Product Description

In the music business, the key to success lies in knowing how to protect yourself. To do that, you need the best and most up-to-date advice available. Whether you want a career as a performer, writer or executive, Donald Passman's comprehensive guide to the legal and financial aspects of the business is an indispensable tool. This fourth edition is packed with vital information on such subjects as record contracts, managers, music publishing, touring, fees, etc. There are also brand new chapters on the technological advances that are reshaping the business, and how novices and experts alike should manage such changes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #267720 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

About the Author
Donald Passman is a graduate of the University of Texas and Harvard Law School. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and four children and practices law with the Beverly Hills firm of Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown, Inc. Passman has specialized intensively in the music business for more than twenty-five years, and is frequently cited as one of the most influential people in the entertainment industry. His clients include major entertainers (R.E.M., Tiina Turner, and Bryan Adams to name a few), publishers, record companies, songwriters, industry executives, film companies, managers, producers, and other participants in the music industry.

Customer Reviews

A valuable resource, can't recommend it highly enough.
This book has been invaluable in my study of the music business. It's easy to digest, thanks to the author's light-hearted and good-humoured approach, to even the most complex of issues. Things are broken down into easy-to-understand sections, and you are given the option of covering the basics and moving on, or exploring issues in a greater depth with extended reading sections. This book is a must for anyone studying music, or interested in becoming successful in any of the four key theatres of the industry.

The most informative book I've read
I've read quite a few books on the music industry but this is the only one which actually gives an in depth knowledge of how
you approach the business. It caters for both U.S. and U.K. citizens so nothings mixed up and the invaluable advice given by
donald passman isn't wrapped up in complex jargon.

Very few books merit the noun 'bible', this is one...
As an independent label-owner the murky and confusing world of 'cross-collateralization', 'controlled composition' and 'mechanical royalties' has perplexed me for years. Finding your way through the minefield that is the 'music industry' is a difficult task which requires patience, a willingness to ask questions and, perhaps most importantly, the stubborness not to give up. What if there were a book that could guide you through this maze of complexity?

Passman's book is that guide. It explains everything you need to know in easy-to-understand English in an often humorous tone. Clearly unravelling often complex concepts, Passman takes a step-by-step approach through every aspect of the music business covering everything from royalties (How much will I get paid?) to rights (Who owns the recording?) in a manner that leaves no room for doubt.

Buy this book, it will help you make sense of one of the most jargon-filled industries in the world, you'll enjoy reading it and you'll find yourself returning to it again and again.