Danny Infantino – Pinehurst, NC
Sometimes one TAXI Forward can lead to years of success! Years ago, TAXI Member Danny Infantino’s 1970s tracks were sent to an amazing Music Publisher that specializes in vintage music. Since then, his music has been heard on Chicago Fire (NBC), Seal Team (CBS), Happy (SyFy), Narcos (Netflix), and indie films Barry and The Big Sick––all from one Forward!
Danny’s music has also been heard on Cobra Kai (YouTube Red), Alone Together (Freeform), Claws (TNT), Shameless (Showtime), and Riverdale (The CW) as the result of being signed by another Music Library he was forwarded to by TAXI!
We love hearing about all of these amazing successes and can’t wait to hear about more going forward!
Marcus Cohen – Norristown, PA
We caught up with Pennsylvania-based TAXI Member Marcus Cohen and found out that he’s had 500 songs signed since he joined TAXI! Recently, his music has been heard on The Young and the Restless (CBS), Black Ink Crew: Chicago (VH1), Queen Sugar (OWN), Claws (TNT), ATL Homicide (TV One), and Get Shorty (Epix)!
“TAXI is in one way or another responsible for everything that is happening for me,” Marcus says. “TAXI helped me get my music to the people it needed to get to.” We’re so excited to hear about the next round of placements!
Janet Snare – San Diego, CA
Sometimes it takes a while to see the results of a TAXI Forward. TAXI Member Janet Snare just experienced this herself: “My first placement resulted from a TAXI Forward three years ago. It was for a listing for a ghost hunting TV show,” Janet tells us. The show, RIP Files (SyFy Asia, Really TV), has since been picked up by Amazon Prime Video, so Janet has been able to hear her music within the episode for herself!
When asked what she likes most about TAXI, Janet says that he loves “...the letters of encouragement that Michael Laskow sends out. To never give up and that things can take a long time. I’m a prime example!” We’re excited to hear about more of Janet’s successes in the future!
William Shephard – Bronx, NY
TAXI Member William Shephard is on a roll! We just got word that William’s music has been placed in the upcoming Indie Film Richard Says Goodbye (Global Road Entertainment, starring Johnny Depp), Snowfall (FX), and Queen Sugar (OWN)! This is all in the past couple months!
All of these placements were the result of a deal that William signed with an incredible Music Publisher he met through a TAXI Forward! “What I like most about TAXI is TAXI always gives me an honest opinion about the songs that they receive from me…” William says. We’ll be looking forward to hear about even more placements William gets going in the future!
James Ferrie – London, United Kingdom
We’re always overjoyed when we hear about our members’ first deals through TAXI! We heard from TAXI Member James Ferrie who let us know that he signed his first track (“Through a Wet Windshield”) to an awesome UK-based Music Library through a TAXI Forward! “As luck would have it, I was approached by another music library that same week for the same piece of music,” James says!
James tells us that he appreciates the advice he’s received from TAXI Screeners on how to improve his tracks when they weren’t sent on––he’s also learned a lot from watching episodes of TAXI TV and reading TAXI-endorsed songwriting books! We can’t to wait to hear about the next songs he gets signed!
Keith LuBrant – Turnersville, NJ
Hearing about the continued success is one of our favorite things! We caught up with longtime member Keith LuBrant who let us know about some of his successes. “I had two Christmas songs that I wrote, sang, and recorded myself placed multiple times on a daytime soap opera. These songs were recorded many years ago, so it was great to see them get placed,” Keith tells us.
Keith says that after looking at his recent royalty statement, he figured out that his music has been heard on over 570 TV Shows––on networks including CBS, NBC, ABC, HBO, MTV, VH1, and many more!
“TAXI has helped me make the connections I need to in order to write for TV/Film. Without TAXI, there is no way I would be where I am at today,” Keith says. “Also, with the help of TAXI listings, it has helped expand my composing to include many new genres that I would normally not write.”
Elna Myburg – Kingwood, TX
We talked to TAXI member Elna Myburg who let us know that she’s recently had her music heard on The Mick (FOX), Switched at Birth (Freeform), Deathgrip (Netflix), and Hand of God (Amazon Studios). All of these placements were the result of TAXI Forwards from a few years back! “I've only started submitting again quite recently and I regret taking that break!” Elna says.
How has TAXI benefited Elna? “Without TAXI, I would never have gained access to these great libraries. I've always felt that TAXI truly cares about their members and really wants to see them succeed. They help me to make connections with folks in the music industry, something that would be very hard to do by myself.” Thanks for the kind words, Elna! We can’t wait to hear more about your successes in the near future!
