If TAXI is a waste of time.....How do I get my music heard

[RCM - Ronan]

I don't know how I have stumbled into the role of TAXI apologist, but people have this vision of TAXI as the giant money making machine and they probably have images of the owner living in various villas around the world. I have no inside information to their finances but just do the math. Think about how much money it actually costs to lease offices in southern California, pay for a staff, pay for the TAXI Road Rally, and look at all the ads they take out. You can not open a music related magazine with out seeing ads for Taxi. Call up some of those magazines and ask them how much it would cost you to run a years worth of full page ads. Not to mention on line ads.

I imagine that the owner is pretty comfortable, but there is no way he is getting mega rich off TAXI. I know him casually and I know some people that work there very well and Michael Laskow is extremely serious about trying to do right by the members. ( I actually know some one that got fired because Laskow felt like he was not giving it 100% in his critiques)

As I have said before TAXI is not for everyone (the people at TAXI would probably tell you the same thing) and its a bummer when people spend money to find out its not a good fit, but this concept that TAXI is just some giant money making scam is just way off the mark.

[rack gear]

there's a line in brothers of the head, where the manager guy says deadpan while looking into the camera, responding to allegations of exploiting the brothers - he says - "I have never, ever, ever in my career, ever exploited anyone.... .... .... ... .... who didn't want to be exploited"

Brothers of the Head
Brothers of the Head - Trailer

Originally Posted by doncaparker

Why would he, if all he wanted was to live a few years of the hedonistic lifestyle that the business people used to throw at the "talent" to keep them placated and distracted while the business people made the real money?

I'm glad your friend remembers his time fondly, but there are plenty of people who got screwed by the old music industry, financially speaking. And that's just looking at the folks who got big label deals. Most artists never even made it that far.

So, whether we are talking about the folks who never got a shot, or the folks who did get a shot but then were exploited, I think there are plenty of people who refuse to shed a tear at the loss of the old music industry.

Again, I don't mean to minimize the negative impact the changes are having on the more stable elements of the industry: recording engineers, session talent, etc. It is a real shame that these people are getting caught in the gears.

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by rcm

I don't know how I have stumbled into the role of TAXI apologist, but people have this vision of TAXI as the giant money making machine and they probably have images of the owner living in various villas around the world. I have no inside information to their finances but just do the math. Think about how much money it actually costs to lease offices in southern California, pay for a staff, pay for the TAXI Road Rally, and look at all the ads they take out. You can not open a music related magazine with out seeing ads for Taxi. Call up some of those magazines and ask them how much it would cost you to run a years worth of full page ads. Not to mention on line ads.

I imagine that the owner is pretty comfortable, but there is no way he is getting mega rich off TAXI. I know him casually and I know some people that work there very well and Michael Laskow is extremely serious about trying to do right by the members. ( I actually know some one that got fired because Laskow felt like he was not giving it 100% in his critiques)

As I have said before TAXI is not for everyone (the people at TAXI would probably tell you the same thing) and its a bummer when people spend money to find out its not a good fit, but this concept that TAXI is just some giant money making scam is just way off the mark.

That's fair enough. But we can't judge someone by their intentions - only what they deliver. TAXI delivers a service that has little value as it's a way for those who have little success - mainly due to their own poor business work, luck or whatever - to plough money into music that nobody wants. It's, perhaps unintentionally, exploiting the folly of many home musicians trying to "make it"...... The reality, as you know Ronan, is it's built around connections, luck and buzz. Writing a good song and presenting it in front of people is pretty much a waste of time yet that's the service TAXI provides. A "knocking shop" for music presentation just isn't a good way of doing business. It's a cheap library by any other name and and placements will follow THAT path....

[rack gear]

from another forum, on this same topic, similar responses. So this is just more info from more people:

{OT}Any Taxi members around here? vs. DIY

[DoeRoo]

Originally Posted by narcoman

That's fair enough. But we can't judge someone by their intentions - only what they deliver. TAXI delivers a service that has little value as it's a way for those who have little success - mainly due to their own poor business work, luck or whatever - to plough money into music that nobody wants. It's, perhaps unintentionally, exploiting the folly of many home musicians trying to "make it"...... The reality, as you know Ronan, is it's built around connections, luck and buzz. Writing a good song and presenting it in front of people is pretty much a waste of time yet that's the service TAXI provides. A "knocking shop" for music presentation just isn't a good way of doing business. It's a cheap library by any other name and and placements will follow THAT path....

I think that you're part right and part wrong, Narco man. The right part is that some people are lazy and looking for a magic pill. The wrong part is that a musician who has really original work that doesn't just knock-off someone else's sound had little to no chance on TAXI. I am not a youngster, not a band trying to get a deal, just a songwriter like so many others. I recently produced a nice little song at the studio of an Emmy award winning musician, with him at the production wheel: That song, submitted, was out for a month and a half and when it was returned TAXI said that it was not Broadcast quality. Well, that just was not true, and either they didn't listen at all or didn't care enough to write a real critique.

We plow (not plough) money into production because we are musicians and want to hear our stuff. There's nothing foolish about that. And it's really too bad that the music industry is so darned broken down that no one can get paid a living wage to play anymore.

