Dear Michael,

I thought TAXI was a scam operation until recently. I used to get so angry at your screeners. I would get the critiques and be sure that nobody was even listening to my music. How could they be listening and not have loved my songs? Each of them was such a labor of love for me to write because they came from very personal places. I used my songs to express feelings that I could never be brave enough to talk to anybody about in person.

Honestly, I thought TAXI was some sort of rip-off and I was going to ask for my money back. That was my bruised ego talking, and I'm glad I didn't listen to it.

Not long ago, I got a critique from one of your listening staff that changed everything. The reviewer wrote these words in one of the comment boxes. "Jody, it is really easy to see and hear how much of YOU goes into each of your songs. I've screened them before. Can you try to make your lyrics much more about the listener's life, instead of your life? People don't care nearly as much about you as they care about themselves. Use your experiences to write songs about them, so they can relate to them better."

As if some switch was flicked and a light came on, I could for the first time clearly see that about every one of my songs! They were all much too personal. Nobody wants to hear about somebody else's problems or feelings. They want to hear songs that are talking about theirs.

Michael, I just wanted to let you know that without TAXI, I would have kept writing songs that only I could relate to for potentially (probably) for the rest of my life. I never would have gotten anywhere with my dream career. Because of one screener's honesty my songs have become so much better, almost overnight. I am now getting about a third of them forwarded.

If there are others out there who think TAXI is some sort of scam that just takes money from delusional songwriters, they need to re-think their approach and check their ego at the door. I've now gone back and re-read all of my critique sheets from my first ten months with TAXI. Now that I'm not reading them through my ego, but looking at them as help from some really honest and objective experts, the amount of great information is almost overwhelming. It's like getting a PhD in songwriting without leaving home.

Thank you Michael, TAXI, and especially your A&R staff. They are no longer my enemy. They are now my trusted friends and I can't wait to hear from them.

Gratefully,
Jody Royster

Dear Jody,

We get letters like this pretty frequently, but I printed your because it says it best. So much of TAXI's value is the objectivity of the screeners. If you could meet each of them, you'd see that they really care about musicians. Most of them ARE musicians, just with years of real, in-the-trenches professional experience under their belts. They want to find hits. They want to help you write hits. They get genuinely excited when they read letters like yours. We tape them to the fridge in the kitchen at the office so they can read them while sipping their coffee.

Jody, I'm sure I speak on behalf of all of us under the TAXI roof when I say that we couldn't be happier that the light has been turned on for you.

Thank you!

Michael,

Last year at the Road Rally, you mentioned that TAXI was working on a remodel of your Web site. What's taking so long? I'm getting tired of looking at those same people on the home page!

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

You might want to create a new email address that we don't have in our database next time you try to send an anonymous email ;-) It's okay, you're right about the Web site though. It's getting a little long in the tooth.

We've been working for more than a year now to change MUCH more than just the graphic look of the Web site. We're building a pretty radical overhaul of our whole system, and it's kind of like hiring a contractor to remodel your kitchen. "No problem buddy, we can reface the cabinets, put some granite on the counters, it'll cost $20,000 and we'll have it done in a month." It always takes much longer and costs much more.

I will say that it's going to be AWESOME when it's done. We had an all day meeting last Saturday with three members, four programmers, and several staffers. The members were all liking what they were seeing and hearing.

I can't give away any significant hints here, but I think the industry and our members will find the new stuff to be extremely useful. We're cranking on it, and hopefully you'll be as excited as we are when it's done.

Warm regards,
Michael