Episodes

  • Ask TAXI Music's CEO Any Question, LIVE![070725]

    Ask TAXI Music's CEO Any Question, LIVE![070725]
    Jul 8 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 straightforward and 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 approach an industry pro at TAXI's convention? If you promise not to let them know who told you, I'll tell you the secret ;-) Want to know how to avoid headphone leakage when recording vocals? The answer is SO simple, yet almost always overlooked!
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    1 hr and 33 mins
  • Lyric _Speed Writing_ with Robin Frederick![062325]

    Lyric _Speed Writing_ with Robin Frederick![062325]
    Jun 24 2025
    For many songwriters, birthing a great lyric can be agonizingly slow and painful. Yep, sort of like childbirth! Well, any mom would tell you that it’s not even close, but you get my point; It can be daunting, slow, and yes, even painful to write a great lyric. But it doesn’t have to be! If you’ve ever had writer’s block or find that it takes so long to craft a great lyric, you miss opportunities for TV and film placements because the window of opportunity is often short. Robin Frederick—author of the best-selling books, Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting and Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV—packs the ballroom year after year at TAXI’s annual conference, the Road Rally. When you see and hear the interview I did with her for this week’s episode of TAXI TV, you’ll understand exactly why that is!
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • True Swans & Their 4 Keys to SUCCESS with TAXI![061625]

    True Swans & Their 4 Keys to SUCCESS with TAXI![061625]
    Jun 17 2025
    True Swans are a duo who are becoming quite successful using TAXI to launch their career. Michelle Lindley and Todd Dunnigan live more than 600 miles from each other, yet their collaboration has been nothing short of remarkable! If you’d like to know how and why long-distance collaborations can work and what the 4 keys to success Todd and Michelle have uncovered, then don’t miss this fascinating interview.
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    1 hr and 43 mins
  • Crowdfunding Your Music Without Followers with Kevin McNoldy![060925]

    Crowdfunding Your Music Without Followers with Kevin McNoldy![060925]
    Jun 10 2025
    I thought you needed tens of thousands (or more) followers to pull off a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise money for your music. I was wrong, you don’t! Frankly, I knew very little about crowdfunding to raise money for music (or any other type of project). When Kevin McNoldy was doing his excellent TAXI TV episode about music mastering a few weeks ago, he mentioned that he knew quite a bit about it. He wasn’t kidding!!! And the most surprising thing I learned while taping this episode is that you don’t need to have a huge fanbase, following, or email list to raise money! Of course, you’ll raise more money if you have a huge fanbase, but Kevin is going to tell you how to raise a significant amount with very few, or practically no, fans. My crowdfunding examples, Kristine Moon and Kira Takei: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kristinemoon/kristine-moon-new-age-singer-songwriters-debut-album https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kiratakeikickstarter/help-singer-songwriter-kira-takei-launch-her-debut-album Check Out Kevin McNoldy: https://cphonicmastering.com/ https://kevinmcnoldy.com/
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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Title Your Music So It Gets Discovered and Licensed like a PRO![060225]

    Title Your Music So It Gets Discovered and Licensed like a PRO![060225]
    Jun 3 2025
    If you think that making great music is the key to making more money in sync licensing, you’re half wrong! If you don’t have great (and appropriate) titles for your music, nobody will know how great it is because they won’t find it, hear it, or license it. Shocked? Don’t be! There’s not a single music supervisor or TV editor side who wouldn’t back me up on that. I couldn’t find great information about creating titles that get your music found, heard, and generate income, anywhere! I solved that problem by spending an entire Sunday researching, writing, and producing an episode of TAXI TV that might be the most valuable information you’ll ever see or hear on this overlooked subject.
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    1 hr and 36 mins
  • An Achievable Path to Success with Your Music![051925]

    An Achievable Path to Success with Your Music![051925]
    May 20 2025
    TAXI member, Jim Thacker, is experiencing what many—if not most—other musicians hope to accomplish. His music is being heard all over the world, and he’s landing some really nice sync placements on an ever-increasing basis. Some of them are in brand-name TV commercials! But things weren’t always going the way Jim wanted them to! Is the same true for you? Are you frustrated, disappointed, or just plain fed up with your music career? Are you doubting that it will ever happen? Hearing why Jim’s initial approach didn’t work will probably resonate with you. Hearing what he did to turn things around will not only inspire you, but it will also show you a very clear path to success. All you need to do is commit to following it! Enjoy, and thank you to Jim for letting me ambush you into doing this interview!!!
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • How Spotify Diverted $47 Million of Indie Artists’ Royalties![051225]

    How Spotify Diverted $47 Million of Indie Artists’ Royalties![051225]
    May 13 2025
    A year ago, Spotify decided they weren’t going to pay royalties on tracks that streamed less than 1,000 times. Instead, those royalties would go to other artists proportionately to their streaming totals. Our friend Tony van Veen, CEO of Disc Makers, recently calculated that in 2024 alone, this resulted in $47 million in independent artist royalties being diverted to (mostly) the majors! He went public with this data, Spotify actually responded, and Tony put them in their place. I’m excited that Tony will be our guest on Monday’s TAXI TV. We’ve been close friends for at least 25 years, and he’s one of the smartest business people I know. He’s also a true champion of indie musicians! Tony and I will be discussing his findings – and whether there’s anything artists can do about it.
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    1 hr and 37 mins
  • Mastering_ The Art and Science Demystified[050525]

    Mastering_ The Art and Science Demystified[050525]
    May 6 2025
    Very few music creators really understand what audio mastering is, what it does, and when you need it… or not! There are plenty of people who think that mastering is some sort of “magical fairy dust” that, when sprinkled on a song or track, makes it much, much better. As if mastering can make a mediocre song become a hit. It can’t, and it won’t. It can only make it a better-sounding mediocre song! Join me for this week’s episode of TAXI TV, and by the end of the show, you’ll understand why mastering was invented, the physics behind how it works, what it does sonically to your music, and when you should use it, or not.
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    1 hr and 35 mins