Oh well. I am a TAXI member. I'm giving it one more year.

[gitarrero]

well, everybody's free to think whatever he/she wants.

just some quick facts:

- december 2009, one of my songs got placed in "melrose place"

- february 2010, one of my songs got placed in "make it or brake it"

both pay a good sync fee, plus backend royalties of course.


now the thing is that I don't live in LA, NY or any other major music city. I'm living in a small town in europe (country: switzerland).

those placement are from a relationship that comes from a taxi forward. and I can guarantee you: I'm not lazy, nor do I have no business skills. taxi indeed is not a "wonder pill" (such a "pill" doesn't exist in the music industry anyway), BUT it can - properly used and provided that you have the music the listing parties are looking for - be a very efficient & successful vehicle. it's a service - what each member does with it is his/her own responsibility.

TV/Film stuff is a diffrent cup of tea than "making it" as an (indie) artist. I just try to show some quick facts - and I think comments like "it's a scam/waste of time/money..." simply don't work.

also, I don't judge on anybodys music, I just say that I think it's better if one is first looking on ourselves, and not just blaming the industry/taxi/services/whatever.

just ask yourself what you can change - and what's out of your controll.

I, for my part, decide to change & work on the things I can.

cheers
gitarrero

[VitaEtMusica]

Just to chime in here... I personally know 2 guys who wrote a song together, ran it through the Taxi machine and came out the other side with a #1 country hit and publishing deals.

I tried Taxi for a year way back when. My problem was that I got so busy doing jobs that I never had time to submit anything. I literally sent in one thing which didn't get forwarded. If I ever have a time in my life where I want to do something different than what I'm doing now, I might give Taxi a try. It's about the cost of a plane ride. That would be if I'm feeling especially lazy or anonymous.

[dan p]

Music Library Report

Some of these companies at MLR have taxi do there screening for them.
Now you can get to them directly.
Amazing that this thead is 5 years old!


Dan P

[rack gear]

Originally Posted by DoeRoo

The wrong part is that a musician who has really original work that doesn't just knock-off someone else's sound had little to no chance on TAXI.

there's a lot of truth to this, but it's not taxi's fault. I don't have any first hand experience with taxi - so let me get that out in front.

but I am very involved in film music, and what is being described is the age old "we can't afford x band, or x song, but we're looking for a more affordable version of the same thing".

I'd say those types of requests are most common in tv, although it seems to be happening more and more in film. the most money generated for non hit artists in film/tv music comes from sounding like hit artists.

the truly unique stuff doesn't get placed by taxi because no one is going there to find it. in los angeles kcrw is the film/tv hipsters bible.

also directors, producers, music sups all have their fave "unique" artists that they push for those rare available opportunities

taxi it appears, merely serves a market need of aggregating a large amount of content, within a certain stylistic range as a way to increase the placement averages for them

it's a smart, and taxi will certainly work best for those who best understand how taxi works.

[Mojo]

Is Taxi a waste of time or a waste of money, or both? If you're curious about whether Taxi can help you, I'd suggest joining their messageboard; it's free. If you'd like to know whether you have music lying around doing nothing that could be enhancing your financial well-being instead, why not sign up for Taxi's email listings? It's also free.There's a lot of misinformation in this thread and also a lot of confusion about what Taxi is and what it isn't-what it can and can't do, so let me first clear this up:

"DP40oz: People always underestimate how far a phone call goes. Get an industry contact book or something like that and just call people, i think you'll be pleasantly suprised at how easy it actually is to get music solicited and listened to. Everybody thinks the industry is so untouchable, which is not true. Forming relationships through calls and emails can really get you in the door."

Getting in the door can do you more harm than good, if you don't have great material, and if you don't know how to act once you're in the door. If you don't know whether you're material's good, Taxi can help. If your material's not good, and you don't know how to make it better, Taxi can help.

Bob Olhsson, Motown legend: "The TV music thing is mostly a rip-off."

Bob, I respect your opinions and experience, and you may be right about a number of Film/TV companies, but not this one.You have no reason to trust my opinion, so why not ask some of your many industry friends about Mike Laskow? Hint:he used to be an assistant at Criteria, back in the day. Love your work, btw.

blaugruen7: "i have surfed the taxi site and what i doesnt like is, that they get no money by finishing a licensing deal.
they only get money my getting you signed to them.
i am looking for others..."

True, Taxi gets no money from licensing deals; their main source of income is membership fees.The per-submission fee is nominal and is only there to prevent newbs from shotgunning every conceivable listing with every song they ever wrote, regardless of genre. (some do this anyway, then go on messageboards to say how "unfair" Taxi is and how they were "ripped off") This is pretty much a wash-Taxi has no incentive to follow up on forwards, and they won't help you negotiate any deals, BUT, they don't have their hand in your pocket for a percentage, as many other music services do.

zboy2854: "As someone who was once a member of TAXI and knew Michael Laskow personally, I can say it's not a scam per se. That said, it doesn't give you any better leg up on getting heard or placed than networking your ass off on your own. Taxi does have genuine contacts in the biz. The problem is that those contacts don't give the stuff sent to them by Taxi any greater weight or importance than if it was sent unsolicited. You can have a little better success with placements for smaller TV/film opportunities through Taxi, but if you're looking for a record deal, don't waste your time, do it the old fashioned way, by creating a name for yourself and/or selling a boatload of CD's on your own."

