TAXI TV

I’ve been compiling a list of mistakes that can hurt, or even KILL your chances of having a successful career in the music licensing business. Some of these mistakes are made by people just starting out. Shockingly, others are made by people who I think are seasoned pros at this point in their careers! You might have heard of some of these mistakes before, but I’ll bet there will be plenty that yo...

Our viewers have always loved our "A&R Hot Seat" episodes! Here's why: by judging music to see if their opinions line up with TAXI's A&R staff, our members get to fine-tune their "industry ears." They LOVE how it helps them listen to their own music more critically! Members have also told me that these episodes build confidence in TAXI's A&R team when they see that the screeners' decisions are ver...

If you’ve ever thought, “I just need a manager,” listen up! The manager you’re probably dreaming of—you know… you make the music, and they do all the business-y and promotional work to help you become famous… that kind of manager—probably won’t want to work with you yet, and here’s why… The big, high-powered managers work on commission, and they won’t MAKE a commission unless you’re already making...

It's time to hear some great music from TAXI's members — songs and instrumentals, alike! Our Top 10 episodes are viewer favorites, so please join us tomorrow at 4 pm (PST) for the LIVE show and you'll have a shot at winning a copy of Steve Barden's must-have book! Join us and you'll hear a range of really cool music that our A&R team has uncovered recently. Win a FREE Book During the Live Broadcas...

In it for the long haul? The experts at Disc Makers share practical, actionable ways to triumph as an independent artist in this free "29 Tips For a Long and Successful Music Career" guide: https://bit.ly/49qvMOF ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why am I not surprised that S...

These are just some of the topics we’ll be talking about on this week’s show with Chuck Henry, a very successful Music Library CEO. Chuck was a TAXI member before he started his company, so he knows exactly what it’s like to be in your shoes! You’ll get perspectives from both sides of the coin on topics like these… - The reasons why you haven’t been called back from the companies your music has be...

I’ll never forget the raging enthusiasm I felt bursting forth from Marcus Cohen (aka (CaiNo) when I met him at his first TAXI Road Rally about 6 years ago. In that moment, it was obvious to me that he’d become successful. He was at the Rally with his mom and creative partner — Sherry Marcus Milano — who’s also a force of nature! It’s not an exaggeration to say that music libraries and other music...

Casey Hurowitz probably wouldn’t have these placements if he didn’t collaborate: 60 placements on The Young and the Restless (CBS), Chicago Fire (NBC), Salvation (CBS), The Night Shift (NBC), The Originals (CW), and Legacies (CW). Is Casey so bad that he can’t create great music on his own? No! He just knows what he’s good at, and what he’s not so good at. Toplining is his strong suit, engineering...

TAXI member Paul Croteau, has no problem saying things like they are! Is he smart, direct, and to the point? Oh yeah! Paulie doesn’t mince words. That's the reason I asked him to do a live, unfiltered, unedited interview with me and ask the tough questions that are likely on the minds of other TAXI members, and maybe even the people who’ve thought about joining TAXI, but haven’t pulled the trigger...

Very few CEOs get down in the trenches with the people they serve, but Disc Maker's CEO, Tony Van Veen, isn't one of them. He's BEEN in the trenches, and he learned a lot! He'd be the first to tell you that he's made a lot of mistakes along the way, and he's more than generous in sharing the tips and tricks he's learned from falling down, getting back up, and trial and error. In other words, YOU g...

We all know that it's WHO you know, not just what you know, right? But can you honestly say that you've done everything you can to fill your little "Black Book" with music industry contacts that are the key to a successful career? - How many music supervisors do you personally know? - How many production music library owners do you personally know? - How many A&R people or music publishers can you...

It's been quite a while since we've done a Top 10 episode on TAXI TV, so please join me and the enthusiastic viewers who always gather to hear some really good music coming from TAXI's members! Join us on Monday at 4 pm (PDT) and you'll hear a range of really cool music that our A&R team has uncovered recently. Win a FREE Book During the Live Broadcast! I'm also going to give away a copy of this a...