Stan Morris – Torrance, CA
We love hearing about our members’ milestones––from their first Forwards, to their first deals, to their first placements! Stan Morris got in touch with us to let us know that he just reached an exciting new milestone: “I got my first BMI statement with royalties for a tension track (“Digital Desert”) used for a full minute on one of the episodes of The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway on the Oxygen channel.”
This placement was the result of a deal Stan made with a Top Music Library after two of his Jazz tracks were forwarded by TAXI. In addition, Stans says that he has “over 130 tracks in 10 different libraries. All of those library relationships came from either TAXI Forwards or connections that made through the Rally.”
Glenn Johnson – Myrtle Bank, Australia
We’re always excited when we hear about our members’ very first deals through a TAXI Forward, so we were overjoyed when Glenn Johnson told us that he got an instrumental cue signed to an awesome Music Publishing Company! “...it was an amazing feeling to receive that ‘we love your track’ email,” Glenn says.
Since getting his track signed, Glenn has composed a few more cues for this Publisher. “It took me over two years from first joining TAXI to reach this point, but I feel like it has been totally worth it,” he says.
When asked what his favorite thing about TAXI was, Glenn couldn’t name just one! He says that he’s benefited greatly from TAXI TV, being active on the TAXI Forums, exploring the Forwards Blog, and attending TAXI’s free convention, the Road Rally!
Jon Walker – Jacksonville Beach, FL
Sometimes, our members aren’t after fame and glory––they just want to get their music heard. This happened to TAXI member Tom Walker when a Music Library reached out to him to sign seven of his Gospel songs after a TAXI Forward!
“What this tiny bit of success has given me is the desire to keep on playing, writing, and recording music. I was seriously ready to pack it all up and say that it was a nice run,” Jon explains. We’re so glad to hear about this success, and we can’t to hear about more deals and placements from Jon in the future!
Butch Gerald – Orleans, ON, Canada
Butch Gerald has only been a TAXI Member for a little over a year and has already signed his first deals with a few awesome Music Publishers! “When I first joined, I was contacted by a publisher and signed my first non-exclusive deal through a TAXI Forward. The offers kept coming and I signed a second non-exclusive deal and recently signed an exclusive deal with yet another publisher,” Butch explains.
Butch says that TAXI has allowed him to build great relationships within the Music Industry and get his music into great hands! Congrats on the success, Butch!
Russell Landwehr – Pleasant Hill, OH
Since April of 2014, TAXI Member Russell Landwehr’s music has been heard on 12 shows (Weediquette, Noisey, Basketball Wives LA, Becoming Us, Catfish, One Bad Choice, Are You The One?, True Life, VICE, VICE News Tonight, 16x9, I Love Kellie Pickler) on 12 channels (Freeform, Fusion, CMT, H2, VICELAND, HBO, HBO 2, HBO LATINO, HBO PLUS, HBO SIGNATURE, HBO ZONE, MTV, MTV2, VH1)!
Russell tells us, “Every bit of royalties I've collected is because of connections I've made through being a TAXI member. Joining TAXI gave me focus and direction, but above all, TAXI continues to give me insider access to top-notch production music libraries.” Congratulations on your continued success, Russell!
Peter Sivo – Middletown, NY
TAXI Member Peter Sivo is at it again! We just got word that his music has been recently placed in BoJack Horseman (Netflix), Fear the Walking Dead (AMC), and the newest installment of the cult favorite horror film franchise Puppet Master! All of these placements were the result of one TAXI Forward to an awesome Music Publisher!
Mark Himley – Brookings, SD
We caught up with TAXI Member Mark Himley who let us know that he recently had his music placed on MTV’s The Challenge: Champs Vs Stars through a Music Library he signed with at TAXI’s yearly convention, The Road Rally! Through other connections within the TAXI Community, Mark’s been able to sign his music to two other libraries as well! “Between those three libraries I've gotten about a dozen placements (all since the Road Rally),” Mark says.
Mark says that TAXI has benefited him in many ways: “I've made so many amazing friends and connections in the TAXI community, and I've learned SO much.” He’s also a huge fan of the Road Rally and says that it “ alone is worth more than the price of the membership.”
John du Pont – Wilmington, DE
As excited as we are when we hear from members that have had a lot of success through TAXI, we love to hear from members that have their first success through a TAXI Forward just as much! TAXI Member John du Pont just let us know that he signed his first deal with an awesome Music Library as the result of a TAXI Forward!
