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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 and production, not so much ;-) I really can’t think of any TAXI member who so wonderfully exemplifies why collaboration is such a powerful tool. And there are so many of you reading this email who know you should be collaborating, but you don’t! “Why not?” is the question! You don’t know who to collaborate with, or how to find somebody who’s a good fit? You’re afraid a collaborator might steal your ideas? You don’t want to split the income? You don’t know how the process works? Well, we’re going to help you figure all that out, and much more in this week’s episode of TAXI TV. Casey is a font of incredibly valu

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 yet. Paul’s going to be in Los Angeles this week, so he’s joining me LIVE in the TAXI TV studio for what promises to be an incredibly revealing episode that could ultimately help you become more successful and make TAXI a better company. I specifically asked Paul to hit me with some really hard questions, and I’ve given him carte blanche. No question is off the table! The goals are: - To arm you with every bit of knowledge you can use to become more successful using TAXI. - To uncover things TAXI can do better in servicing your needs. Win an Excellent Book! We’re going to give away a FREE copy of Steve Barde

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 get to benefit from what Tony has learned over his years of BEING a musician and doing nothing but helping musicians during his entire adult life. I promise that you'll learn how to kickstart your career and find ways to make it last longer when you watch this episode of TAXI TV. Tony has always been a viewer favorite, and you'll see why when you join us for this information-packed livestream.

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 honestly say would take your call or answer your email? And how many successful TAXI members are in your network? More importantly, how many of them include you in their network? That's where the rubber really meets the road — when you get introduced to industry executives through your fellow members who already have those all-important relationships! Why work harder, when you can simply work smarter? Meet the Very Best Networkers I've Ever Met! Tracey and Vance Marino are well-known in virtually every music-related community I can think of. And they have a list of contacts that would make you incredibly en

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 awesome book, loved by TAXI members all over the world! Fett's Mixing Roadmap by Fett: https://amzn.to/3qK6MjX Be in the chatroom during the live broadcast to have a shot at winning this highly-rated book!

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 albums and motion picture soundtracks, including 16 GRAMMY winners. ​ As a mix engineer and record producer, Rob has also worked with other well-known artists and shows such as: Kirk Franklin, Christina Aguilera, Angelique Kidjo, Sting, LeAnn Rimes, Mary Mary, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Keiko Matsui, Coolio, Ray Charles, American Idol, P!nk, Johnny Mathis, Paula Abdul, Diana Ross, En Vogue, Ice Cube, The Four Tops, Yolanda Adams, The Temptations, K-Ci & JoJo, Aaliyah, Hilary Duff, Jesse McCartney, Ricky Martin, The Corrs, Luther Vandross, Erin Boheme, and Charlie Wilson. Rob started out playing in wedding b

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 very little compared to Jeanna. She's an expert! And how can you earn income from Sonic Branding? Who are your potential clients, and how do you market your skills to them? How much can you charge? Do you get creative fees or make performance royalties through your PRO? And by the way, what the heck is sound design? I think we might learn something about that as well. But, you've got to join us for this week's TAXI TV, on Monday at 4 pm PDT / 7pm EDT. I think this is going to be a fascinating episode, and who knows, it just might open up a new income stream for you and your talent. It might even create a brand ne

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 TV commercials? I'm going to ask them ALL of those things, and you get to fast-track your sync career because Jim and John are going to turn you on to what they took the time to learn. What IS a "Composer" in Today's Sync Industry? For those of you who have always thought of yourselves as somebody who writes songs you'd like other artists to cut, or who'd like to get signed as an artist, you might not think of yourself AS a composer. Maybe the word conjures up an image of writing charts, and knowing a bunch of music theory. That USED to be true, but the word "composer" has taken on a new meaning in today's sync

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 at the Rally. I would really appreciate it if you could join me for the LIVE episode of this week’s TAXI TV, so I can get your opinions and suggestions on a wide range of topics regarding the upcoming Road Rally. I want to know what you want to know! And if you have a moment, write down some of your ideas so you've got them ready for the show. If you need some inspiration, take a look at last year's Rally schedule. See Last Year's Schedule: assets.taxi.com/PDF/2022/2022_schedule_of_events.pdf?_ga=2.201885393.1501265207.1689895818-1567352027.1680549793 Make sure you’re in the chatroom for the live episode to ca

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 very much on-target! The New & Improved Version of the A&R Hot Seat.. Rather than listening and judging music from just one recent TAXI Listing, we're going to do it for THREE different listings to give your ears a tune-up on a broader range of genres. We're going to listen to Contemporary, Alt-Indie Pop songs, '60s style Motown/Soul songs, and Pulsing Investigative Tension Instrumentals. We'll listen to some that got forwarded, and some that didn't, and I'm curious to see if we vote like the screeners did! Aren't you? Don't forget, you need to be in the YouTube chat during the live show if you'd like to cast your

