PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic What do you all think of Taxi? Be Honest

Then Watch this video with "John Berhaney" Opinion From A Industry Professional..

I am not yet a Taxi member. But from everything I have seen and read and watched, I am convinced they are an organization that helps songwriters get better and helps those that are great to get deals! I do not know how much help you can get nor do I know if it is significantly easier to "break in" using a different service (or none at all).

But I have been quite impressed with the high quality of the songwriting and production I have seen on the Taxi forums. So, one way they help immediately is to expose you to a standard that may be well above what you are used to! Furthermore, the songs I have reviewed at Taxi tend to be more modern than you might hear in certain software forums!

My interest in songwriting is mostly as a hobby. I am interested in getting my songs as nice as they can be but I have little to no interest in trying to pitch songs. So, I may or may not join Taxi some day!

I think if you want to really learn and subject yourself to critiques and the level of quality required to get even just forwards, then TAXI might be a good investment.

But I wouldn't expect any successes from TAXI unless your writing is at a pretty high level and your productions are "radio-ready". The competition is pretty fierce. I think TAXI is better at TV/FILM type stuff. We have discussed for a while that outside opportunities for songwriters to pitch songs to artists are pretty close to zero.

Both JohnJohnJohn and Kemmrich are spot on. However, for the thousands of songs and songwriters that come out of Taxi, only a few members have skyrocketed out of the masses to fame and riches. I think many make a decent living but I also think if fame and riches from song writing and music is your dream, the average person's chances of breaking away from the pack are better with Taxi than with YouTube, CD Baby, Soundcloud or most publishing companies.

TAXI.... been there, done that.

I was a member for several years back around 2009 or so.... went to the rally in LA, rubbed elbows and chatted with some hit songwriters and swapped stories with several of the "taxi stars" and met Michael, the TAXI president.

Yeah, there's a handful of folks who get some nice cuts and can parlay that into a career of sorts. Most are part time and get one or two cuts. A few get into it full time and make some decent incomes from film and TV cuts. The ones making a living from it.... I personally consider that to be $30k gross per year or more, are all full time and spend 8 hrs a day in their studio writing and recording cut after cut after cut. One guy I met there in LA had over 800 cuts in libraries that were being used on a daily basis. He made anywhere from a couple hundred bucks on a cut, with the majority being $5 or less per use. You gotta get a lot of spins at $5 a spin to make a living. Like I said, most folks are part timers as a result. His PRO statement was 3 pages long with 90% of it under $5 each.

The vast majority get nothing. Few forwards, and few responses and nothing signed.

Taxi is an expensive proposition since it requires a sign up fee, and renewal fees as well as having to pay for critiques for each song you want feedback on. Plus... there is a submittal fee per song. If you are submitting lots of songs this can add up quickly.

My experience with Taxi was mostly ok.... I submitted dozens of songs over the several years I was with them. About 15% of those got forwards ...or approval from the screeners and were sent to the end user. Most of those forwards ended in silence..... crickets.... nothing. Several were signed by a major east coast library..... then ........ nothing. There was really no way, as is the case with TAXI, NSAI, Film Music Jobwire to get any sort of feedback from the screeners as to why they reject a song. They use the catch all excuse.... not on target for the listing. What that means is the screener could simply think the song was too fast or too slow, the production was not broadcast quality, the writing/lyrics were not up to par, the music was not up to par, the singer wasn't good enough, the style of the song wasn't close enough to what the listing called for....and literally any of dozens of reasons....and they don't generally tell you which one.... they simply say... not on target.

What you do have to understand is that I believe the TAXI listings are real and the people making money there are real. However, the game is played at a very high level. If you are not writing the best of the best, and your production chops are lacking, and your singer doesn't sound like a pop star diva..... your chance of getting a cut is similar to the long time survival rate of the proverbial snow ball in the flames of hades. Most taxi members and songwriters tend to have a very hard time getting over the bar in the first place and then hitting the target to get a forward and then having their song stand out among the hundreds of other songs submitted by other sources all vying for that 10 second cut or 30 second commercial underscore.

