“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!

Get a true behind the scenes look at TAXI’s process, success rate for Film & TV Placements and deals with Record Labels and Music Publishers. See Why TAXI is the Best Resource for Getting Your Music to the Right People.

Learn how to make Broadcast Quality Recordings and Tracks at TAXI’s Road Rally, November 5th-8th..

I just wanted to let you know that Mega-Hit Country Songwriter Jeffrey Steele will be our honoree this year and our keynote interview at TAXI’s annual convention, the Road Rally.

Jeffrey Steele at TAXI's 2003 Road Rally

Here’s a list of his professional accomplishments:

• 2007 BMI Songwriter Of The Year
• 2007 BMI Song Of The Year, “What Hurts The Most”
• 2006 NSAI Writer Of The Year
• 2005 NSAI Writer Of The Year
• 2003 BMI Writer Of The Year
• 2003 BMI Writer Of The Year
• 29 Top 10 Songs
• 24 Top Five Songs
• 8 No. 2 Songs
• 8 No. 1 Songs
• Currently for 2008: Rascal Flatts “Here” climbs the charts.
• Recently for 2008: Rascal Flatts “Everyday” #2, Phil Vassar’s “Love is a Beautiful Thing” #2, Craig Morgan’s “International Harvester” #8 and Cascada’s pop smash, “What Hurts the Most” #1
• One of Billboard magazines Top 5 Writers, 6 years in a row
• Over 35,000,000 airplays on radio and television
• Over 500 songs cut in an 8-year period by over a 100 artists
• 95 singles released off more than 75 Gold and Platinum records
• Over 50 million records sold
• More than 50 writers awards
• 2007 CMA Triple Play Award (3 no 1 songs in a year) “Brand New Girlfriend”, “My Wish”, and “What Hurts the Most”
• 3 Grammy nominations as a writer and as a musician
• 1991 Academy of Country Music award, Band of the Year
• Judge/mentor on season 6 of NBC’s, “Nashville Star”
• Star of the G.A.C. T.V. reality show, “The Hitmen of Music Row”
• Multi Platinum Producer of artists like: Montgomery Gentry, Keith Anderson, and John Waite, with 2 no. 1 songs and 6 Top 10 songs.

His Songs:

My Town, Speed, Something To Be Proud Of, Hell Yeah, Gone, Chrome, I’m Trying, Brand New Girlfriend, What Hurts The Most, My Wish, Me And My Gang, These Days, Everyday, The Cowboy In Me, When The Lights Go Down, Unbelievable, Big Deal, She’d Give Anything, A Cowboys Born With A Broken Heart, They Don’t Make Em Like That Anymore, Everytime I Hear Your Name, Couldn’t Last A Moment, Help Somebody, Love Is A Beautiful Thing, International Harvester.

To learn more about becoming a TAXI member, getting two free tickets to this event, and to see the schedule of events for this year’s Rally, please click here.

That’s all for now,

Michael