Indie Band Want Ads at TAXI, Artist A&R Service

TAXI Unsigned Band A&R ServiceTAXI, in its own words, "Helps unsigned bands, artists, and songwriters get record deals, publishing deals, and placement in films and TV Shows." Check out one of several rock band "want ads" (thanks to Mark at the Rock and Roll Report for pointing this out):

ALTERNATIVE ROCK BANDS that are unique, have great songs and star quality, wanted by A&R Executive of a Major Label. He did not specify a la's because he said he doesn't want "the next___". Your sound must be innovative and catching. Please submit two to three songs online or per CD/cassette, include lyric sheets, photo and bio. All submissions will be screened and critiqued by TAXI and must be received no later than February 22, 2005. - TAXI Industry Listings

That gives you four days to pump out a PR kit! Fire up that home recording studio.

Does the service work? There are several success stories listed on the site. Some of these involve songwriters that recorded songs in home recording studios, which is nice to know. But I've also read posts in home recording studio forums by musicians saying the service failed to produce any leads for them. (Of course, it's tough to say whether those failures are results of poor service, or just of music that sucks.)

Another importnat point to consider, TAXI isn't free. Several membership plans are available: 1 year ($299.95), 2 years ($499.95), and 3 years ($599.95). That's a bit steep for your average home recording musician.

If you do think about joining, be sure you have an EP or album you've proud of, and that you've solicited unbiased feedback for, to make sure you can make the best of the time and attention you're paying for. Creating in a home recording studio bubble can make you miss something a pair of fresh ears won't.

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Comments

I'm a full-time music producer. I joined TAXI and received very generic "your lyrics need more focus" kind of critiques, and was "forwarded" to online music licensing places I could have submitted my work to directly. In my opinion, there are much better uses for the initial $299 annual fee plus the $5 per song submission fees. How about a couple of nice mics, or some gas for the van? Just two cents worth of advice from someone who's "been there, done that."

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