Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C_ni0Ux0ifE There’s no doubt that Dramedy has been one of the most consistently requested (and often-used) genres of Instrumental Cues of the last decade. Dramedy was most-likely popularized by the long-running TV show, Desperate Housewives, and seemed to take on a life of its own after that. There are actually sub-genres of Dramedy now like Urban Drmeday and Latin Dramedy. You’d be hard-pressed to find a reality TV show that doesn’t use Dramedy in...
Aug 20, 2019•1 hr 33 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2IE1p0qAyLE I love recording studios! I especially love studios with incredible histories and tons of gear. With the advent of great, inexpensive recording gear, many of the venerable, large-format studios that have been instrumental in many of the biggest hit records have sadly gone the way of the Dodo Bird. That’s not the case for Westlake! As a matter of fact, it’s one of a handful of yesterday’s most iconic studios that continues to thrive in t...
Aug 13, 2019•1 hr 37 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n_33ijHW8bs I have a very small circle of close friends who I lean on when I need sage business advice. Tony van Veen is at the very top of that list. He’s extremely smart, and he’s one of “us.” “How so?” you ask! Well, besides being the CEO of a highly successful company, he’s also a drummer, an indie label owner, and truly he understands the soul of a musician. Tony is the CEO of DIY Media Group, the parent company of Disc Makers, Merchly, BookBa...
Aug 06, 2019•1 hr 35 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2emrBVzjQZc We all know that Instrumentals made for TV and Film placements is supposed to support an emotion or mood, don’t we? When you sit down to compose an Instrumental piece, do you start with an emotion in mind and stay on track as the piece develops? When the piece is done, is the mood or emotion clear and obvious? It needs to be if you’d like to improve your odds of getting that Instrumental placed in a TV show or film! No matter how good y...
Jul 30, 2019•1 hr 47 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jPY8OXjxyRw Legendary record producer Michael Lloyd had such a great time on TAXI TV last April, that he’s coming back again this week! The cool part about this return visit is that Michael will be doing live Song critiques! He’s kind of famous for being super generous with his feedback at TAXI’s free convention (the Road Rally) every year, so we’d like our loyal viewers to experience the same thing on TAXI TV! Here’s Michael’s bio, and you’ll find...
Jul 16, 2019•1 hr 27 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AzGK6MIBlQM Check out Rob's Plugins: https://www.finalmix.biz Get 50% off everything with code TAXI2019 Get Free Mastering EQ9 with code TAXI-TV Michael had Multi-Grammy-Winning Producer, Engineer, and Mixer Rob Chiarelli in the TAXI TV studio to review TAXI Members' mixes and to give them some awesome mixing tips along the way! ------------------------------------ Learn More About TAXI: http://bit.ly/2mPVGYh Rub Elbows with Music Industry Pros at ...
Jul 09, 2019•1 hr 42 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UeMJAlgI3ZI Get Steve's Book: amzn.to/2MZAxse We had so many great tips to give you guys last week that we didn't get to that Steve Barden is coming back this week to make sure you hear them all. We're also going to spend more time answering viewer questions. And yes, we will be giving away another free book! Steve is a production music composer for film and television, and his music can be heard on television somewhere in the world on a daily basi...
Jul 02, 2019•1 hr 31 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ESjh9uF6lsY Get Steve's Book "Writing Production Music for TV - The Road to Success": https://amzn.to/2N3fQMb Successful TAXI member, composer and author, Steve Barden, will share a boatload of Common Sense Tips for Production Music Composers on this week’s episode! Steve is a production music composer for film and television, and his music can be heard on television somewhere in the world on a daily basis. His music has aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX...
Jun 25, 2019•1 hr 29 min
Watch Last Week's Episode: https://youtu.be/dmPI_qZi0Io Sometimes, it’s the littlest things that can hurt your career… seemingly unimportant things. But they’re not unimportant! As obvious as many of these mistakes are, you can never be reminded too often about what I used to call, “Stupid Musician Tricks.” It’s not the musicians who are stupid, but making these errors can make you feel like you were stupid for making them! I’ve been making a list of common mistakes, and have enough of them for ...
Jun 18, 2019•1 hr 22 min
Watch Last Week's Episode: https://youtu.be/Lo7ETFVc6rk TAXI has been at the forefront of helping independent songwriters, artists, and composers get record deals, publishing deals, and Film & TV Music Licensing deals for 27 years. This video is filled with great tips on how musicians can be more effective in pursuing their careers! It's not always about just making great music... there's often more to it than that. Join TAXI's CEO, Michael Laskow, as he answers viewers' questions like: Why ...
