May 23rd, 2007
Book Club: All You Need to Know About the Music Business (your thoughts)
Back in March, I had announced our little informal book club and had mentioned that I was reading “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” by Donald Passman
I think that the book is a valuable resource for any band or label as it covers a lot of ground in great detail. You should reserve space on your bookshelf for “All You Need to Know…” as I can see needing to refer to it from time to time. The book was written with mostly bands in mind, but whether you plan to run a label, book bands, or manage them, I recommend that you pick up this book. Understanding the information in this book can be helpful no matter what realm you are involved in. I even learned a few things with regards to how majors approach royalties and how acts handle publishing.
Although I consider this book required reading, I do have some criticisms. One, the music industry is always changing and even with this newest edition, there are so many things not covered. No fault to the author, but the book only touches upon digital distribution models and the current state of the music industry. Two, and probably my biggest gripe is that the book primarily deals with major label thinking and most bands are going to get distorted images into their heads about it all works. The many examples in the book involve major label budgets and royalty handling and honestly, this is not how many indies handle things.
I guess in recommending this book, understand that Majors and Indies are like night and day and you are only getting part of the story with this book.
What are your thoughts?
I will be announcing another book soon so if you have some suggestions let me know. I am leaning towards making “The Dip” by Seth Godin
Written by Virgil Dickerson
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On May 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Chris Vandeviver said:
This book is a wealth of knowledge, but I do agree that the information provided is for the major label model that is selling a ridiculous amount of records. As I read it, I just kept thinking to myself “none of this really pertains to myself or the bands/labels I like”. But it’s nice to know nonetheless.
On May 23rd, 2007 at 11:56 am
nick said:
I bought this book a year or so before I entered the industry and it really gives a good grounding. It’s major label focus aside, it covers all the basics and I’m constantly recommending it to band/friends etc. I think the simple fact that if I’ve a basic industry question I can refer to it is a good sign.
The trouble with it being out of date is very true for this title and most in the genre. Books like Steve Gordon’s “The Future of the Music Buesiness” etc get old VERY quickly and a quick glance at the copyright (2005, in this case) makes it hard to find any of the information credible or relevant.
That being said, it’s important to know where the industry was, as well as where it’s going, and in my opinion there’s no better history lesson than “All You Need To Know…”
My understanding is that this is the case with most Marketing books (and if some are to believed, labels are just becoming brand marketing companies), so I’ll be interestd to read “The Dip”…
On May 23rd, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Calvin Locklear said:
You’re right about the structure of the examples.
It would be nice if you were an artist debating whether to take an $80k or a $120k advance, but thats just not in the realm of possibility for 99% of those seeking record deals.
Also, the book puts a lot of emphasis on selecting the right team and assumes that there are multiple managers and attorneys beating down your door to represent you. I’ve had a hard time just finding names of people who work in those fields in Dtown.
It would be nice if the book had real world examples for those in the DIY/Indie world. Especially since I would imagine that is where the majority of artists spend their time!
On May 23rd, 2007 at 9:02 pm
TDRmike said:
Great book! You posted about this a few months ago and I decided to pick it up. I’ve definitely learned a bunch of stuff since reading it through.
On May 24th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
chris hanaka said:
you kind of have to read ‘all you need to know’ just because there IS so much information in it–basically it provides all the ground rules, however, its now in its nth edition and it seems the music law passman knows by heart is losing its relevancy, though that’s not to say that he is… i read ‘the dip’ as well and thought it was great, probably in large part because i quit my job in the music industry about a week before it was released and found myself feeling incredibly justified
all the best