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 deal with people when they contact you, how to be prepared for that, how to communicate, how to create deliverables, and more." The Upside... Doing things right can create a trusted relationship with a music library. The kind of relationship that lasts for years, and gets you to what some might call, "the front of the line," when it comes to having an open door with the library, getting briefs sent directly to you, having your music requested for special projects, etc. The Downside? The opposite of living in that rarified world can be caused by doing some dopey stuff during your first contact with the company, or

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. Let’s Bust Some Other Myths! There are other myths about the music licensing industry that I’ve seen dispensed as gospel on some sync-oriented YouTube channels. Just because the person giving out that information has a super sincere, silver-tongued delivery doesn’t mean the information is actually accurate! I’ve been biting my tongue for a few years, watching a couple of these “experts” give out information that, in my opinion, is either false or 180 degrees out of whack with reality. Funny thing is… I’ve recently seen one of these guys flip-flop and completely change his tune. I was happy to see that. But then

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 your assets The older you get, the more you think about these things. But, sometimes that's too late! I'm excited to cover this topic with TAXI TV and Road Rally favorite - Bobby Borg - and Britt Hastey, the co-authors of the new book, Personal Finance for Musicians. We're going to hit as many of these topics as possible during this week's (LIVE) episode of TAXI TV. Developing good financial habits becomes more important as you grow older, wiser, and start thinking about having a secure retirement. Secure retirement?! Well, yeah, but it seems like this critical topic takes a backseat to the more immediate-feeling

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 audio/studio/production to anybody who will listen. Those who do listen are well-rewarded! Ronan and I are going to talk about: - Creating a great studio space in your home - Studio monitor placement and brand recommendations - Mixing on headphones or not – best practices or fool’s errand? - Backing up your files in case of disaster – miss this at your own risk! - What type of insurance you should have for your gear – Yes, you need it! - And how a giant tree made Ronan a world-class expert on the last two bullet points! Ronan will also answer some questions, so don’t miss this live episode! Want to Win a FREE Boo

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 discussion! Music Business In 10 Easy Lessons: The Deal by Ben McLane: https://amzn.to/3MmQuVX *As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases from the link above.*

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 ruin some (or many) of their relationships, new and old! My goal in this week's episode of TAXI TV is to highlight many of the relationship-building and/or killing things I've witnessed over the last three decades. Sadly, most of the time, the people who've committed relationship suicide don't even realize what they've done, and the impact it's had. Special Guests... I consider Tracey and Vance Marino world-class experts at building and maintaining music industry relationships. I've watched them work their magic at conferences and online. As a matter of fact, they dedicated an entire chapter to that subject in the

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 why Hollywood studios won't use you to score their blockbuster films? I know the answer! Want to know why your mixes don't sound like hit records? I'll let you in on a little secret ;-) Want to know where the "sweet spot" is to place a mic on an acoustic guitar? You're going to find out! Want to know how to mic an electric guitar amp for the best sound? I'll fill you in! Want to know a sure-fire way to avoid popping "P's" when recording vocals? I'm going to show you. Want to know how to make publishers reach out to you time and time again? It's common sense, but many people don't do it! Want to know how to a

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! I Want to Hear From You! I want this episode to be pretty interactive, with a lot of feedback from TAXI members (and viewers who have music in music libraries) as to what YOU think is an optimal number of catalogs to be in, and any strategic thinking you might have when deciding which companies you work with! If you can contribute to this discussion, I would REALLY appreciate it if you could join us for the live show. I plan to spend more time than usual taking comments and questions from the chat during the live show!

How’d you like a consummate Instrumental Cue Composer to show you what the most common Cue structures are for TV placements? Great, I’ve got the perfect guest to lay those structures out in great detail on this week’s TAXI TV! Steve Barden is a successful, longtime TAXI member, and a truly excellent composer. He’s the author of two great books on the subject. Click the covers below to see just how good those books are! Deconstructing Production Music for TV by Steve Barden: https://amzn.to/3o9UFLn Writing Production Music for TV by Steve Barden: https://amzn.to/41qUQ3i Steve’s most recent book, Deconstructing Production Music for TV, is a deep dive into some serious analysis of nine cues, which you can listen to online. For each cue, Steve breaks it down as follows: - The Structure - Chord Progression - Melody - Instrument Choices - Style and Genre - The Emotion and Intended Use - The Sound Libraries He Used - Analysis of the Bars and Sections of the Score - ...and Why the Cue Works! I’m beyond excited

When a music supervisor or TV show editor looks at a huge playlist of possibilities, they will inevitably listen to the tracks with titles that "telegraph" what the music will sound like, first! Wouldn't you like to have your music considered first? Or, maybe I should ask, wouldn't you want to give your music an "edge" when end-users are combing through hundreds of titles, looking for the perfect instrumental or song? We're going to go over how the RIGHT titles can make you more money in sync licensing! Not only will we review dozens of great titles pulled from top music library catalogs, we're also going to delve into the minds and work processes of music supervisors and video editors. That should help us understand why some titles work better than others in certain situations!