Taxi: a Legitimate Promotional Service for Songwriters

Taxi is an independent A&R service that songwriters can use to promote their music. Their business is to act as middleman between songwriters and the music or Film and TV industry.

How Does Taxi Work?

Taxi's website explains, "Record companies, publishers, and music supervisors call us directly to find new artists and bands to sign. They also call to find hit songs, instrumentals and tracks for TV and film placements." Member songwriters and artists can take advantage of Taxi's connections by receiving lists of what the industry professionals are looking for and pitching their work for active projects.

It works like this:

1. Taxi lists the details about an industry project that need songs and assigns a deadline for submission.

2. Songwriters and artists submit their material through Taxi.

3. A Taxi industry specialist listens to the submitted music to determine if the song is on target for the listing, based on quality and type of music.

4. If the song is great and fits the niche, it is forwarded to the person who placed the request, and the songwriter or artist is notified that their work is being considered. If the deal moves forward, the music professional will be contacted directly by the interested music professional.

5. If the music is not forwarded, the songwriter or artist will receive a notification of a decline along with a critique of the work and explanation of why it was not forwarded.

Songwriters ask: Is Taxi Legimate?

This question is asked often by newcomers to the songwriting community, because they have heard often to beware of scams. Taxi is a legitimate company that does what it claims to do, and the Taxi A&R team is made up of industry veterans who have been active in the business for years. However, they have a reputation to maintain with their contacts, therefore, the bar they have set for the music they forward is high. Taxi claims that four out of ten members have a submission that is good enough to forward to a music professional each year, and that the chances of a deal cut is around 6%.

What Does Taxi Cost?

Taxi members pay a $299.95 annual membership fee . When songs are submitted for consideration, an additional fee of $5.00 per song submitted applies.

How Does a Songwriter Submit Songs?

Taxi's online system is easy to use. Songs and lyrics can be uploaded into their system, with each songwriter's music sitting ready for a submission opportunity. When a listing arises that fits their music ,a songwriter simply submits their songs from their portal. If a songwriter is unable to use the online system, CD's can be manually submitted via snail mail instead.

I wouldn't recommend Taxi for a songwriter just starting out, because it would be an expensive way to learn their craft. However, for a prolific, talented songwriter with a library of work or a hot new artist with a recorded CD, Taxi might be the open door they need.

Related Reading:
How to Get Your Music into the Movies
Production Music Library Songwriting Contracts
How Do Songwriters Make Money?
How to Copyright a Song

Resources:

Taxi.com