Advice regarding TAXI: Do you think you want to join? Well, before you spend several hundred hard earned dollars on a membership.... join the forum they have. It's free to join. Read the listings and pick several that you think you would like to submit to.... Also, try writing something new for one that has a close up deadline. NOW..... go to the forum and find the one with threads for songs for current listings. Post your song and ask for people to listen and tell you if they think it's "on target" for the listing.


Another option:

NSAI... Nashville Songwriters Association International .... not a listing service and not going to help you get a cut. They are an educational service.... lots of really good videos in their library that's available only to members. However, for your membership, you also get 12 really detailed song reviews. They discuss all aspects of your song to help you grow as a writer. They do have events that you can attend as a member if you are close enough to Nashville where you can play your songs for and meet the publishers who are supplying the songs to the artists. There have been a few hits through this avenue... but not enough to call it a viable way to get your music out.

I have been, and continue to be associated with NSAI. Time will tell if I renew the next term since membership costs just went up significantly as of Jan 1. I have used their song critiquing service to really "tune in" one of my songs. My big issue with their critiquing service is that the screeners are listed by numbers....and genre/style. You have no clue who they are, and you are unable to ask questions of them concerning a review of a song. You have to resubmit the song and then you can ask the question. That eats up your submission credits. There also appears to be a fairly high turnover rate with the screeners. One that I had worked with on several songs suddenly disappeared from the list.... I had to start over building another faceless relationship.

Another Option:

If you are looking to get your songs out to the movers and shakers, there are other options. There are several listing services that are much less expensive. Film Music Jobwire is one of them. No membership fee required to submit. It costs a dollar or two more if you're not a member.

In addition, there are a number of libraries that are on the net that you can submit to directly. They have in house screeners and it's usually FREE. If you have good music and good production, they will tell you and accept your music. This is the path I have chosen, and as a result, I have met and signed with quite a few good libraries both foreign and domestic. One of these was a library that I submitted 41 cues for a TV show. It ended up being for the show Duck Dynasty. My cuts didn't make it into the show, unfortunately. But just having the cuts submitted was a blast. It was from a $6 submission of one 30 second cue to FMJ. I now get emails from several libraries on a regular basis that tell me exactly what they are needing for upcoming film & TV projects so I can decide to submit or write for them if I care to.

No matter which path you choose, you have to be writing good music. You are competing with the best of the best songwriters and composers when you are vying for cuts on TV shows and in movies. My advice is, write, study the craft, write some more, study, learn, read, write... then do it again......it's not easy to make a career in film and TV music, but the odds are slightly better than trying to get Garth or Reba to sing your country song due mainly to the large need for new music for the TV shows and commercials on the thousands of worldwide cable channels.

Anyway.... that's my 2 cents on TAXI and the other services out there.

Comments? Agree? Disagree?

Just my opinion...it sort of has the same feel to me as when casino's showcase their winners.

Personally, I don't know of anyone, that is currently landing cuts, that is using it.

Ok, I am not looking to sign with them, but I had just watched a John Berhaney video last night, and I wanted to see what people thought about some of the statements that they make on that video. His main thing that he is trying to get across, is write, and keep on rewriting the song until it is at it's best. From the little time that I have been writing my own songs I have learned that people hate re-writing their songs, and they think that the other person that suggest it is crazy.

Then, I also have a friend that says that if it's not good enough for them, then the He double toothpick with them. He don't think that you should have to re-write the song when you have already have given it your best, and I think that sometimes your best is not good enough, even if you think that the song can't be re-written you can always pull something new out of the hat. I am not an expert and do not claim to be, but when you get people that are telling you these things to do and you don't want to listen to them, then you are probably not going to get a cut ever.

The other thing that I wanted to point out was that they said that people will write songs that have maybe 3 to 4 chord changes and sounds all the same is what people are not looking for, they suggest for you to have your verses sound the same, and maybe a little change here and there, to make things interesting, but in the chorus make it go somewhere else, in this piece maybe change the music and the tune for the chorus, in other words provide a very good sounding hook, so that your chorus does not sound anything like the verses.