One of John’s ambient, New Age-inspired instrumentals was sent to the Library, and they liked it so much that they asked for a couple more––and on his birthday! John says that he’s been getting more and more Forwards lately, “so hopefully more deals are waiting in the wings…” he says.
John says TAXI has benefited him greatly: “TAXI and their screeners have been my ‘university.’ For me, the Rally, the screeners comments, and forum critiques have been my degree in Music Composition.” Congratulations, John! We hope to hear about more deals soon!
Bob Mete – Earlysville, VA
TAXI Member Bob Mete is on a roll! We caught up with Bob earlier this month, and he let us know about some of the recent placements his snatched up!
Lately, you might’ve heard his music on Supergirl (The CW), Cobra Kai (YouTube Red), Nashville (CMT), Silicon Valley (HBO), Evil Things (TLC), Younger (TVLand), Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (ABC), and more! Bob says that he would never have gotten any of these placements had it not been for the connections and knowledge he’s gained through his TAXI membership.
If you want to learn more about Bob’s path to success in his own words, watch this episode of TAXI TV!
Martie Echito – Ontario, CA
We were really excited when we caught word that TAXI Member Martie Echito has had even more placements in the past few months! Music that Martie created back in the 70s and 80s was sent to an awesome Music Publisher through a TAXI Forward a few years ago, and the rest is history! “Because of the folks at [the Publisher], I’ve had five placements in the last year…” Martie explains.
Recently, Martie’s music has been placed on Red Oaks (Amazon), An American Girl Story (Amazon), I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime), and the Netflix film Our Souls at Night starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda! All of these success werel due to TAXI Forwards!
“To have songs from 47 years ago become viable in this stage of my life, is pretty incredible,” Martie says. We think it’s pretty incredible too, Martie! Congratulations on your continued success!
Vikki Flawith – Victoria, BC
Collaborating with fellow TAXI Member is an a recipe for success––and TAXI Member Vikki Flawith can testify to this! Vikki tells us that her “recent successes can all be attributed to the power of collaborating with fellow TAXI members.”
Recently, one of Vikki’s collaborations with fellow members Casey Hurowitz and Marcus Cohen ended up on an episode of The Young and the Restless (CBS) because of a connection they had made through TAXI!
On her own, Vikki’s had a few tracks signed and placed through TAXI Forwards in the past that are still raking in royalties today!
“There's no doubt it takes time to get started on the road to success.” Vikki says, “There's no doubt in my mind that TAXI screeners and the TAXI community were and are the foundation…The networking opportunities provided by the TAXI forum, live chat at TAXI TV, and the Rally, are invaluable as my recent successes demonstrate.”
Rob Simpson – Friday Harbor, WA
We just found out that TAXI Member Rob Simpson’s music is going to Cannes! Eighteen months ago, Rob’s music was sent to an awesome Music Publisher through a TAXI Forward. The company didn’t end up signing the original forwarded track, but like his music so much that they asked him to send some more songs! “Over the last year they have signed 7 (soon to be 8) tunes,” Rob tells us.
Fast forward to now, and Rob’s disco-era song “Passion Princess” has been placed in the Cannes-bound short film, Bad Peter!
Rob wasn’t convinced that TAXI would be a good fit, but after further “investigation” and joining he found out that TAXI is “the best University class about the music industry you could ever want to take ... Unlike a college class in songwriting, when you earn an A+, your song ends up in front of a hard-to-get-to industry person who is hungry to listen to it.”
William Shephard – Bronx, New York
We’re always overjoyed to hear about our members’ successes, so when we found out that TAXI Member William Shephard’s song “Foxy Roxy” is going to be used as the title them for the upcoming Indie Film Can’t Have You, we were ecstatic!
William tells us that about two years ago, he submitted four of his songs to TAXI that were sent on to an awesome Music Publisher! The Publisher loved the music, signed it, and the rest is history!
“What I like most about TAXI is TAXI always gives me an honest opinion about the songs that they receive from me…” William says. May you have continued success in the future, William!
Kali Arnott – Cumming, GA
TAXI Member Kali Arnott has only been a member for eight months, and is already signing deals! We just found out that a collaboration of hers with fellow TAXI Member Marcus Cohen was just signed to an awesome Music Library that Marcus was connected with at the TAXI Road Rally!
Kali tells us: “I went to my first Road Rally this past November and instantly fell in love with the TAXI community! Everyone was so nice and supportive.” While at the Rally, she met a lot of the collaborators that she’s had so much success with. We can’t wait to hear about all of her future endeavors!
