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By Donald S. Passman |
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This review refers to the first
edition of this book. I had the pleasure of reviewing the very first edition of this book. I immediately welcomed its casual presentation and focus on the music business from an artist's point of view. Part I, for example, is devoted to the importance of assembling a team of advisors; namely, personal and business managers as well as attorneys and agents. |
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| The author carefully walks the reader through complicated subjects like royalties -- record, mechanical and performance -- cross collateralization and other tricks of the trade. Basically, it demystifies a lot of terms, concepts and business practices that even people who are already in the industry might not fully understand (even though they act like they do). A successful producer I know who owns a substantial music publishing company confided that he studied the book to enhance his deal-making prowess. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| And I can see why. The author provides many examples of how some of these contract clauses play themselves out. For example, if your record contract says that you are getting a royalty of 10%, what does that really mean in dollars and cents? How much money are you really likely to earn? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Well, for those of you who never cared much for math, you may find yourself suddenly dusting off the old calculator. The book presents many examples that you can work through, and you can learn a lot more from that than from a clause-reading orgy. Better to leave that to your attorney anyway. As if that isn't enough, there are flow charts and quizzes to make sure it's all sinking in. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finally, the author reminds the reader that it all isn't just about how many points one is getting in the record deal. The reader is guided through other profitable activities, like touring, merchandising and the movie business. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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~Richard P. Dieguez, Esq. |
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This review refers to the fourth
edition of this book. Through 'All You Need To Know About The Music Business', Donald Passman tackles numerous tough issues that the successful musician must understand. This includes explanation of complicated matters such as the computation of royalties and copyright issues. While these topics obviously require a level of concentration by the reader, they are made easier to read by Passman's style of writing. |
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| Throughout the book he uses a friendly tone peppered with colorful language and anecdotes. I found that this makes the information much more accessible to the reader. However, while the information is light in tone, it never lacks depth. I never left a topic feeling that it had been over-simplified or that I had been left in the dark in any way. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passman constantly bears his reader in mind. For example, he recognizes that different readers have different attention spans, so he provides alternative paths that you can take through the book. He understands that not every reader is prepared to cover every page from the front to the back of the book, so he provides a fast-track option which makes sure you will still cover the essentials. On the other hand, if you want to end up with an expert level of knowledge, the book is certainly readable throughout. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Circle posted a review of the very first edition of this book, so I was looking to see how the fourth edition had improved on its predecessors. As you would expect from a book on the music industry, Passman addresses the issue of new technology. As he notes, this area of the music industry is advancing so rapidly that the information he includes in the book was probably out of date by the time of his writing it, never mind the time of publication! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nonetheless, this was one of the most interesting parts of the book for me. Although it may have been outdated by the time I read it, the book touches on some key issues that will always come up with a discussion of music technology. His discussion of such matters as web casting and legal developments such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act were informative, and will always be useful as a source of background information on this topic. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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~Sarah Smith |
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