General Music Chat

Any musicians out there using or have used Taxi? (and for the smarta$$e$, I don't mean a cab ).
Alan (Rhythmman) has a post about using A & R Song Placement, Inc. and seems pretty happy with it being a productive vehicle for getting leads on where to try placing your songs. Craig brought up Taxi as being more well known, and that he didn't have the money to try it now, but would maybe later. And then they could compare notes that we could all learn from. So I was wondering if anyone is using it now? Or, for that matter, any other song placement services that you would be willing to share the pros and cons of. If you've tried some and gotten screwed, don't be embarrassed by being taken in. The company that did it probably worked hard to make it seem like an upstanding professional company. Your silence will only help them get to other unsuspecting musicians. Get revenge! Tell us about them.
On the other hand, if you've had a good experience, share that with us as that would get them more business and be a good way to say thank you for what they've done. Most of us on here probably don't have any experience with those companies and a little heads up would go a long way.

Good post Rat!

FIRST AND FOREMOST, A real A&R rep is going to work with you because he feels strongly about your music. He is not going to charge you upfront.Yes he does have industry people he can reach, The ones that are serious. The ones that get swamped by crap everytime they put out a call. A real A&R person is not going to ask for money up front, if they see talent they are going to want to establish an ongoing relationship. Remember, their contacts may be limited to a specific genre of music and it would be stupid of them to push music they have no contacts in.
As for TAXI, I feel you are getting many RECYCLED leads.Everything has to go through Their panel of judges before it gets passed on. That is a biggie. IT is a very subjective process. As far as major sucess stories I think they are a bit limited.
Another one is BROADJAM. They are similar but I think they do way more in helping members. Critiques ,contests, exposure, and even though some of their listings are recycled most are not. They don't have a panel of judges you have to get through if you pay your 5 bucks. You may have some peer critiques but unless it is so far off base for the listing it will get passed on.
They also have had some major sucess stories. "TWIRL" a duo out of canada caught the ear of a legit A&R group and got placement in some Disney movies.
Anyway it is all very subjective because the call goes out for something that sounds like so and so, You give them so and so and suddenly it sounds to close to so and so and they really wanted something NEW AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. DUUUUUUH!!!!!!!

ON second thought,WHAT A GIG. You spend ten minutes on the phone ask for $400 to cover expenses to get your material or band exposed. You send out one CD to make it legal. Listings are available everywhere.
You do this to 1250 hopeful wannabes over the course of a year and you just walked away with a cool 1/2 a million.
LETS BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.



A&Rs ARE US HOW CAN WE SCR EHRME HELP YOU TODAY?

Taxi is a service that pushes your music onto commercial ventures like television, advertisements, movies, etc. I'm pretty sure that if you watch enough TV, you can get an idea of what Taxi *typically* would look for.

Taxi's greatest appeal would probably be if you either already had a large catalog of commercial-oriented music, or had the ability and time to create commercial-oriented music really quickly.

Thanks, Prevost. I already kinda knew what it did. Just looking for testimonials from people who have actually signed up for it and used it. I'm not that interested in anything like that yet, myself. I just thought there might be a need to post a thread for that type of info to help other members now or later.

I spent a year with TAXI, and really wasn't impressed. I didn't get anything forwarded, but that really wasn't what bothered me. I actually got some really good reviews for some of my songs, but still didn't get forwarded. I can understand when they say "this is not what we are looking for". It's when they said "THIS IS FANTASTIC!", and still didn't submit it-that's when I started questioning their authenticity. I also cruised around their boards a little bit, and even the people that were having success were NOT seeing any money. Most of them (and thoses were few and far between) were getting back door deals: "We'll put your song on this soundtrack, and IF we sell any copies, you might get a little cash."

Thanks Joseph!

That may be the only review I need right there!

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I spent a year with TAXI, and really wasn't impressed. I didn't get anything forwarded, but that really wasn't what bothered me. I actually got some really good reviews for some of my songs, but still didn't get forwarded. I can understand when they say "this is not what we are looking for". It's when they said "THIS IS FANTASTIC!", and still didn't submit it-that's when I started questioning their authenticity. I also cruised around their boards a little bit, and even the people that were having success were NOT seeing any money. Most of them (and thoses were few and far between) were getting back door deals: "We'll put your song on this soundtrack, and IF we sell any copies, you might get a little cash."

I've long suspected Taxi was just another scam, albeit an attractive one, and this post makes me feel a lot more justified. For all the people I've talked to who've used Taxi, no one has made any real progress beyond having a group of "industry professionals" tell them their stuff is good. sh*t, I can get that just by playing a gig!

I just got another email from a new site wanting to "feature my music" and they...

"We are very impressed with your work, and we believe that you will find commercial opportunities over time if you can get in front of the right people. We would like to help make that happen"

blah blah blah...

It seems legit enough but I swear I get tired of hearing it. makes me just wanna say "Show me some money baby"

But I have no choice other than to pursue it as they are asking me for "no money"


www.myspace.com/blunderingeye
http://c1.ezfolk.com/bands/6039/index.php
www.myspace.com/445175001
Facebook group/Hayden King

"It is what it is"

Joseph and THB, it's like I've been playing in my area for 25 years and I still have people occasionally wanting me to play a "freebie" and they always say, "But you'll get good exposure."
Wonder how much exposure I need.

Joseph and THB, it's like I've been playing in my area for 25 years and I still have people occasionally wanting me to play a "freebie" and they always say, "But you'll get good exposure."
Wonder how much exposure I need.

Exposure = dry butt sex.

Taxi is a service that pushes your music onto commercial ventures like television, advertisements, movies, etc. I'm pretty sure that if you watch enough TV, you can get an idea of what Taxi *typically* would look for.

Taxi's greatest appeal would probably be if you either already had a large catalog of commercial-oriented music, or had the ability and time to create commercial-oriented music really quickly.

At the music conference I went to last spring, they addressed services like Taxi, and mentioned it specifically. The "insiders" felt that it was a mixed bag, as the services CAN help get people's music placed in TV and other mediums, but at the same time, TAXI doesn't exactly turn down bad musicians for memberships either.. so yeah, how would someone know they suck vs. just not being a good fit (yet) ?

Worth mentioning is that these "backdoor deals"... it's not something TAXI or any of those services supports or recommends. Basically, any musician who gets a deal to work for free (outside of the rare charity) should spit in the face of the person asking.

If anyone wonders why we are expected to play for exposure, it's because we do .. all the time.

Taxi is a service that pushes your music onto commercial ventures like television, advertisements, movies, etc. I'm pretty sure that if you watch enough TV, you can get an idea of what Taxi *typically* would look for.

Taxi's greatest appeal would probably be if you either already had a large catalog of commercial-oriented music, or had the ability and time to create commercial-oriented music really quickly.

At the music conference I went to last spring, they addressed services like Taxi, and mentioned it specifically. The "insiders" felt that it was a mixed bag, as the services CAN help get people's music placed in TV and other mediums, but at the same time, TAXI doesn't exactly turn down bad musicians for memberships either.. so yeah, how would someone know they suck vs. just not being a good fit (yet) ?

Your right ... there not filter for bad musians and no way to know if you suck or your not a good fit.

The biggest problem is ppl submit music that is not what the client is looking for. The ppl that had made good money on Taxi already have a large catalog of commercial-oriented music and can write in many styles. They can read what the client is looking for and produce it.

Taxi at one time (in the beginning) was more band orientated and placed a few band with labels ... but the industry has changed