This is the thing that all other bands are doing that are on top. The are making the chorus sound entirely different than the verses. I think that this is why BIAB is a very good tool, because you don't have to have the versus sound exactly the same as the chorus.

You can change BIAB to have it go through the choruses and the versus only one time. Some of the videos that I have watched suggest that you repeat the chord progression 3 times, but that makes your song sound all the same through the choruses and the versus.

You got to change the chorus and the verse up, and make something sound different, that is what the people that make hits do. So, as far as signing up for taxi, no, not for me, but some of the information that they can give is very valuable.

I have one main test that most of my decisions have to pass: "Is it sustainable?"

Any path that isn't sustainable is destined to fail, and the wise choice is to abandon it for a more sustainable path.

Sustainability might be defined as the ability to at least EQUAL the return on investment. As long as the path pays for itself and maybe earns a little more, you can stay on that road forever.

But if something costs you $400 per year and earns you nothing, year after year... it fails the sustainability test.

(my 2 cents, YMMV...)

That makes perfect sense. I have gotten sucked into things like that before. Then as being a wise person if you spend money and don't make nothing back it is wise to abandoned the idea. Now as far as BIAB and recording studios, I enjoy the craft of writing, creation, and not having to pay anything to record it. I do a lot of songs that I keep private, and they only fall on the ears of family and friends, but I paid a heavy price for some of the things that I have, but I sure do have a lot of fun, so I guess you can say it is sustainable. I have 3 versions of BIAB, I have cakewalk music creator, I have 4 8 track digital studios, a marshal stack, 5 guitars and an awesome piano, and 3 different keyboards. I enjoy every one of these things, so I can say that they are all sustainable. But As far as Taxi nope, not going to happen. I got involved with other things like you said, and there was an awful lot of money going out and nothing happened. I was a fool to believe their lies once, but never again. Thanks for your 2 cents.

I would add one key point to this...if it makes you happy and you can afford the cost then you should do it! I would guess there are a lot of us here who will not make back the amount of money we spend on gear and software but it is definitely worth it because it gives us joy! Same thing for something like Taxi! If you join and become active at Taxi it may very well be worth the time and expense for what you will learn above and beyond any deals you get referred to!

Or, it may not be worth it to you! My main point is there are metrics other than money out/money in to consider!

Just a note:

It's “Braheny”, not “Berhaney”. He was a great guy, who with Len Chandler, founded the L.A. Songwriter's Showcase (LASS) in 1971. The L.A.S.S. was a precursor to Taxi. I was a member way back then.

They mentored a virtual Who's Who of songwriters:

http://johnbraheny.com/about/lass/lass-stories-and-kudos/

RIP John.



Regards,

Bob

Exactly! I have a small fortune invested in guitars, bases, computer, software, and hardware. My monetary return on this investment is very little but I have gained a lot more. I have many Internet friends, a couple I have met in person, plus I have increased my knowledge base by listening to these friends as well as an appreciation for many genres of music.

Hopefully I have helped a few along the way.

Plus I have had a ton of fun using this equipment playing covers, composing and recording music. It also got me interested into buying and learning how to play a new instrument, my wind controller.

So yes money ain't everything!

I agree!

Money as a sustainability qualifier mostly has to do with business decisions (since business is about making money)

As far as money spent on personal enjoyment is concerned... I do think that you can quantify the amount of pleasure derived and weigh it against the time, effort and money required to achieve it. In all things there is a point of diminishing returns.

The same amount of money that is appropriate to spend on "fun" under my current situation might be unsustainable if I lived in a cardboard box under a bridge. But as long as I can meet my needs and have money left over for fun, then that spending is sustainable.

I guess that's the point I was trying to make.

I think it's safe to say that most musicians have a ton of money in gear and other related things.

Yes... if you have the money to spend, and can afford to do so, then certainly, do what you wish.

