Taxi Member Dean Krippaehne Hits Big With “Do Your Thing”

Dreams are never realized unless steps are taken to pursue them. That’s been the premise of TAXI, the world’s leading independent A&R Company, for almost two decades.  CEO Michael Laskow began TAXI in a small apartment in 1992, and his own dream to turn TAXI into a successful company has been driven by the success of the company’s members. 

And now Laskow and TAXI have another huge success story on its hands.  Member Dean Krippaehne landed a publishing deal through TAXI, and Universal recording artist Stefanie Heinzmann cut one of his tracks.  What’s more, the album with Dean’s song, “Do Your Thing,” has debuted at #8 on Billboard’s European Top 100, including #1 in Switzerland, #3 in Germany and #3 in Austria.

Dean’s success did not occur overnight.  In fact, he’s been a TAXI member for years, and the Seattle musician wondered if he should just start putting his musical resources and efforts into something else.  But he stuck with TAXI, in part because of Laskow’s newsletter articles that encourage his members to be the best they can at their craft.  “I started submitting tunes on a more regular basis and reading the critiques more carefully,” Dean said recently on a post on the TAXI website’s message boards.  “I began to study the nuances of popular songwriting and upgraded my gear.” 

A few forwards later, publishers that specialize in the film/TV placements began contacting Dean and he signed a total of eight deals for film/TV.  The ASCAP royalties started coming in, as a result of several network TV music placements from those deals.  And then it happened.  A Canadian publisher, ETNC, that had been sent some of Dean’s work by TAXI called and signed a deal for some of the pop/soul songs in his catalog.  One of those songs, “Do Your Thing,” was recorded by Universal artist Stefanie Heinzmann from Germany.  Heinzmann’s album was released on March 7 and debuted at #8 on Billboard’s European Top 100, including #1 in Switzerland.  “I went online and printed out the charts, smiled and then high-fived the air,” says Dean.  “I realized then that I owe a great deal of my success to TAXI and that I should share my story with other TAXI members to encourage them to keep at it.”

To read more about Dean’s success, read his post on TAXI’s website here. 

About TAXI
Since 1992, TAXI has helped independent artists, bands, songwriters and composers get their music heard by high-level executives at major record labels, indie labels, publishers, ad agencies, video game companies and music supervisors working on film and TV projects. As the world’s leading independent A&R company, TAXI is responsible for thousands of musicians signing deals, many of which have resulted in hit records and high-profile media placements.  For more information, please visit www.taxi.com