I can't state categorically that this is false, but look at it from a listing party's point of view; you have a stack of unsorted submissions in every conceivable format and genre that came in over the transom, and another solicited pile, pre-screened by Taxi and targeted to your specific needs-which would you look at FIRST? And how much of your time do you want to spend researching opportunities, knocking on doors and chatting up gatekeepers? Wouldn't you rather be writing and recording your music, especially if you also have a day gig?

John Findlay: "I feel with any of these middle man operations--its the same-they throw alot stuff out-the returns are nominal...they still get their 500$ registration fee--AND they give you a critique
--'not enuff melody'--lyrics should be better......"

There are some fly-by-night "critique" services out there, but Taxi is not one of them. The classic model is the outfit that blows smoke up your a$$, regardless whether your music's any good, and asks you to pay an additional fee to be put on a compilation CD that's sent to "industry pros". These outfits do what they say they'll do, and those "industry pros" promptly toss their crap in the waste bin, because "industry pros" know who these clowns are and that they don't really screen any of the submissions, and besides, "industry pros" didn't ask for their compilation CD in the first place. If Taxi did this, you'd hear a lot fewer complaints from Taxi subscribers, because no one would ever get a 'return'. Refer also to Jimi Heath's post with the link to a webcam where you can watch Taxi's screeners at work.You can also stop in, they're happy to show you around, but call first, they're very busy.

lucey: "Taxi buys you a critique and maybe a chance at something with an unknown person. You can get plenty of in-depth critiques right here, and make your own chances with great music and getting out there.

Well, here's a Gearslutz review thread, don't know if it's typical: Blowing my effing mind. A Peer To Peer review of the track on Taxi's site would go something like this: This is pretty promising as a worktape; the singer has a nice vocal timbre and a good sense of time, but the vocal performance is pitchy and the production is not broadcast quality, though it could be, given some additional polish.The song's structure is idiomatic of the blues genre, but the guitar tone would be more appropriate for punk or alternative rock.This could make the track harder to place.

ianzxcvb: "Taxi have a quota for submissions - and find excuses not to submit - yet are still happy to take money off people for nothing. (a critique is worse than nothing - it tells people not believe in their own tastes) -if they gave the addresses of those who are making the requests for us unworthy to take our chances unsolicited - then I'll be more inclined to think they're working for musicians and not capitalising on them."

There is no quota, unless the listing party says, "Send us the ten best." Taxi forwards every submission that meets the listing party's criteria, whether it's one song, a dozen songs or a hundred. Sometimes they forward none at all. I would suggest that a critique is indeed better than nothing-it lets you know where you stand, and whether the industry's tastes are similar to yours. Taxi does not publish the name of the listing company nor that of the contact person for a given listing-they used to, but there were death threats. (apparently, there are some unbalanced people in this biz-who knew?) When and if you are forwarded, you do learn the name of the listing company, but even that has been known to cause problems: TAXI.com - Members Contacting Listing Companies -- Ouch! : General Hangout Of course you're always free to take your chances by sending unsolicited material to any company at all, you can find a bunch of 'em at Music Library Report, along with a lot of opinions about the various companies, including Taxi. If you know the players, it'll help you separate the wheat from the chaff in their thread comments, cuz it's kinda like here, anybody with an opinion can post.

ianzxcvb: "The problem with taxi is you're not paying to have your music submitted to people who might want to hear it - you're paying to enter a series of their song contests happening in the confines of their office."

Well, no. Perhaps you're thinking of ourstage.com Your Taxi subscription covers the cost of the annual Road Rally and pays for overhead-when and if you are forwarded, your music is in front of someone who asked for it. Your submission fee partially offsets the screener's time in writing a critique. This is unlike a contest, which typically has only one winner. (also, the losers are never told WHY they lost) Luck is not involved, and wearing a low-cut blouse won't help, either.

ha33y: "For example, I sent in the same song for a few different listings (5 bucks a time) I got back, "song is exactly what they asked for in sound, production and style, but could be stronger" so, does that give them the right to not forward it? How can they be so sure that the record company or whoever is looking for material won't disagree and love it? mind-reading perhaps?
Besides the same song and (what looked to be the same listing) a couple of months later, a Taxi critique who liked the song , forwarded it, so who was right and who was wrong? when they found out that it was forwarded, they expressed amazement in the guy who forwarded it ! "

AND

ha33y: "I ain't saying that my stuff is the best and I don't have a problem with them saying, nah mate, it ain't good or strong enough or whatever, but i get so angry when they say "Track is SPOT ON! music, style and sound is exactly what is being asked for, but the song could be stronger" WTF? I mean if it is that close, why the hell not send it and let the ppl who request it, make the decision? who the hell are you to say that it ain't strong enough, especially since it is "Spot on"."

