Songwriting, Artist and Composer Tips

When a Musician Asks: "How are my wife and I going to retire?" Every musician who’s ever dreamed of making it in the music business needs to read the following paragraphs. I excerpted them from a post on our public forum. When you’ve finished, I’m going to turn you on to something that could literally change the outcome of your life. That might sound like something out of a lame infomercial, but I promise you that it’s not. I’ve been begging musicians to pay attention to what you’re about to learn for years! The paragraphs below demonstrate a problem that’s...

Read More

The secret isn’t only knowing which record labels are looking for new artists. Anybody can find that information through various online sources — some more reliable than others. Google, “Companies looking for new music,” and see what you find. The real secret to getting your music heard by major and independent record labels is to know what they’re looking for in new artists. “For” is small word, to be sure. Just three letters! But it’s a very important word for you in the context of getting a record deal. Record Companies Are Businesses! Like all other companies, both major and...

Read More

What would I search for online if I were trying to find out which companies are currently looking for new music? Putting myself in the shoes of a musician who might not yet be savvy enough to do niche searches for record labels, production music libraries, or music supervisors, I’d probably type, “Companies looking for music.” That seems logical. I did it, and a couple of seconds later, what I found surprised me! There’s a very wide spectrum of companies that need music, but film and TV music placements are what many musicians are after these days. Why? Because they’ve...

Read More

“Is TAXI.com a Rip Off, Scam, or Legitimate?” If I could make a nickel for every time I’ve seen that question asked on online forums and blogs over the last 22 years, I could probably put one of my kids through college on the income. People tend to believe what they read. But on the Internet, you may not know who the person is posting the opinion, or if they’ve even been a TAXI member, or have ever used the service! We’ve also seen negative posts about TAXI we suspect come from copycat companies trying to discredit us. Playing dirty?...

Read More

TAXI has been helping songwriters, artists, and composers get record, publishing, and film and TV music licensing deals since 1992. As the company moves into its third decade in business, an ever-increasing number of opportunities for musicians to place their music directly in TV shows and Hollywood blockbusters have occurred. Although TAXI continues to help musicians get their songs and instrumental tracks into catalogs of music libraries, film and TV music publishers, and music licensing agents, it's the increasing number of requests that come directly from Hollywood’s top film and TV music supervisors that delight the company’s founder, Michael Laskow....

Read More

Maybe the question should be, “How do I get a record label to even notice me?” Record companies are in the business of making money with music. You want to make money with your music too, and they need artists whose music will make them money. So, what makes a record label want to sign a deal with you? Show them that you can make them money. Notice that I said, “show them,” not “tell them.” If I had a nickel for every time an artist has told me how much money they can make me, I’d be retired already....

Read More

“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...

Read More

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...

Read More

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 More

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...

Read More