Episodes

  • Ask TAXI Music's CEO Any Question, LIVE![121525]

    Ask TAXI Music's CEO Any Question, LIVE![121525]
    Dec 16 2025
    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 today's 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. Btw, I was at a session at the Foo Fighters' private studio a few days ago and had my mind blown! I'm going to tell you all about that and show you some photos of the control room, live room, guitar amps, and especially the vintage Neve recording console Dave Grohl bought from the legendary Sound City studio when it closed its doors. Other stuff I'll be talking about... Want to know how many tracks you really need before music libraries take you seriously? I get that question all the time, and frankly, the answer will surprise you! And, I’m going to tell you today. These are the types of questions I’ll be happy to answer, and anything else you’ve got! Viewers love these episodes, and I always have fun doing them.
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    1 hr and 40 mins
  • Ignorance Isn't Bliss For Musicians![120825]

    Ignorance Isn't Bliss For Musicians![120825]
    Dec 9 2025
    There are so many ways to get paid for your work in the age of digital music that I admit I’m confused as to who exactly pays what. One thing I do know is that the people who attended the presentation by the MLC (Mechanical Licensing Collective) at this year’s TAXI Road Rally were SO glad they went! They were so grateful that I’ve invited one of the MLC’s executives (Dae Bogan, Head of Third-Party Partnerships) to join us on this week’s TAXI TV. He’s great at explaining why you really could have money just sitting there waiting for you, and what you can do to collect it! I know… the cynic in me used to think that sounds too good to be true, but not since I did my homework and found out that it’s completely true! It would be really sad to miss out on collecting money your music has already earned for you just because you didn’t know how easy it is to collect it. In this case, ignorance is not bliss! Join Dae and me for this "Do Not Miss" episode! He's really smart, highly informed, and has some very interesting thoughts on how musicians might get compensated in the AI era of music. I think those ideas and concepts might be outside of what we can learn about how the MLC works during the show, but they're so intriguing, I'm going to press him to talk about them, anyway!
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Navigating Today’s Music Business Is Much More Than the Notes![120125]

    Navigating Today’s Music Business Is Much More Than the Notes![120125]
    Dec 2 2025
    Hollywood Score Composer and Film Producer Brian Ralston is one of the most well-informed and articulate people I’ve met during my 50 years in the music business. He’s so clear-headed about so many aspects of the music and film industries that I did a solo interview with him at this year’s Road Rally—our annual conference. Brian didn’t disappoint! The people in the ballroom felt like they had learned something important. Things they normally don’t think about because they’re usually focused on the music much more than their career. Because he was so good, I’ve decided to do something I’ve rarely done after the Road Rally—I’ve invited Brian to reprise what we did on stage last month, but this time we’re doing it live on TAXI TV!
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    1 hr and 41 mins
  • The Hidden Habits Shared by Successful Media Composers![122425]

    The Hidden Habits Shared by Successful Media Composers![122425]
    Nov 25 2025
    During my 33 years as the CEO of TAXI, the Holy Grail I’ve been relentlessly searching for has been that “thing” that makes some composers, producers, songwriters, and artists successful, while others never achieve their goals. What is the “secret sauce?” Why some and not others? I recently ran into long-time TAXI member, Chuck Schlacter, in the hotel lobby during our annual conference—the TAXI Road Rally. We started to discuss the mindset and habits of people who are successful in the music licensing world versus those who aren’t. What he had to say made perfect sense, so I’ve invited him to join me on TAXI TV.
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    1 hr and 38 mins
  • TAXI's Road Rally Round Up![111725]