AND

ha33y: Failure is not an option for Cowell, Fuller etc....the ones that fall by the wayside are simply tax deductibles, nothing more. They need some that don't make it so they can show heavy losses for the tax man. Trust me, luck has nothing to do with it. I could go on about this for a long time, but this thread is starting to head into a different direction and so I end my comments by saying "LUCK" to those with Taxi, you will need it unless of course your material is "Spot on" perfecto, without any blemish, exactly what the company has requested without any signs of weakness in the track at all! Then, and only then, will they send your material on...which doesn't matter to them because they already have your subscription fees, individual track submission fee, and possibly the extra "Dispatch fee" hahaha, wow man, what a neat tidy biz...Go Taxi Go!! There are still a lot of gullible ppl out there who actually will hand over their money, so milk it while you can boys....yeeeeha!

Respectfully, ha33y, you're doing it wrong; it appears you've spun Taxi gold into straw. Had you submitted the song outside Taxi, you would have no idea why it was turned down, but thanks to the screener, you know you were on target for the listing, your production chops are up to snuff, and you need to work on your songwriting. You can go buy a $30 book on songwriting, instead of upgrading your sample library or buying a new compressor to the tune of several thousand dollars. Surely, knowing that's worth five bucks? I'm also a little amazed that you find it shocking that two different Taxi screeners could disagree about your song; music is pretty subjective, and listings are open to interpretation, not just by you, but by the screeners as well. (after all, they're no better at reading the listing party's mind than you are) If you see this as evidence of skullduggery, you must be lookin' pretty hard. You also seem a little unclear about how Dispatch works; the short version is that if you can't turn around a piece of on-demand music in a given style in a single afternoon, you don't need the Dispatch listing service, which is optional. For the long version, click here: TAXI.com - Extra yearly fee for Dispatch : Dispatch . Further, if you think Simon Cowell needs a few losers to show the taxman, you do indeed have a lot to learn about how the biz works; for starters, the greatest A&R men that ever lived had, at best, a thirty percent success rate, and usually took six or more years to break an act.

rcm: "Its worth noting that almost every record company in the UK passed on the Beatles."

-In fairness, it was only the ones who heard them that passed. And hey, maybe they weren't as good, then, as they were gonna get? ;-)

narcoman: "Taxi? Absolutel waste of time. I wouldn't take a SINLGE thing from something like Taxi. If the bands approached my company directly - different story. But I wouldn't broker a licensing deal with ANY of these sort of companies.... they WON'T be appearing on my proportion of the UK media licensing any time soon!! "

Taxi is not a library, nor a music publisher, and they don't do licensing deals, nor take a percentage.

narcoman: "TAXI delivers a service that has little value as it's a way for those who have little success - mainly due to their own poor business work, luck or whatever - to plough money into music that nobody wants. It's, perhaps unintentionally, exploiting the folly of many home musicians trying to "make it"...... The reality, as you know Ronan, is it's built around connections, luck and buzz. Writing a good song and presenting it in front of people is pretty much a waste of time yet that's the service TAXI provides. A "knocking shop" for music presentation just isn't a good way of doing business. It's a cheap library by any other name and and placements will follow THAT path...."

Narcoman, you've described yourself as one of the music biz' "lucky ones", and I'm sure your success is well-deserved, but I think you damage your credibility by spreading unfounded opinions. You also harm others who could benefit from what Taxi has to offer. Yes, an artist's career is made through buzz, connections and luck, but an artist needs an education and a plan before he needs the rest; Taxi is about connections, but it's also about education, and you'll find a ton of that here: TAXI.com - BIZ TALK

So who can benefit from what Taxi offers?

skip bitmin: "I did some jingles for a small production company. Sent a cd out and because
his current writer bailed on him he gave me a try and happened to like my
work.Now he has his own studio and hires musicians to play his jingles,he
told me on the phone I was getting the majority of the money that he could
be recieving (I appriecated his honesty-saw it comming anyways). After
observing how he established himself I figure my best chance to make some
money at this is get off my ass and go ( for example) to one of the local car
dealers (or 10 ) and try to sell them a jingle.It's hard, most of use just want
to stay home and write/produce I know I do. My point to this long post is
the same as most who posted, get out there.I wish I would follow my own
advice.Id rather work on my own songs but the jingles can be a fun sideline
and make a little extra money for your family.Also its good practice for dealing
with pressure (deadlines for finishing the music etc.).
Good luck I know how painfull it can be working a day job and thinking
about music all day and yes I work a day job but my wife and two little girls
are more important than any dream."

Skip, you are the guy Taxi was created for, because there are thousands of car dealers and only some of them don't already have a jingle, and you don't have time to call them all. Of course, you could do all the legwork and research yourself; after all, people who need music aren't calling you-but some of them call Taxi. Or, you could hire an agent and an attorney, and then an accountant, to keep tabs on the agent and the attorney, .


To sum up, it should surprise no one that most musicians are disappointed with most music services/websites; the vast majority of wannabes in the music industry have a higher opinion of themselves than is generally warranted. (risking understatement, here) Taxi suffers because of a set of misconceptions about how the industry really works and also from a set of misconceptions about how Taxi works; what it can do and what it can't. I would compare Taxi to Alcoholics Anonymous. The program works if you work the program; it does what it claims to do, but it's not for everybody.