Jun 11, 2019•1 hr 40 min
Watch Last Week's Episode: https://youtu.be/_cgmX79uwHI Get Ralph's Book here: https://amzn.to/2Xuzt0w I lost a very close friend on Tuesday. Ralph Murphy was also a friend to countless songwriters all over the world. They lost their most generous teacher and cheerleader this week. If you aren’t already familiar with Ralph’s bio, click here to see it. Ralph was in Los Angeles last month, and we enjoyed 2 glorious days of golf together. But it was our late night chats at the Laskow family kitchen...
Jun 04, 2019•1 hr 38 min
Watch This Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_cgmX79uwHI We know that it’s become a “thing” that many of our viewers like to enjoy a tasty libation while watching the live version of TAXI TV, each week. We think it’s only fitting that we celebrate that with an episode dedicated to Drinking Songs! A few weeks ago, one of our favorite Film/TV music publishers requested drinking songs from our members. We’d like to find out if our A&R team was drinking while they reviewed those songs. We’re ki...
May 21, 2019•1 hr 34 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/intyCmrB4AQ Learn more about Bobby: http://bobbyowsinski.com Check out Bobby's Podcast: https://bobbyoinnercircle.com Get "The Music Business Advice Book": Have you ever asked any of these questions? Why are the royalty payments so low? What about publishing royalties? What about this 44% raise in rates that’s coming? Why are YouTube rates lower? Why aren’t all my views monetized? What does it take to have a view and a channel monetized? Is a milli...
May 14, 2019•1 hr 31 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/r8wgq2Lew7w Get "Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV" by Robin Fredrick: http://amzn.to/2ehZf0E I’m often amazed by how many people still don’t really understand the ins and outs of getting their songs and instrumentals in TV, films, and commercials. So, this week I’m going to do a deep dive into: Why you should consider this part of the music industry What works and what doesn’t What genres of music are most often requested How many songs o...
May 07, 2019•1 hr 15 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SUV9XIrrT2Y Get Ralph's Book: https://murphyslawsofsongwriting.com/ During his five-decade-long career, Ralph Murphy has been a hit songwriter, performer, record producer, music publisher, lecturer, author, and Vice President of International and Domestic Membership at ASCAP. He’s also the author of the powerfully insightful book, Murphy’s Laws of Songwriting -- the Book, which is chock-full of practical songwriting tips and examples that will help...
Apr 30, 2019•1 hr 32 min
Watch the Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QDga9YD5BwE Self-help guru Tony Robbins has been saying this for decades: “There’s a Pathway to Power; a way to achieve what you want in a shorter period of time. And the way to find it is to model someone who’s already achieving what you want. If someone is extraordinarily successful in business, they’re not lucky. They’ve got a set of strategies that they apply and those strategies work. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You don’t need to rein...
Apr 26, 2019•1 hr 36 min
Watch the Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WW46hHrcDF8 TAXI is a music company, first and foremost. That’s why the staff and I do regular hang outs to listen to our members’ music. We turn off the phones and meet in my office once a month to listen to playlists built by staff members. Our most recent playlist was put together by Angela Mukul, our Head Screener. It was all Instrumental Cues; and as I listened, I couldn’t help but think our TAXI TV viewers would enjoy hearing what we heard. By...
Apr 09, 2019•1 hr 21 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/buggarSsnPI I’m thrilled that we’ll be joined by legendary record producer, Michael Lloyd, on this week’s episode! Here’s his bio… Michael Lloyd was Vice President of A&R for MGM Records by the age of 20, and for more than 45 years has been producing hit records and soundtracks, earning more than 105 Gold and Platinum awards, and selling over 150 million records. Some of the artists he’s worked with include, Barry Manilow, Mike Love and the Bea...
Apr 02, 2019•1 hr 36 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EfQ80uEJQ5Y Buy "Five Star Music Makeover": https://amzn.to/2Uer7vi Learn more about Bobby and Michael's "Intro to Music Publishing" here: http://bit.ly/2Tx1DVQ Bobby Borg and Michael Eames are so incredibly well informed, and highly expert on so many aspects of the music business that it’s difficult to give them just one description! Publishing, management, booking, contracts, The Music Modernization Act, music licensing, and much, much more! The ...
Mar 26, 2019•1 hr 40 min
Watch Last Week's Episode: https://youtu.be/Lo6GMgjS7hI We can’t tell you who it is in this email because some people sometimes do crazy stuff when we disclose who some of our guests are ;-) We’ve actually considered having a guest of this gent’s stature wear a mask on the show! All secrecy aside, this Music Library CEO is going to listen to some of our viewers’ Film and TV Songs (no instrumentals) and let us know if they’d work for syncs or not! We’ll tell you how to submit for possible feedbac...