Rob Chiarelli has repeatedly been one of the most popular guests on TAXI TV, and we're thrilled to have him join us for the first time in several years. Thanks COVID ;-) Rob is a record producer, mix engineer, musician, published author, and 5x Grammy Award winner. Widely recognized as a music producer for Will Smith and Men in Black II, Chiarelli's work appears on numerous Gold and Platinum album...

Do you know what the difference is between a jingle and a Sonic Logo? I'm not entirely sure I do, so let's find out together when I have Jeanna Isham as my guest on this week's TAXI TV! We're also going to find out what Sound Marketing is, and how that's a different animal from Sonic Branding. Truth be told, I'm not sure I can tell you exactly what Sonic Branding actually is! I know, but I know ve...

TAXI members, John Pearson and Jim Thacker, are full-time Producers/Songwriters/Composers based in Nashville, TN. How did they transition from the "record" side of the industry to the "sync" side? How did they re-orient what they do, and how they do it? How did they learn the difference between writing songs, and trying to create hits, to creating music that would work well in TV shows, films, and...

Our music conference, the TAXI Road Rally (November 2nd – 5th in Los Angeles, CA), has become legendary over the last quarter of a century. People come from all over the world for the actionable information that invariably takes their music careers to the next level when they use it. And the people who have a huge hand in choosing which panels, classes, interviewees, and mentors we have each year...

Our viewers have always loved our "A&R Hot Seat" episodes! Here's why: by judging music to see if their opinions line up with TAXI's A&R staff, our members get to fine-tune their "industry ears." They LOVE how it helps them listen to their own music more critically! Members have also told me that these episodes build confidence in TAXI's A&R team when they see that the screeners' decisions are ver...

TAXI member, Greg Carrozza was on a panel about this topic at last year's Road Rally, and he's discussed aspects of it on various episodes of TAXI TV. But, I've yet to give him the floor to do a much deeper dive about it on TAXI TV. That all changes on this week's episode! In Greg's own words, "I’d talk about what to do after you get a forward, how to manage your expectations and attitude, how to...

For the entire 31 years we’ve been in business, people have conjectured about how much competition there is when they submit their music to TAXI. I’m going to pull back the curtain and give you actual submission numbers on this week’s show! But wait! The submission numbers actually mean NOTHING because there IS no competition! And I’m going to tell you exactly why that is on this week’s episode. L...

Nailing the creative side of the music industry is a given, right? And the business side of the industry has become more important than ever. But, how often do you think about things like these: - Saving and investing money - Understanding investment apps - Increasing your credit score - Limiting your tax liability - Protecting yourself from identity theft - Getting out of debt - And protecting yo...

I’m very excited to have Ronan Chris Murphy join me on our first live episode in several weeks! Ronan is a huge fan favorite, both on TAXI TV and at our annual music convention, the TAXI Road Rally! Here’s his bio, if you’re not already familiar! https://ronanchrismurphy.com/bio/ Side note: Ronan is an incredibly smart, well-informed, studio rat who loves teaching what he knows about all things au...

Michael is out of the office this week, but he recently recorded this interview with veteran music attorney, Ben McLane, looking at potential legal issues with music created by Artificial Intelligence. Is your music going to train a computer to create new music? Who will get paid? How will they get paid? It's the Wild West out there, and once again, tech could outpace legislation. Don't miss this...

During the 31 years I've been running TAXI, I've noticed something that's critical to becoming and staying successful in the music industry! Is it great music? Yes, that's certainly a big part of the equation, but building, maintaining, and nurturing relationships could very well be equally as important in regard to becoming successful. And I'm sorry to say that I've seen many talented musicians r...

It's been a while since we've done an "Ask Michael Anything" on TAXI TV, so that's exactly what we're going to do on this show! Ask me anything about TAXI, engineering & production (from the mics and wires aspect), or the music licensing business, and I'll do my best to give straight ahead, helpful answers. Want to know what production music libraries are looking for? I can tell you! Want to know...

For years, I've been preaching about "not putting all your eggs in one basket." My personal opinion is that you should hedge your bets by having your music in several, if not many music library catalogs. But not just ANY catalogs! Join me for this week's episode to learn more about the strategic way you might want to approach how many (and which) companies you want to have representing your music!...