It is a service set up to help commercial songwriters hook up with potential opportunities, so it's also kind of like a dating service. Taxi is NOT a publisher and Taxi is NOT a song plugger, as some in this thread seem to have implied and/or inferred. Taxi IS a bit like an agent, but they don't take a percentage, and have no financial interest in anyone's music, they merely provide an introduction; a means of acquiring new relationships with industry players for those who can't come by them in more traditional ways.Their best tool for this is the annual Road Rally, which is more than worth the cost of a year's subscription all by itself, imo. (in fact, if you pay to join Taxi and don't attend the Road Rally, nor use Taxi's forum to hone your skills, only then have you wasted your money, and it's through no fault of Taxi's)

There's no denying that a lot of Taxi's members see no financial return on their investment, but maybe it's worth paying $350 to find out you don't have what the industry wants, before investing thousands in a home studio to make a pristine recording of your suckiness, then spending thousands more for an independent PR campaign and a few thousand CDs.

There are roughly seven thousand Taxi members (not sure if that's total or just the ones that go to the Rally) In a given year, twenty percent of them submit nothing at all, so there's 1400 people who pay $350 a year so they can tell themselves and their moms that they're doing something tangible about pursuing their musical dreams-so I guess it must be worth it to them. Taxi didn't help them, but they didn't help themselves.You'd be surprised at the number of these same people who continue to re-up year after year.(hey, it's showbiz, as the elephant manure removal technician once said) Taxi also doesn't help anyone who can't either write, perform, record and mix to a professional broadcast standard or pay someone else to do so. They cannot help those who cannot accept and use constructive criticism to advantage, nor can they help those who can't learn to interpret the listings-the most difficult skill of all.

Can Taxi do anything for you that you can't do for yourself? Again, that depends on who you are and what you have. Do you have a measuring stick to see how your music compares to music that sells? Do you know how to market your music? Do you live in a music center, rub shoulders with industry pros on a weekly basis? Can you crank out lots of music in lots of styles or do a few in-demand styles really well? If you can do all that, you don't need Taxi.

[ButchP]

Originally Posted by dan p

Music Library Report

Some of these companies at MLR have taxi do there screening for them.
Now you can get to them directly.
Amazing that this thead is 5 years old!


Dan P

Music Library Report (thanks ART!!!)

Someone else also mentioned MLR.It probably has the majority of the same music productions library's contact info that Taxi is forwarding songs to (that is if they forward yours !).

Sure it takes time and effort to submit to multiple library's but there a plenty that do take submissions if you have broadcast ready quality songs.If they get signed on with these library's you have just as good a chance as a Taxi submissions for a placement plus you can have you music in multiple library's without paying admission(sometimes they do charge samll fees) .

As some one said Taxi is like AA ....if you work the program it can work but you can also do it on your own and will work .IMO there's much better chance .

On that note...
As has been said in previous post by experienced members the reality is there isn't much career money to be made unless you have a huge catalog (500 or more songs) or you submit to the big boys (i.e. almost impossible to get in and definetly don't take outside submissions) like Extreme, APM, Killer Tracks, etc...

It's a tough biz but the chances of getting a placement in something is not out of reach.Write, record, submit,and work the system ....it's all there an accesible you don't have to go through company's like Taxi to get a placement.

BP

[dan p]

I've used taxi for several years and have not made any real money.Made more freelancing for someone else,Six figures a year over a 15 year period but that has all but gone away.I made more money from one job I got myself recently than all the years with taxi.I have had many forwards.I have also used film music network and have had many forwards through them.After working it and doing much research you can make inroads yourself.Follow MLR and he may give you a way to license right fromyour own website.

Dan P

[Mojo]

Originally Posted by zboy2854

The reason you can't state categorically that it is false, is because it isn't. As I said, my statements are based on actual conversations with label A&R, as well as anecdotal stories told to me directly my Michael (note that we're talking about signing artists to label deals, not publishers or music supervisors seeking songs or music).

I've said it before and I'll reiterate. TAXI's contacts are legit. For those seeking film/TV and other publishing related placements, it can and does work. But even moreso in this day and age, if you are an artist seeking a major label record deal, don't hold your breath. Label A&R more than ever these days don't take any real interest in an artist unless they've already created their own buzz, either via the internet, touring, sales, etc. The days of hearing an unknown, unproven "diamond in the rough" and taking them from nothing to stardom are over, gone, kaput (unless you're an American Idol contestant ).

Sorry, but this is the reality. Hell, even in the story I repeated here told to me by Michael himself, where an artist's CD was sent to the A&R guy directly by Michael himself wasn't even listened to until Michael had to call directly and follow up with the guy and urge him to listen to it. Now, if an A&R guy wasn't even going to listen to the disc until the president of Taxi called him directly to follow up, what do you think your odds are of an A&R guy listening without the benefit of being able to follow up with that person? And even if he does miraculously give it a listen, and actually likes it, if you don't have a buzz going on on your own what kind of priority or leverage do you think you'll have trying to actually get a deal?

