Building a Successful 21st Century Music Career: Suggested Further Reading

These books are mentioned in Building a Successful 21st Century Music Career. From time to time I will add other books which are not mentioned but may be useful.

The Daily Adventures of Mixerman

(ISBN: 978-0879309459) by Mixerman

"On Monday July 27, I begin a new project. I will be recording an album of a band for a very famous Producer. The band is relatively unknown other than within the Record Industry which, for the most part, is currently filled with bitter losers of the biggest bidding war in the history of the music business. . . ." So says Mixerman as he starts his personal diary of the disastrous recording sessions.

If you're looking for an insight into the ways that majors can work and how losing control can mess you up, then I suggest you check out this book: a hilarious, and unfortunately for the band, apparently true tale, recounting the story of a newly signed band recording their first album.

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All You Need to Know About the Music Business

(ISBN: 978-0743293181) by Donald S Passman

Donald Passman is an LA based lawyer who specializes in the entertainment industry.

This book may contain all you need to know from a business perspective. It gets into the detail of the deals, explaining the nuances of many arrangements in a highly practical manner.

This link is to the most recent edition of the book which is presently only available in hardback.

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Music: The Business - the essential guide to the law and the deals

(ISBN: 978-1852272593) by Ann Harrison

Ann Harrison is a London based lawyer who runs her own practice specializing in the entertainment industry.

As the title suggests, the book is a guide to the law relating to the music business. It gives a lot of very practical advice (including an indication of the financial expectations you could have from a wide range of deals). The book has a detailed legal grounding balancing practical advice with a wide range of commentary on case law.

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Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting

(ISBN: 978-0786884889) by Jimmy Webb

Jimmy Webb is the songwriter behind MacArthur Park, Highwayman, Up Up and Away, Galveston, and Wichita Lineman, among others. This book gives an insight into his writing process.

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Ten Easy Pieces

by Jimmy Webb

While not a book, you might want to check out this CD by Jimmy Webb, the songwriter and author of Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting. Several of the songs discussed in the book are featured on the CD on which Jimmy performs a number of his best known songs.

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The Future of Music - Manifesto for the Digital Music Revolution

(ISBN: 978-0876390597) by Duvid Kusek and Gerd Leonhard

Kusek and Leonhard give their views about the future of the music industry as well as discussing some of the problems they perceive with the current state of the industry.

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