One thing I will say about TAXI and NSAI and any other similar company/organization.... if nothing else comes from them, and you apply yourself and avail yourself of the opportunity to learn and study, and attend their events, you can not help but become a better writer.

Perhaps you will never attain a gold record on the wall or have your music playing in TV shows, but you can enjoy the satisfaction of practicing your craft at a higher level.

What person, who starts to sketch and paint or play golf, or ski, as a hobby, wants to remain at the beginner levels? Yet I have known a large number of musician/songwriters who are the very embodiment of staying on the bunny slopes at the ski lodge. They say I write what I write and it comes from the heart and that's good enough for me. OK, I can understand that but hey.... there's always room to improve and do it better.

If there's one thing I have learned from both of these songwriting organizations, it is this..... REWRITE THE SONG. Rewriting was mentioned above in another post..... That is one of the best ways to improve a song. However, when I make that suggestion to many writers, I get a lot of grief, not only from the writer but also from his/her friends defending the first shaky draft as a "great song". It has happened in other forums and it's happened here. I hesitate now to mention to someone they should re-write the song or even just a part of it because very few people will say in reply...... yeah... that's a good idea.... and actually do it. I can count on one hand those who have taken that advice over the years. The majority will either defend the first draft or say they are too busy and that they will do that on the next tune..... and so it goes. They continue to write "first draft" songs, hoping for something to change for the better. Rewriting is hard work.

Enjoy the hobby, but take the time to study your craft and make yourself better by improving your skill set. Be willing to do the hard work.

here's another real-world example of a sustainable vs unsustainable approach to advertising yourself:

Let's say you've written a ton of songs, and you want to market them. The unsustainable approach would be to pay for advertising. Its not that advertising wouldn't help... but The minute you stop paying for ads, the benefit ends. And as long as you pay for the ads, unless you are selling enough songs to pay for them, it's a hole in the money bucket that drains funds.

But if you make music videos... and if you make it a point to put an ad at the end of each video, pointing people to your songs (or other service you want to sell)...

... those ads will stay online indefinitely, and not cost you a cent. It's easy to sustain an ad campaign that doesn't cost you anything. All the better if you are able to create videos that go viral!

If ads in videos didn't work, Youtube wouldn't be doing it.

"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.

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.

They make more money off a marginal talent, one who submits frequently and without success. In fact, the ideal scenario for Taxi (based on their business model) is that the majority of their members get some forwards, some "near hits", but not a contract. It's only when you get a contract that the client is revealed and the direct channel (bypassing Taxi) becomes available to you. Therefore, once you have success through Taxi, you develop a direct relationship with the client, which then greatly reduces or eliminates altogether the need for submitting through Taxi.

As a business man, I have to ask myself why their business model creates a clear financial incentive for their members to submit without success.

So, taking it a step further (in a devious way), if I'm Michael Laskow, I want to help you get better, but not so you get a contract, but so that you don't lose hope. If you still have hope you'll still be firing off those submissions to Taxi."



To me it sounds like you are on the right track with your mindset. Your friend, probably not. Even the best work with others to get more out of themselves. You MUST be able to identify what needs to change. The weird part is, it may not be the song!

I could also be something else altogether. Your reputation, ability to market it, using the channels that are used to get your song to who it needs to go to...all of that.



I thought this was sort of good advice. I agree with keeping it interesting. If you listen to the radio, hooks are ALL over the place. It's not that hard to flow chart a song to find how often to create a hook and how often to repeat those hooks.

As far as chords, my advice, grab songs you like that are current hits (if your goal is to get airplay) and notice how many chords they use.

I see it more as the same chords, but the changes are varied. It's in the feel more than anything.

Again, just my opinion and I may be wrong!

Good luck and thanks for sharing the video!

I think you might do better with The Starmaker Machine.


(Grin added to signify humor ("humour" for you Brits).


Regards,

Bob

Or wait for the man with a big cigar

Everybody knows that to succeed in the music business, you must have good ears.

I think we should take Bob's Starmaker Machine idea and mix it in with a little bit of TAXI, and call it "STAR BUS"

(Like TAXI, but the fare is cheaper)