Bottom line--if you're an artist seeking a record deal, it's a brave new world. The rules of the old world no longer apply. And the sooner artists realize this, the better off they'll be.

So I'll say once more. If you're seeking film or TV placements or to get songs you wrote placed, Taxi can be a valuable resource, go for it. If you're an artist seeking a label deal for yourself, the rules have changed.

I think we're fundamentally in agreement, here; Taxi has a great track record for film/TV placements, but if you're seeking an artist deal, you don't have time for a day gig, you need to be writing, recording and winning new fans with nearly every waking moment. You have to have a solid fan base and verifiable sales in the fives if not tens of thousands before any label worth a bucket of warm spit will even look at you, Taxi or no.

[dan p]

What Taxi will do for beginners is critique your songs!Very few if any of the licensing companies will do that for you,if they dont like it you just get rejected plain and simple.The quality of the critique can be very subjective but given to the experienced reviewer may help steer you in a more
constructive direction.


Dan P

[di ferro]

I have considered Taxi... there's a lot of conflicting information on the Internet to sift through.

Everytime I see Michael Laskow (Founder & CEO of Taxi) on YouTube or any other promotional outlet, I keep thinking to myself he is a modern day John Bozeman. I tend to think the same thing about Jason Blume.

Bozeman started off looking for gold, then quickly realized he'd make more money "mining the miners" and began selling goods to miners. Now, the miners certainly needed tools and supplies, but I'm sure John Bozeman fed their dream by telling them how much gold was there just waiting to be found.

Same thing.. IMHO.

Having said that... when I've been able to hear music from people who've complained about Taxi, I generally find they have average to good talent/skills (enough to impress a local community maybe, but not enough to succeed on a larger scale). I suspect the few that succeed with Taxi have the special talent, skills and work ethic to have succeeded without Taxi.

The trick is being honest with yourself -- not only about where you are today, but in your potential. The problem I see is that Taxi has NO INCENTIVE to give you that honest feedback.

Just use common sense to really think about Taxi's business model... you pay $300/yr ($200 after the first year), $5 per submission, another $150 for their dispatch service, with $5 per submission there as well... yeah, mining the miners sounds about right. If they gave honest feedback and told you that your music sucked, then maybe it'd be worth it. But you'll get strung along with "You're soooooo cloooooose... just keep plugging away!".

It's very hard to get honest feedback. I belong to a local NSAI group and we critique each other's songs. It's a friggin' lovefest with minor (bordering on meaningless) criticisms and I'm as guilty as the next guy. I'll tell you what I like, make a suggestion or two, and drive home thinking, "That song sucked!"

Taxi is dangerous... There's a vid on youtube where Laskow is interviewing Blume... and Laskow panics when Blume starts to disagree with Laskow's assertion that wannabe songwriters need to keep plugging away with Taxi for years and years.... then Blume says we should put a limit on it and goes on to say a limit of 100 years. I swear Laskow's relief was palpable and if you listen closely I think he giggled.

It's dangerous because they rely on your dream... they have every incentive to string you along.

Man, just focus on writing better melodies and lyrics. Put your time and energy into that. Do it for yourself and share your music.... if it's good enough success will find you.

[Amber]

Sorry to drag this topic up but some things I've noticed from my own experience shopping my old tracks around. It took me 2 years to realise that the music I was trying to get placed either A) wasn't very good, or B) wasn't suited to what a client wanted.

I found it very easy to convince myself that just because I had spent time making music, it deserved to be heard, maybe thinking what I'd done was unique but not realising who I was pitching it to wasn't interested in my unique music.

I've listened to a lot of the music that pops up in threads like these and to be honest I can see why none of it has been placed. That's not to say the music isn't good or doesn't have an audience. 75% of the music I've paid for wouldn't be placed.

I love me some My Bloody Valentine but is it gonna end up on Celebrity Fat Club or Oprah? No.

I've had a few music supervisors ask me to pitch music and very rarely do they say 'just something unique, maybe like Slowdive mixed with Boards of Canada'. It's always 'Something that sounds just like Coldplay or instrumental poppy Green Day'. If you want your music to be heard in a commercial environment (like an ad, tv show etc) it usually needs to be commercial and a lot of people seem to get suprised when they get nowhere.

I've not tried Taxi but I might, even just to know I'm trying everything I can. It's all an experiment and it is A LOT of luck. I think soley relying on Taxi is crazy. I email the same music supervisor every week, have had solicited music referred to agents at CAA by people I've networked with. Mostly nothing comes from it but it's all part of the process.

If I was in the US, I'd use that money to book a flight to LA, find a cheap motel and just hustle for a few days. Being based in London I guess it could be a way for me to cross that distance though.

[garageband]

Originally Posted by Mojo

Is Taxi a waste of time or a waste of money, or both? If you're curious about whether Taxi can help you, I'd suggest joining their messageboard; it's free. ...
Can Taxi do anything for you that you can't do for yourself? Again, that depends on who you are and what you have. Do you have a measuring stick to see how your music compares to music that sells? Do you know how to market your music? Do you live in a music center, rub shoulders with industry pros on a weekly basis? Can you crank out lots of music in lots of styles or do a few in-demand styles really well? If you can do all that, you don't need Taxi.