Mar 20, 2019•1 hr 36 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xZm-nN4FXtw Every now and then we get a frustrated member who feels like TAXI’s A&R team just isn’t getting it right when it comes to his or her music. We have a Head Screener whose job it is to look at and do quality control on every critique that we send back to our members. The Head Screener is also the person who takes care of disputes over forwards and returns by TAXI’s A&R team. Nearly all cases are resolved by the Head Screener :-) A...
Mar 12, 2019•1 hr 27 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SFAN_JuSk_Q Learn More about Erin: http://themusicindustrylawyer.com Check out Indie Artist Resource: http://indieartistresource.com We love having Erin Jacobson on TAXI TV! She’s smart, she’s super well informed, and best of all, she really understands what independent artists, songwriters, and composers need from an entertainment attorney. We know that for a fact because a bunch of TAXI’s members have used Erin for their legal needs and they all ...
Mar 05, 2019•1 hr 41 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mPtv1e8aT1o James Kocian has been a TAXI member for years and has done a superb job of leveraging the contacts and relationships he’s made. His work ethic and incredibly positive attitude are the reasons we think he does so well. With that in mind, I’ve asked him to come up with 5 Habits that successful musicians often display. Take notes during this episode – trust me on this! If you think you’ve had some obstacles get in the way of your creativit...
Feb 27, 2019•1 hr 45 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2xqXUV3xp3g Call Ilio at 818-707-7222 on Tuesday, February 19th, 2019, and you can get a discount on the Vienna Smart Orchestra! (Just let them know that you watch the TAXI TV with Martin and Chuck!) There’s a steep learning curve in mastering the art of using Virtual Orchestral libraries. Understanding how the various instruments are played and what they play is not something you can learn in a weekend. Most people who need orchestral sounds every...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 31 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GOeWaSTwvnw Find Out More about Dean: https://www.deankrippaehne.net CHECK OUT DEAN'S BOOKS "Demystifying the Cue" - https://amzn.to/2SEFE2L "Demystifying the Genre" - https://amzn.to/2I0O4gB "Write, Submit, Forget, Repeat" - https://amzn.to/2I207un • Do you know what the difference is between an instrumental and an instrumental cue? • Do you know what a “developmental arc” is in the context of an instrumental cue? • Do you know how to make inexpen...
Feb 12, 2019•1 hr 34 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/l2OLf570mms TAXI CEO Michael Laskow celebrates 27 years of TAXI by reading stories of your accomplishments on this special episode of TAXI TV. ------------------------------------ Learn More About TAXI: http://bit.ly/2mPVGYh Rub Elbows with Music Industry Pros at Our FREE Yearly Convention: http://bit.ly/2a9mwlp View Our Current Music Industry Opportunities: http://bit.ly/28JPUyd Connect with Fellow Songwriters on the TAXI Forum: http://bit.ly/2DEN...
Feb 05, 2019•1 hr
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/g4zLTnqgmFg TAXI Member Brit Fox is going to be in town, so we've invited her to be on this week's TAXI TV! Brit is a mother raising a young child, so we're going to discuss how she balances her family life with having a budding music career creating tracks that have been heard on HBO, BET, Netflix, and more! ------------------------------------ Learn More About TAXI: http://bit.ly/2mPVGYh Rub Elbows with Music Industry Pros at Our FREE Yearly Conv...
Jan 29, 2019•1 hr 34 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fy_Sb6AJ45M Get a FREE Copy of Rob's Mastering EQ Plugin until Friday, January 18th: http://bit.ly/2VUG6sf and enter the code TAXI2019 at checkout! When was the last time you were able to ask a Multi- (Multi, Multi, Multi, Multi…) Platinum, Multi-Grammy-winning Producer/Mixer/Engineer any question your heart desired? Yep, that’s what we thought! Well, now you can! Rob Chiarelli is coming back to answer every question you can throw at him on Monday ...
Jan 15, 2019•1 hr 41 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WJZ4yu4adb8 Find Out More About Steven: http://stevenmemel.com People have called Steven Memel a “genius” after seeing him on stage at our convention, the Road Rally. We’ve seen him create astonishing artist transformations right before our very eyes. His performance and vocal delivery strategies really work, and they work quickly! We’ve noticed that so many big artists today, don’t sing using what we’d call a traditional approach. Instead, they us...
Jan 08, 2019•1 hr 38 min
Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PZIq5ueKMUw Watch this episode, write the resolutions down, tape them to your bathroom mirror, and say them out loud every morning after you brush your teeth. Good oral and mental hygiene can make you healthy, wealthy, and wise! End 2018 in the best possible way, as Michael gives you 10 success strategies that he’s seen TAXI’s most successful members use over and over again. You know what they say – if you want to become successful, just do what th...
Dec 18, 2018•1 hr 28 min
