Dear Mr. Laskow,

It is okay to print this e-mail in your newsletter, but please don't use my name. I'm embarrassed.

I want to apologize for giving your company a bad name on a blog post a couple of years ago and calling TAXI a "scam." I was frustrated that my music wasn't getting sent to any companies and I blamed your screeners for that.

In my heart, I knew that my music was just okay, but I hoped for a magic bullet and dreamed that TAXI would be that for me. It was an unfair and unrealistic expectation for me to lay on your doorstep. It was more unfair to call TAXI A&R a scam in a public place.

I have stayed on your e-mail list and I am lurking on your forum quite often. The zeal that you have for independent music is obvious and the work you do on behalf of musicians is tireless. I see deal after deal and TV placement after placement, but I also see more people like me calling TAXI music a scam on the Internet. I suspect that those people are just like me... afraid to admit that their music is not good enough.

I hope you will print my letter so other people who wish to take out their own frustrations on you and your company will think twice before they act in haste as I did. I hope you will let me come back to TAXI and become a proud member again. Thank you for your considerations and hard work on behalf of struggling musicians everywhere.

Name withheld by request

Dear name withheld,

Your honesty and courage are deeply appreciated. I would be honored to have you back as a TAXI member. I understand that people get very frustrated when a pitch of theirs doesn't get forwarded by our A&R staff.

What people often don't realize is that the people listening here are musicians themselves and they are trying to give you the tools to get you into the real music industry, not keep you out. I'm calling you on the phone right now, and thank you for your honesty.

Sincerely,
Michael

Dear TAXI,

I wanted to write a quick note of thanks to you and the screeners concerning some instrumental listings from the past 2 months. I was the one who requested a custom critique for a song not forwarded to one of the listings (while another of mine was forwarded) a week or two ago - you and I ended up in an e-mail conversation about it last week.

I wanted to send a follow-up note and again say thank you for taking the time to explain things to me and also to say thanks to the screeners for sticking to their standards and being damn good at what they do. Michael's article about "Good VS Great," in this month's newsletter opened my eyes even more.

These particular opportunities mean a lot to me - probably more than any others I've submitted to or even the fantastic deals I've landed so far. The rejections of certain songs I felt strongly about affected me more than I was prepared for. For the first time since I joined (December 2004), I think I lost perspective (now regained thanks to you, Michael and the screeners). I needed those rejections. Some my stuff was just not up to par and I needed to know that.

In my career, I don't want a hand out, I never have - I want to become so good that I can't be ignored. That's my goal, that is what I'm actively seeking. The screeners are helping me get there, pushing me to get better at this and for that I will be forever grateful. As painful as it was, it was what I needed. Sounds rather silly considering I was forwarded to every opportunity I tried for — HA! but some of the songs I sent that weren't forwarded I thought were the strongest ones. That was a hard lesson at a number of levels. But the screeners were right, I was wrong.

To be "on the cusp" like that, with only 1/2 my stuff getting thru at first, that was a massive eye-opener. But I really am grateful - thank you to all the screeners! They are making me get this 100% right. This is where I'm going, I'm not going to stop and I'm grateful for the help getting there. I hope you all don't get tired of hearing thank you! 'Cause I have to say it — Thank you, thank you, thank you — even for when screeners say no.

Sincerely,
Chris Ball
www.chrisballonline.com

Dear Chris,

Thanks for taking that article to heart. I'm familiar with your music and I'm proud to have you as a TAXI member. You have a bright future ahead of you!

Continued success,
Michael

Dear Michael,

Although I have never written to you before, I appreciate your care for your clients and members. This will be my third year being with TAXI, and for me the hardest thing to overcome has been the learning of all the recording "lingo", ins and outs. I have been relying on a production company to produce, and in the frustration of not getting the promised professional application to music projects needed, I have been forcing myself into the scary world of home recording.

I continue to work with the tunes that I have submitted to TAXI listings and/or critiques, and as the recommendations come in, I try to fulfill them. It is an uphill battle though as I learn what the terminology means and more complexly, how to apply it, and lately I have been making some encouraging breakthroughs, that I would have considered out of my league in the past. In other words, when I was young and fair (well, maybe dark haired, and we can skip the young part) I might have had a more swift entry into the computer world, but today I must say that I am content to work under this grey head that is slowly becoming my norm.

So my advice to all you geriatric musicians out there who are wandering in cyberspace, don't get discouraged, relax, take a deep breath, take it ONE STEP AT A TIME, let TAXI do what they do best, and before you know it you will be running!!! Thanks Michael for eating all of those noodles for us!

Sincerely,
Diane Meloche

Dear Diane,

Your advice is true, even if you're not "geriatric." Thanks for working so hard and understanding that success in the music business rarely comes overnight. My experience is that the last person standing is the one who wins the day.

Thank you,
Michael