Jesus Jones. What a unbelievable shill post. Some people have no shame. Who, but someone who works for TAXI, would write such a lengthy, detailed, talking point-by-talking point response to various posters and their comments? Seriously, can anyone imagine expending that kind of energy to defend a corporation they were not employed by? I have to go now, my mind has been boggled...

It took me 2 years to realise that the music I was trying to get placed either A) wasn't very good, or B) wasn't suited to what a client wanted.

This reveals the true villainy of those charlatans. Stamping on the creativity of capable musicians and artists while urging them to stay in the casino pulling the lever again and again. "Ohhh... you were so close that time..."

[rack gear]

Originally Posted by Amber

Sorry to drag this topic up but some things I've noticed from my own experience shopping my old tracks around. It took me 2 years to realise that the music I was trying to get placed either A) wasn't very good, or B) wasn't suited to what a client wanted..

this is an insightful recognition that everyone trying to get into the placements game should realize... if the client wanted genius, they'd be paying for it, what they want from unknowns is usually a knock-off of genius at a deeeeeep discount.

[Amber]

Wow a whole year since I posted that too.

Still learning slowly all the time.

[SeanHarper]

Originally Posted by C Heat

TAXI is NOT a waste of time.

Rethink it.

Call/write Michael Laskow.

Who else is gonna give you the opportunities that TAXI can?

This guy works for taxi and is in on the scam - do some research on him, if possible. Also, do some research on me, Sean Harper : www.jukeboxalive.com/catroofrecords

I am a composer/recording engineer who makes soundtracks for movies now, but who has sold nothing. I was with taxi for a year, paying my money, so that a worker at taxi told me, "your music was an absolute pleasure to listen to, but I can not forward it, we are not supposed to forward music."
They don't forward anything, they have no contacts, they are in the business of making money off of you, not you making money off of them.

What C said .....has he ever had any music sold by taxi? What was his motive for saying they had any opportunities at all, how does he know? Listen to my music, read my Bio, realize that there is no way possible that my music will ever be sold in my lifetime.

Does the music suck? You be the judge, as you compare me to Justin Bieber, or Lady Gaga (who's actually kind of good, but has the same producer as Madonna did (same people writing her music). After I told Lascow that, "all my friends in Nashville say that taxi is a scam", he wrote me back immediately and said, "since you and all your friends say taxi is a scam, I am cancelling our service with you."

Now, why do you think he did that?

Listen to my music, this is my real name, that music is all written and performed by me. I swear to you that there is a psuedo-music industry, meant to make money off of the vain people who think they can be a star. Also, do not get 'an agent in new york' who charges $800 to $1200 a month - real agents don't charge upfront.

No James Citkovic and "Countdown Entertainment". Realize - Taxi is at the forefront of the psuedo-music industry as is Uplaya.com, or anything else Carson Daily tells you to do. If my music does not show up on that page, refresh your browser page, and it will show up.

Happy listening, and remember that all good musicians are being purged, and we were suckers for picking up the instrument(s) in the first place. Revolution needs to happen, because our lives are being rendered useless in the art of music. If I could , I would sue Countdown, TAXI, Carson Daily, and every psuedo-music industry perpetrator.

I wish they would sue me for slander, here, because I would produce a counter lawsuit for money laundering and fraud.

[sventvkg]

If you are pro level you DO NOT NEED TAXI...You need the pitch sheets that the publishers and labels all use. Songlink, Cue sheet, Row Fax, Bandit news letter in UK, Song Quarters, and many others. You can pitch your own material just fine and don't need to pay someone $5 a submission!! And yes everyone here in Nashville says Taxi is a scam and it's laughed at..

Pitching material is like some kind of elusive Voodoo and the information is seemingly guarded! Until I moved to Nashville, hooked up with a publisher, took Publishing Classes and learned how it was all done, I too was in the dark but it's very easy to do.

I will say for the country market all the major labels want CD's and you have to call and ask permission, then you go and drop it off. It's pretty straight forward and simple. Obviously no one accepts unsolicited material.

[petermichael]

Originally Posted by SeanHarper

Happy listening, and remember that all good musicians are being purged, and we were suckers for picking up the instrument(s) in the first place. Revolution needs to happen, because our lives are being rendered useless in the art of music. If I could , I would sue Countdown, TAXI, Carson Daily, and every psuedo-music industry perpetrator.

I wish they would sue me for slander, here, because I would produce a counter lawsuit for money laundering and fraud.

i have no opinion of taxi, but in coming across this gem of a conspiracy theory i had to listen to you and then of course, raise the bs flag. i am not going to blast anyone's creative efforts, but i will say, your statements in the paragraphs above are foolish and over the top. ghost writing, and writing for others to perform ( in general), has been going on from the beginning. it isn't a bad thing. some people are not writers/ creators. some people are not performers. it is not a symptom that "good musicians are being purged. "

[petermichael]

Originally Posted by rack gear

this is an insightful recognition that everyone trying to get into the placements game should realize... if the client wanted genius, they'd be paying for it, what they want from unknowns is usually a knock-off of genius at a deeeeeep discount.

i think it's only fair to ask what the definition of genius is to the movie music community.

i was of the understanding it equates to a large number of previous sales.

is that genius? and if not, is that last sentence of yours accurate, or just another slam on the up and comers being second rate, (and of course that because majors were not able to prop them up with millions in artist development - like where the green m&ms are extracted and set aside - to stimulate creativity?)

i'm making a joke there rack, but i am seriously asking what the genius statement is all about.

