot effort. Most industry pros would tell you that it took them YEARS of doing exactly what I’ve spelled out in steps one through nine. Don’t give up to quickly. It’s almost always the person who hangs in the longest that gets the reward!

Real songwriters write songs. They write them as often as they can. They know that most will not make the grade, but they keep writing.

Why?

Because songwriting is a craft and like other crafts, it has to be practiced to be perfected. Could you expect to become a great golfer, painter, potter, novelist or pianist if you didn’t practice every day? You know the answer.

Some songwriters tend to wait for the muse. REAL songwriters write every day, knowing that the constant search for better, fresher, and more original ways to say, “I love you,” will only come to them if they throw away ninety-nine bad attempts and keep the best of the bunch.

This is all common sense stuff, but it needs to be repeated so it sticks. It’s easy to stray from your mission of becoming a great writer of songs. It’s hard to stick with something that doesn’t pay immediate dividends. But you’ll never see ANY dividends if you don’t stick with it!

So…. what can you do to stay motivated and on course?

1) Write at targets. Pick a current artist that you like and write a song for them. Nail their style and try to pick a subject you can imagine they’d sing about.

2) Write a hook a day. Pick a subject and just write the hook. Do it again tomorrow. Songwriters often get bogged down in the minutia of trying to finish a song. So DON’T try to finish every song! The hook is the most important part, so concentrate on writing a hook every day and nothing more. If you do it often enough, you’ll probably write a few hooks that will be great and THAT should motivate you plenty!

3) Keep a notebook of ideas. Concentrate on ideas that are universal — things that apply to most people. They don’t really care much about your life, but they care a LOT about theirs. Write about their lives. What’s going on in your friends’ lives? Write about it in the third person. Tell their story as simply but powerfully as you can. Listen to any of Don Henley’s lyrics to see how one of the true masters does it.

4) Use “Word Pictures.” Your song’s subject doesn’t just enter a house. She glides into a cold and empty house. He doesn’t just see a tractor. He sees a rusty red tractor in an overgrown field. Does it have a taste or smell? Use your senses and ask the listener to use theirs. The rusty red tractor smells like diesel fumes. The sun bleached wheat hisses as it sways.

5) At the end of each week of writing just hooks, go back and edit them to make them shorter and more concise. “I love the little town where I grew up,” becomes “This is my town.”

Don’t set goals that are so lofty that nobody could achieve them. Bite off a little bit at a time, and as you master each of them, move onto another. Once you’ve mastered a couple, tie them together and watch the smile grown on your face.

If you’re a true songwriter, then go write some songs. Just don’t repeat the same steps that have caused you to be stuck in neutral. Break from your bad habits!

Want to read a great songwriting book? Here you go: Read the reviews here.

Go write a song!

Whether you were there to learn more about getting a record deal, placing your music in films and TV shows, or composing for video games, it was all there for the taking at TAXI’s Road Rally last weekend. What did our members think of it?

From our forum:

There is no way I could possibly ever put into words just how much this Rally, my 2nd one, meant to me. Saying “Thank You” just doesn’t seem to be enough. I’m still humbled and honored to have been given the Inspiration Award. It’s going to get a prominent placement in my studio for sure! My wife was just as excited about it as I was.

For anyone who’s reading this and wasn’t able to make it to the Rally yet, let me encourage, if you’re serious about your musical career, whether it be an artist or film & tv composer, stop reading this right now and start putting a plan together as to how you can make it to next year’s Rally. You’ve got nearly a year left to save up the money for the airfare and hotel. Remember, the event itself is FREE. I PROMISE you, if you’re serious about your career and you’re willing to invest the time & money it takes to be successful, then there is no better investment you can make as far as I’m concerned than to attend the Road Rally.

I don’t get paid to say that, nor do I need to get paid to say it. TAXI works and the Road Rally is a HUGE part of the picture. I’ll say it again, if you’re serious about your career, and I mean TRULY serious, then do what you have to do to make it next year. The amount of information you can learn, the connections you can make, and the opportunities you will have to GIVE BACK are truly priceless.

- Big Blue

Two of the weekend’s highlights were Hit Songwriter/Producer/Artist Jeffrey Steele being honored with TAXI’s Lifetime Achievement Award and his performance that followed and Hit Songwriter/America Idol judge/Warner Bros. Records V.P.of A&R Kara DioGuardi doing live makeovers of TAXI members Robyn Newman, Chase Thompson and Anthony Snape. To see more photos and highlights click here!

Jeffrey Steele, TAXI's Lifetime Achievement Award honoree performs a medley of his hits after receiving his award.

American Idol judge and Hit Songwriter/Producer, Kara DioGuardi enjoys TAXI member Anthony Snape's inspired performance at TAXI's convention.

Film and TV Music Licensing Opportunities For Independent Musicians

Running opportunities for Film and TV placements in our Music Industry Listings back in 1992 made me the laughing stock of the music business. It was unheard of for Indie artists and songwriters to get their songs placed in network TV shows or better yet, feature films put out by major Hollywood studios back then.

Nobody seemed to know much about Production Music Libraries (which are Film & TV music publishers) – what they did, how they worked, or what kind of music they needed to license to TV or Film productions. I knew because at one point in my career I managed the largest audio post-production studio on the planet, and we used tracks from the best Production Music Libraries every day.

We used them for background music on TV shows and commercials. We used library tracks under voiceovers for radio spots. We licensed music from Production Music Libraries for Industrial Videos… you know, those cheesy videos that widget manufacturers and big pharmaceutical companies put out.

The point is, it just wasn’t cool to license your music for anything but records. Indie musicians and major label artists all turned up their noses at the very thought of having their music in a TV show or movie.

Funny how all that’s changed! Now, even the Rolling Stones and the Beatles will license their music for film, TV and video game projects. Major labels are more than happy to license music from their acts for TV shows, simply to get some exposure.

And who do you think was one of the earliest pioneers of helping Indie artists, bands and composers license their music? Yes, TAXI, the company that everybody in the music business laughed at. Trust me, they are definitely not laughing any more.

As a matter of fact, hundreds of companies have tried to imitate what TAXI does, but they all lack one very critical element – human ears. TAXI filters the music companies ask us to find. We use industry experts under our roof to find the very best. While the music supervisors like using music from Independent artists and songwriters, they don’t want to search a database full of less than wonderful music.

It takes more than a website and a database full of mediocre music to get the job done well.

That’s exactly why I created TAXI, and that’s why we are still the world’s leading independent A&R company. People from the TV, Film and Music industries don’t have the time to filter. We do it for them. We give them what they ask for. We give them what they need. We give them top notch music from the very best Indie artists, songwriters and composers.

The irony in all of this was best demonstrated when I asked an A&R person from Interscope Records this question during our annual, members-only convention, the Road Rally, last year, “What do you think is the best thing the people in this audience can do to get on your radar? Where do they start getting your attention so you’ll sign them to a record deal?”

The answer he offered up? “The best thing you can do is try to get your music placed on a TV show or in a movie!”

Wow, seventeen years later and TAXI is finally cool. That A&R person was right of course. Getting your music placed in TV shows and Films is just as much about the exposure as it is about the money. And if you do it persistently, and for a period of years, you’ll be able to turn it into a full-time gig because the money can really add up over time.

More specifics about how to make money by placing your music in Films and TV shows in a future blog!