Expert: Daniel Johnson - 7/8/2009

Question
hey Daniel my name is Beth i have been playing the guitar since i was 5 and i am now 13 i also write songs and play them i am working on a piece now and i think its my best yet, and i was wondering how i would get it out there music is my life and i want my music to be a part of other peoples lives as well please help me

Answer
Beth,

Thanks for your question. These days most artists and record companies will not accept unsolicited material (your songs). One way around that is if you know someone, i.e. a recording artist or an artist's producer, manager, lawyer, mother or other person who is close to the artist.

Most people don't have this kind of connection and even if they do have a connection with one artist, that only helps them with songs that are appropriate for that one artist.  

I use a service called Taxi, which is the only such service I know of.  Taxi serves as the middle man between you and the parties who are looking for new songs.  Record companies, music libraries and others tell Taxi what types of songs they are looking for at the moment.  Taxi compiles these into a list they update and send to members twice a month.

Anyone can view the list, but only Taxi members can submit their songs.  If you find a listing that matches one of your songs, you can submit it to Taxi for $5.  Taxi's 'screeners' will listen to your song and send you a critique.  If they feel it's appropriate, they forward it to the record company.  From that point on, Taxi is out of the loop.  No matter what happens next, Taxi gets no money.  If your song is forwarded, Taxi then reveals who the lister is and you may contact them.  They may or may not like your song.  If they like it, it's up to you to work out a deal with them.

You pay a yearly fee to be a Taxi member, plu $5 for every submission.  This is totally legitimate.  Taxi has been around for years.  Check out their web site for more details.  www.taxi.com

If you do decide to join, please tell them I sent you.

Also, check out my songwriter blog at http://songwriterstipjar.wordpress.com

Good luck,

Dan Johnson