Scott Smith & Lucia Valentine – Baltimore, MD & Shepherdstown, WV
We’ve been having some incredible opportunities for our members lately, and those incredible opportunities lead to incredible placements! TAXI Members Scott Smith and Lucia Valentine got one of those incredible placements when their song “Magic” was used as the title song for the Hallmark movie, Once Upon a Prince!
When Scott saw TAXI’s listing asking for “lighthearted, fun, and positive songs,” he knew that he and Lucia had the perfect song for the pitch––and boy, was he right! After the TAXI Forward, “I got the call from the film's composer who then put me in touch with the music supervisor. We hammered out the details, and the rest is almost history,” Scott explains.
Congratulations, Scott and Lucia, on the amazing placement!
Terry Gorka – Ventura, CA
We caught up with TAXI Member Terry Gorka who let us know about some of the recent placements he’s gotten due to connections made through TAXI! “I've had some wonderful success with licensing and placements on CBS, NBC, FOX, and ABC, as well as a number of cable stations and even two movies,” Terry tells us.
“I've signed licenses with at least half a dozen music libraries who I met through TAXI. And the royalty statements have increased every year!” Terry says, “Not to mention the great friendships and collaborations with other TAXI members which continue to flourish and have furthered my music career.”
Terry is an avid supporter of the TAXI’s Yearly Convention, The Road Rally––having attended five events in the past six years! He says that he’s learned a lot from TAXI CEO Michael Laskow and all of the guest panelists!
John Longhitano – Irvine, CA
We love hearing when our members’ hard work pays off, so we were overjoyed when we found out that TAXI Member John Longhitano’s song “Can You Hear Me Now” was placed as the opening theme song of the Sports Documentary, Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story (Hulu) directly through a TAXI Forward!
“I saw this listing in an email and clicked to listen to the example song. What surprised me was the listing was extremely detailed in regards to the story of the scene and what kind of song they were looking for,” John explains. He says that found it easy to write and record the song because of the details included in the TAXI listing: “I tend to find it easier to target a song toward a listing when I have the scene in mind and something descriptive to write to.” John definitely hit the ball out of the park because the Music Supervisor absolutely loved it and it was placed in the film immediately!
John says that TAXI has taught him to be patient and persistent. “If you work hard and keep honing your craft, there will be a time where a particular song will hit a listing the right way. It has also has pushed me outside my comfort zone to write in different styles,” John says.
Robert Davidson – New York, NY
We have an exciting update on TAXI Member Robert Davidson! We just found out that Robert’s album Bopert Davidson & His Combo-Nation was released by an awesome Music Publisher that he met through a TAXI Forward! The album is made up of music that was recorded over 30 years ago in the 1970s! This awesome company is also pitching Robert’s tracks to a bunch of Music Licensing opportunities––all of this from just one TAXI Forward!
“TAXI is an amazing opportunity for a writer/producer,” Robert says. “Even though no one wants a ‘return’ and assumes the screeners are out of their minds for rejecting their material, sometimes there's jewels of insight in the comments that can really lead to improving one's work.” Congratulations on the release, Robert! We can’t wait for the next update!
Mark Zubek – Toronto, ON
TAXI Member Mark Zubek been making music professionally for 31 years ... now he spends his days co-writing and producing tracks with various singers and artists. “I have a big catalog,” Mark explains, “and have licensed over 80 songs in TV shows, movies, and commercials all on my own up until now...”
“I finally decided to join TAXI this past July at 43 years oldand holy smokes, I’m kicking myself that I waited that long!” Within the first four months of his membership, Mark got his first deal with a Music Publisher through a TAXI Forward––receiving $5,600 upfront upon signing 16 of his tracks! “My membership and all my submissions have paid for themselves six TIMES OVER in the first four months! I'm now seven months into my first year with TAXI and I've received 65 Forwards so far, and two big deals,” Mark says.
Mark says he’s “grateful to all the fine folks at TAXI for the invaluable connections they provide indie artists. THANK YOU, TAXI!”
Dexter Lee Moore – Blue Bay, Australia
You never know when something you created years ago might find success in the present day. TAXI Member Dexter Lee Moore found this out first-hand when an album he recorded back in the 1970s was signed to an incredible Music Publisher through a TAXI Forward! “It is an album of nine of my songs written and recorded just before I sold or gave away everything I had except a bag and a guitar and hit the roads,” Dexter explains.
What’s even more exciting is that the company is interested in signing even more of Dexter’s vintage tracks and is currently going through his extensive catalog. Dexter says that he feels so “inspired and excited as to what we work to achieve together.” And he’s only been a member for a few months! We can’t wait to see what other success unfold!