Recording - November 2012 - 51

NOVEMBER 2012 TAXI Road Rally 2011

Improve Your Odds by Making Better Pitches, Part 3
Moderated by Michael Laskow
people mentioned in the listing. The rest of the listing she didn’t even refer to. And, in fact, the rest of the listing described the type of music: mid-tempo with propulsive drums, ambience and big pads and lots of depth. It really described what they were looking for. And I had no idea of what era of Patrick O’Hearn she was listening to, but it didn’t sound anything like what the description was in the listing. A lot of times you’ll get plenty of hints. Everything in the listing should dovetail. You should be seeing a genre, a la artists, and then a short description that just points up the high points of the style or what the listing is looking for. In some of those special emails that you get with industry listings that are quick turnarounds, those are very descriptive. If it says mellow, acoustic instruments will probably work best for you. Try mellow acoustic instruments, you know? I get emails from people saying, “Well, it said that it was just suggested.” I think one listing said, “The Rock world is definitely preferred here.” The member’s email said in response, “Well, you didn’t say you had to send in something in the Rock world.” If you start splitting those hairs so that you can submit something you want to submit, then you’re probably in trouble. So that’s why the listings have the descriptions that they do—to try to guide you toward the best possible chance of getting your music forwarded, of getting something close to what they’re looking for. And that to me would be the best advice I can give. Read carefully and try to submit accordingly. Remember the end user. Kevin brought this up a little bit earlier when he said that they have a use for this, and the TAXI listing many times will describe that use. “It’s a film/TV publisher, it’s a Continued on page 52
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Robin Frederick

Kevin Houlihan

Karl Louis

Robin Frederick is the author of the best-selling songwriting books Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting and Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV. She’s a former Director of A&R for Rhino Records, executive producer of over 60 albums, and an in-demand lecturer on the music industry. She has written and produced hundreds of songs for television, records, theater, and audio products. Currently, she oversees the A&R/Screener Team at TAXI. We know her best as the Queen of Screen! Please give it up for Robin Frederick! Kevin Houlihan was signed as an artist and songwriter to MCA Records/Universal Music Publishing Group in his early twenties. He’s done everything from being a touring musician to music coordination for major studio films like The Love Guru, All About Steve, and Gracie. His own music has been licensed for feature films including Firehouse Dog, Little Manhattan, and Gossip, as well as several TV shows including Army Wives and The League. Kevin continues to be active as a film music coordinator, as an artist, and as a producer. I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that Kevin has become a very valuable member of TAXI’s A&R team during the last year. It’s my great pleasure to introduce you to one of the truly good guys, Mr. Kevin Houlihan! Karl Louis is the former A&R and Promotions rep for Limp Bizkit at Flip Records. He also served as a manager at Warren Entner Manage-

ment whose clients included Deftones, Faith No More, Rage Against the Machine, and many more. Karl worked in the Promotions Department at KROQ-FM and was a writer and marketing rep for the leading trade publication HITS Magazine. He also was the Creator and Writer of the A&R column for the industry trade magazine The Album Network. Karl has shopped many label, publishing and/or management deals for artists such as Matchbox Twenty, Creed, the Ataris, Test Your Reflex, Sixpence None the Richer, Hoobastank, Firekills, Collective Soul, Weezer, and many more. He currently teaches Personal Management courses at Musician’s Institute and he’s been an integral and much appreciated part of the TAXI A&R staff. He also owns and operates his own management and development consulting business, Moral Compass Management, and he’s one of the most encyclopedic people I’ve ever met when it comes to anything music related, please give a warm welcome to Mr. Karl Louis! Robin, how would you recommend that these folks in the audience look at a TAXI listing before they hit the send button on their submission? Robin: Read the whole listing. Be sure that you read the entire listing. I had somebody just the other day that was submitting on a New Age listing, which is an area that I know well. Her track wasn’t forwarded by our A&R person, and the member said, “But somebody told me I sound like Patrick O’Hearn,” who is one of the three

Recording - November 2012

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