    TAXI's Road Rally Round Up![111725]
    Nov 18 2025
    My two favorite things I hear from members at our annual conference are: 1) “I went to school at Berklee, but I’ve learned more in a single weekend at the Road Rally than I learned in four years of college,” and 2) “I was certain that I was going to be let down after all your hype about the Rally, but it’s actually way better than you said it would be.” I hear those same things every single year. It makes me scratch my head and wonder why every single TAXI member doesn’t come. Those of you who were there know exactly what I mean. The vibe, the camaraderie, the access to industry people you just won’t find anywhere else, the networking, and the real-world education are apparently somewhat indescribable. How do I know? Because I can’t seem to find the words to convince all of our members to come. Yet, we have members who came from Finland, Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, the U.K., Argentina, Israel, Japan, and other faraway destinations that are a full day’s worth of travel away, and at least $1,500 for the plane ticket, and they were thrilled they made the effort. On the other hand, we have members who live in Los Angeles and could drive to the Rally in 30 minutes or less, and they didn’t come. I just don’t get it! Today’s TAXI TV episode is going to be dedicated to the people who came and loved the Rally. We’re going to see photos, we’re going to watch some videos, and we’re going to hear from the members who were there.
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    1 hr and 44 mins
  • Creating Music that's Perfect for Advertising![110325]

    Creating Music that's Perfect for Advertising![110325]
    Nov 4 2025
    I got really excited when I recently listened to a TAXI compilation with emotionally upbeat songs for advertising on it. Why? I heard a great example of a particular style of music that gets used all the time in TV commercials. I liked it so much that I planned on playing that particular song in the grand ballroom at our annual conference, the Road Rally, later this week. After listening to more songs by the artist who created the track that I loved, I decided to do a TAXI TV episode during which I’ll play several songs created by this talented TAXI member. Everything I’m going to play will have you saying, “Oh, now I get it!” I want to surprise you with who the TAXI member is, so you’ll have to watch to find out. You’ll also get to ask her questions about how she learned to write and produce this advertising-friendly style. That was a hint! Yes, the member is a talented young lady, and she’ll be at the Road Rally so you can meet her there. And, when you go to that page, you can grab your Road Rally Program Book for your mobile device, as well as a version you can print on your home printer. This is going to be a very powerful episode, so don’t miss it if you’d like to make great pitches for TV commercials.
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    1 hr and 32 mins
  • Robin Frederick's Top 10 Songwriting Hacks![102725]

    Robin Frederick's Top 10 Songwriting Hacks![102725]
    Oct 28 2025
    Monday’s episode of TAXI TV should be amazing! Robin Frederick is going to join us, and she’s going to tell us what her Top 10 Songwriting Hacks are. Robin’s book, Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting, is a best-seller, and we’ve never heard anything but raves, so even I’m excited to hear what her “hacks” are. If you’re new to our email list or TAXI TV, you really don’t miss this episode. You’ll find out why the ballroom at our conference—the Road Rally, starting November 6th—is always standing room only when Robin does one of her deep dives on songwriting each year. I’m going to give away a copy of Robin’s amazing book during the episode on Monday, but you’ve got to watch the live broadcast on YouTube at 4 pm Pacific time to have a shot at getting a complimentary copy of this seminal book on songwriting! Robin Frederick's Book: Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting: https://amzn.to/48G91bA
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • Production and Mixing for Sync with Ronan Chris Murphy![101325]

    Production and Mixing for Sync with Ronan Chris Murphy![101325]
    Oct 14 2025
    We always love having Ronan on TAXI TV, so we’re excited to have him join us on today’s show (4 pm Pacific time) to teach us some tricks of the trade about production and mixing variables that can make your tracks more “synch-able.” We’ll discuss how to approach reverbs, panning, EQ, arrangement, mastering, etc., to make sure your track fits the style/genre, era, and overall sound the music supervisor or music library is asking for. Ronan is a TAXI member favorite because of his practical, no B.S. approach to all things audio. While he’s a highly experienced engineer/mixer/producer, his approach to teaching is to explain things in a way that people can easily understand, no matter what their level of expertise is! Win a One-Hour consult with Ronan! One of our lucky (live show) viewers will be randomly chosen to meet privately, in a One-on-One session with Ronan at our upcoming Road Rally music conference in Los Angeles, November 6th – 9th. You can play him some music, get feedback, or ask him questions about anything audio and production-related.
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    1 hr and 35 mins