[Amber]

Originally Posted by sventvkg

If you are pro level you DO NOT NEED TAXI...You need the pitch sheets that the publishers and labels all use. Songlink, Cue sheet, Row Fax, Bandit news letter in UK, Song Quarters, and many others. You can pitch your own material just fine and don't need to pay someone $5 a submission!! And yes everyone here in Nashville says Taxi is a scam and it's laughed at..

Pitching material is like some kind of elusive Voodoo and the information is seemingly guarded! Until I moved to Nashville, hooked up with a publisher, took Publishing Classes and learned how it was all done, I too was in the dark but it's very easy to do.

I will say for the country market all the major labels want CD's and you have to call and ask permission, then you go and drop it off. It's pretty straight forward and simple. Obviously no one accepts unsolicited material.

Those mags cost a fair bit to subscribe to. Are they worth it?

[JoeyXoto]

Originally Posted by adclark

Where do I get the names, addresses, #'s to get in touch with these people? Indie Bible? Songwriters Market. There's thousands of addresses in those publications.

I will be brutally honest with you. If you think there is some kind of database, or book that will freely give you the contact information, you will be dissapointed.

Here's why; (Just based on experience and opinion)

1. The databases and books with contacts are usually crap filled with contacts who a) would never listen to unsolicitated material, and b) probably don't even have correct contact information widely available. Yes there are many places with addresses and contacts, but how many other people are sending material? Why would they find your CD/project and what will make it stand out?

2. The net is a great tool, but legitimate contacts would rarely freely give their information away online, because they would get hassled left right and center by millions of producers/songwriters etc.

The solution; network your ass off. You want to place music in TV/Film. Screw A&R's and middle men. Go make those direct contacts yourself. Go to film festivals, participate in Film maker forums/discussion. Mingle with other producers and songwriters in the sync liscencing scene and look for contacts that way.

I'm sorry there is no concrete way; but honestly, networking is your most important vehicle to getting your stuff placed. I can see you want to do that, but trying to send letters and emails is just 10% of the battle. To really stand out, you need proper relationships with these people, and then they MIGHT want to give you a helping hand. Sending them an email/letter, will only go so far if they don't no who you are. Get out there, meet people, go to the right parties and gigs and festivals. That's my advice.

[sventvkg]

Originally Posted by Amber

Those mags cost a fair bit to subscribe to. Are they worth it?

Definitely..I would recommend getting a consortium together and going in on a few. I don't know if you need Rowfax unless you are Nashville based Country but the others are good for every kind of genre..

[Amber]

Originally Posted by sventvkg

Definitely..I would recommend getting a consortium together and going in on a few. I don't know if you need Rowfax unless you are Nashville based Country but the others are good for every kind of genre..

If I was to subscribe to one, which would you suggest for someone who writes pop/rock, ambient, string quarter orchestral stuff?

[AwwDeOhh]

Originally Posted by petermichael

i think it's only fair to ask what the definition of genius is to the movie music community.

i was of the understanding it equates to a large number of previous sales.

is that genius? and if not, is that last sentence of yours accurate, or just another slam on the up and comers being second rate, (and of course that because majors were not able to prop them up with millions in artist development - like where the green m&ms are extracted and set aside - to stimulate creativity?)

i'm making a joke there rack, but i am seriously asking what the genius statement is all about.

I believe he's referring to those "sound alike" requests that are like sticking a butchers knife into any real songwriters' chest.
I'm sure you've heard them... Sounds like Led Zeplin* instrumental, but there's something "off" about it...

*for example

[petermichael]

oh, if that's the case then i thank you for the explanation, and ask you to disregard my question. i remember all the "coldplay - clocks" soundalike progressions came out there for a period of at least 5 years. egads.

[SeanHarper]

Originally Posted by AwwDeOhh

I believe he's referring to those "sound alike" requests that are like sticking a butchers knife into any real songwriters' chest.
I'm sure you've heard them... Sounds like Led Zeplin* instrumental, but there's something "off" about it...

*for example

Oh Gosh I have heard that so much.....the "but something is off about it", coming from a snot nosed music business major at the ripe old age of 22. 'Gone to school to learn how to rip you (the artist) off of any income you(the artist) might have made without them involved.

My favorite is UPlaya.com , as presented by Carson Daily. They have a program which can grade your music on a scale, How? Judging to see if it sounds like any other popular music in history.

Yes.

And if you score high enough on the plagirism list, you can enter a contest where you could have your song placed in a movie.....for $1,000......The music industry is dead due to corruption, its too smart of a puzzle for me, I just play music.