MLaskow

Michael, Thank you for stopping in and sharing with the group... Your presence here is perfect for our type of discussions, as well as in the 21st Century forum... Please, by all means don't be a stranger. (oh, yeah, I'm the Moderator here, so this is an 'official' welcome!) Thanks for the official welcome... much appreciated. I've typically worked 15-18 days, at least 6 days a week since starting TAXI nearly 18 years ago, so I rarely get time to get involved in forums, even our own! Sad.... I really enjoy fruitful discussions where people really want to share and learn. I promise to try to stop in here whenever time allows. It feels like this a pretty level-headed group I've always been reluctant to do hit and runs in forums where people have less than kind things to say about TAXI, so I've just left them alone. But I live in a constant state of frustration that SO much TRUE information is out there as to the success our members are having, but nobody ever links to it. We post it on our site, it's all over our own forum, yet it's mostly the sour grapes who post elsewhere. I've also noticed that our successful members spend somewhat less time on forums, and when they do, they seem afraid to speak too positively about TAXI, as they are likely to get into a flame war. I WILL say that when people do give facts and post positive experiences, I appreciate it a great deal. Any sage advice on how to get the word out, short of hitting every forum on the net and posting links to our member generated success stories? I'm all ears, and again, thanks for the warm welcome. I will try to contribute stuff that's not all TAXI related:D Warm regards, Michael

Thanks Richard Yep, I'm representing TAXI here because it's the topic at hand, but I will try to chime in on music business topics whenever possible. I'm also an old wires and mics kind of guy, so I can chime in there too. If I can go back to TAXI for a second on this thread.... one of the biggest misconceptions people have is that you need professionally recorded, 24 track, mega-studio tracks to pitch for film and TV placements through TAXI. As you saw if you clicked that link to our Success Stories forum, thousands of our members have made film and TV licensing deals and had placements pitching music they recorded in home studios. Here's a blog on the Broadcast Quality issue that I posted a little while ago. I got hundreds of emails from people telling me they had no idea that they were sitting on songs and instrumentals that were absolutely viable for placing in TV shows and films. I hope it helps more readers get a fresh perspective on where they stand and the potential they have. Enjoy, Michael

Hello all, Michael Laskow, founder of TAXI here. I was googling "TAXI" just now, and saw this thread. The best advice I can give anybody to decide if TAXI is for them is to ask our members. We're not for everybody. We don't sell dreams. We take a realistic approach, and since 1992 have helped countless songwriters, artists and composers achieve their goals. If you've only got a couple of songs, TAXI probably isn't a good investment for you. If you're 15 and like to sing Britney songs into your hairbrush while watching yourself in the mirror, we are definitely not for you. Our members tend to be the most serious musicians looking for real opportunities. TAXI is NOT a quick fix or a magic bullet. It's for people who are willing to work hard at their craft and have a persistent, patient approach. It often takes a little time for new members to get a feel for reading the listings and carefully pitching music that really fits the opportunity. You will often find that the people who are less than kind in what they say about TAXI were never members and are engaging in hearsay. Certainly, not every member gets a deal. Some give up too quickly. Others pitch too wildly. Still others don't want to create music that fits what the market needs and blame TAXI for not forcing the industry as a whole to sign music that doesn't have much commercial appeal. We're not that powerful:) If you'd like to see what our members say about us in their own, unedited words, please take a gander at the Success Stories section of our forum. http://forums.taxi.com/taxi-success-stories-f7.html Thanks to all of you for posting realistic posts on this thread. That's refreshing! And thanks for reading this!! Warm regards, Michael