The complete idiots guide to the music business

[drummingman]

This book was published in 2010. Being all that has happened in the music industry is this book still relevant? I want to know before I buy it.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiot.../dp/1615640134

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

What monumental changes have occured in the last two years that would make this book so redundant?

You're forking out $18 for a book mate.....not a couple of hundred thousand on an investment portfolio. What could it possibly hurt just to buy the thing and find out?

[Anthony Amodeo]

is an idiots guide to anything ever relevant?

curious as to why you would want to learn any of this from a book.

just go live it and you will find that what you experience will not be anything you could have read in a book besides some basic common sense items

[drummingman]

I believe in reading and studying anything that will help me in my career endeavors. This is always the smart choice when wanting to learn about anything.

Gold, the music industry has been in a big state of flux for awhile now. I don't want to waste $18 on a book that's obsolete when I could spent it on one that's not.

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

Originally Posted by drummingman

Gold, the music industry has been in a big state of flux for awhile now. I don't want to waste $18 on a book that's obsolete when I could spent it on one that's not.

For sure.....but not a state of flux that wasn't happening two years ago. A book from the 80's...even 90's will no doubt find that times may have moved away from it. But from a book written in 2010 is still gonna have lot of info that's still more than relevant in 2012.....unless it's a computer or cell phone manual. :-)

[bermuda]

The problem with entertainment industry books is that, even if they're accurate, they possess little value in terms of career advancement. There are no rules, so there's no career path that can be followed. A strategy that worked for one band may be useless for all others, and a pitfall to avoid may work well in some cases. Basically, bands and players have to wing it.

Bermuda

[Anthony Amodeo]

Originally Posted by bermuda

The problem with entertainment industry books is that, even if they're accurate, they possess little value in terms of career advancement. There are no rules, so there's no career path that can be followed.

Bermuda

the exact point I was trying to make

thank you Jon for being much better with words than I

:)

[drummingman]

Originally Posted by bermuda

The problem with entertainment industry books is that, even if they're accurate, they possess little value in terms of career advancement. There are no rules, so there's no career path that can be followed. A strategy that worked for one band may be useless for all others, and a pitfall to avoid may work well in some cases. Basically, bands and players have to wing it.

Bermuda

I feel what your saying for sure. But what I want to get up on is things like contract info, marketing, and things of that nature. I'm not looking so much for an exact path to success in a book.

I did read a great book called "Tour Smart" that really helped my understanding of booking successful tours. I learned things in that book that I was unaware of that I can now keep a heads up for. I'm sure having this knowledge will greatly help me in the future.

I read about artists getting burned and making mistakes all the time in the music business. I want to learn as much as I can to avoid any pitfalls I can. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of "on the job training", but I want to learn as much as I can through study as possible.

[mikeyhanson]

If it's only 18 bucks and you really want it that bad, buy it. Just know that real world things happen that a book like that will never cover. If you can take a look at it before you buy, see what it's like and what kind of information it's giving you.
Doubtless that the longer time goes the more outdated a book like that is going to get.

[Soupy]

Get one of the used copies from Amazon and you'll be out less money.

[73Rogers]

Go to your local library and ask if they can get it for you through an interlibrary loan.

Another good read about the music / entertainment biz -
Fortune's Fool: Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Warner Music, and an Industry in Crisis
by Fred Goodman

[toddbishop]

It's probably not bad-- the few books I've seen from that series (and the "... for Dummies" series, too) were surprisingly pretty good, if you don't mind paying for the publishers to insult you with the title of their series. Don't expect it to illustrate a career path for you, but it's good to know how the varieties of royalties work, among other things. You might also try All You Need To Know About The Music Business by Passman.

[The Old Hyde]

I've never read it but it may give insight to things you didn't know about in the industry. While there is no clear path for every band/player as Bermuda states, it could'nt hurt for the price.