An easy-to-digest overview of the many free and low-cost ways independent musicians, managers and promoters can harness the Internet to gain widespread exposure, attract more fans, and make money with their music. Veteran author, speaker and teacher Bob Baker reveals guerrilla marketing tactics to build an effective artist website, make the most of social media sites, and use the latest digital music promotion tools. From Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to blogs, podcasts and music sales widgets ... it's all covered here.

How to run an independent record label for the masters.

Tony Wilson was the co-founder of Factory Records and The Hacienda, he kick-started the careers of Joy Division, Happy Mondays, and New Order, he put the Sex Pistols on television for the first time and was the inspiration behind the film "24 Hour Party People." From his unique childhood growing up with a gay father and a domineering mother to his tragically early death in 2007 after battling the NHS for a drug that could prolong his life, David Nolan investigates the lives and times of the man they called "Mr. Manchester." Drawing on nearly 50 interviews with musicians, DJs, writers, actors, family, and friends--including Wilson's partner of 17 years Yvette Livesey, "You're Entitled To An Opinion . . ." paints a picture of a unique, driven, and chaotic man whose inspiration and influence is still being felt today across the worlds of music and television.

Tens of thousands of songs are needed each year for TV, movies, and commercials. The songwriting techniques and marketing tips in this book will show you how to craft your music and lyrics to give the Film and TV industry what it needs, make broadcast quality recordings, and pitch your songs to today's fastest growing and largest market for music. You'll learn: 16 secrets to writing powerful lyrics that will work in hundreds of scenes, 10 techniques for creating energy, mood, and atmosphere in your songs, 21 strategies for making broadcast quality recordings on a budget, 17 Shortcuts that help you lay the business groundwork and start pitching your songs, plus 50 more Shortcuts, including an in-depth look at the Top Ten ways songs are used in Film and TV, tips on writing for Film and TV musicals, and exclusive interviews with top music supervisors and buyers.

YOUR TALENT IS JUST THE BEGINNING Avoid common mistakes and make the most of your opportunities. From basic industry concepts to the ministry skills so necessary in Gospel music, industry veteran Monica Coates discusses it all honestly and with an eye toward practical application. If you are considering a career in Gospel music as an artist or industry executive, this book is for you. Monica Coates is a veteran of the Gospel music industry with experience in artist management, publicity, radio promotions and A&R. Over the course of her diverse career, she has worked at the top Gospel labels---EMI Gospel and Verity---and with a variety of artists, including Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker and Joann Rosario.

This book shows you in easy, step by step format, how to profitably sell your own recordings online. You'll read in-depth interviews, tips and tricks from independent musicians who have made thousands of dollars selling their music from home Includes up to date lists and websites where you can promote your music for free, plus a bonus user guide on setting up your own home recording studio. REVIEWS: From The Critics Booknews Shows how to make money selling one's own music on the Internet, with advice on recording and selling music from home, designing a music sales Web site, becoming a guerilla music publicist, forming an online record label, and getting free publicity from TV, radio, print, and Internet media. Also gives instructions for setting up a home-based digital music studio. Appendixes list merchant account sources, music publications, online music sites, and indie music organizations, and explain Usenet, search engine placement, writing press releases, and Internet radio. The author is a music marketing consultant. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) (Barnes & Noble) The Midwest Book Review Written by a recognized expert in online music marketing, Mark Curran's Sell Your Music: How To Profitably Sell Your Own Recordings Online is a comprehensive, user-friendly, step by step guide to using the Internet in order to make money from your own music. Sell Your Music contains extensive interviews with independent musicians who have made thousands of dollars, as well as tips, tricks, and techniques to reaching your target market and maximizing your profits while minimizing hassle. Highly recommended for all aspiring performers whether they are soloists or band members. (Midwest Book Review) Customer Reviews "Extremely Useful Book This book doesn't beat around the bush it gets right down to brass tacks of selling your own music over the internet. Curran covers all the bases, and gives detailed instructions, with plenty of diagrams. Easy to read, a great book." - Ramsay Hogan, a musician from Rhode Island, June 11, 2003 (Barnes & Noble) "This is a fantastic book I would recommend to any level of musician." - Faith Rivera, Recording Artist, Emmy & Grammy Award Nominee (Amazon) "Two thumbs up on an incredible book. Curran is a music marketing genius." - Gary Roman, Rock Group Romulus (Baker & Taylor) - "Curran leaves no stone unturned in his methodology for finding and marketing to an online audience" - Jeffrey Coronado - Alternative Music Press

A comprehensive guide to getting the best paying gigs for musicians and singers, from local to international stages - with or without an agent A music business veteran gives the inside track to creating a profitable career performing music from local clubs to international cruise ships. This new updated edition includes interviews with successful musicians and entertainment directors who share their secrets in landing the best paying gigs. Also includes directories of resources for further research.

Unquestionably the best book ever written on finding gigs - Michelle W. Benton, Warner-Chappel Music

If you want to make it as a gigging musician, this book is one of the best you ll find -Michael A. Lyons Sony Records

A clear and concise manual on finding and making gigs for yourself in any market - Arcy Donahue, CBS Records

For those interested in starting their own label, Here Come the Regulars will be the dog-eared, underlined bible on the night stand. Ian Anderson started recording music when he was 13 and launched his own successful record label, Afternoon Records, when he was just 18. Now this wunderkind of the music scene has written the ultimate guide for all those aspiring to a career in the record industry. His advice ranges from creating a label's image to managing its budget and pays particular attention to blogging culture and being in the now'.'

"Matt has always offered great insight when it comes to artist development. We've had many long conversations about what the right move is for many of my acts." - Nick Storch, The Agency Group "Matt understands it all. My work experiences with him have shown me that he has intricate knowledge of how every aspect of music business works and is intertwined together. With that knowledge and creative thinking he has made every event with my artists a great one that has allowed the event to maximize both the artist experience and more importantly the fan experience." - Dalton Sim, Nettwerk Management If you create music, or work with artists who do, there's a way to expose your talent and give yourself a chance. In this common sense guide, industry veteran Matthew Walt explains how anyone with a voice and passion can break into the business. The music industry is bursting with opportunities for talent. This is due, in part, to new technologies to cultivate and expose your craft. As a result, an independent movement is burgeoning, and the number of artists making a living in the business has grown. What's more, alongside the artists, their agents and managers, and those that fill "traditional" roles, there are bloggers, computer programmers, and-best of all-fans who are driving the industry's future. This shifts power from the privileged to the masses. Realistically, this shift favors the creative and independent-but business savvy-musician. Drawing on his experiences from the trenches, Matthew presents the nuts and bolts of breaking into the industry, from understanding the business realistically and building your business with practical considerations to presenting yourself and finding your "it" factor. In a straightforward yet very passionate way, Matthew takes you from dreaming big to taking chances until your moment finally arrives. Your reality check is between these covers.

For the first time, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" recounts the epic story of the precipitous rise and fall of the recording industry over the past three decades, when the incredible success of the CD turned the music business into one of the most glamorous, high-profile industries in the world -- and the advent of file sharing brought it to its knees. In a comprehensive, fast-paced account full of larger-than-life personalities, "Rolling Stone" contributing editor Steve Knopper shows that, after the incredible wealth and excess of the '80s and '90s, Sony, Warner, and the other big players brought about their own downfall through years of denial and bad decisions in the face of dramatic advances in technology.

Big Music has been asleep at the wheel ever since Napster revolutionized the way music was distributed in the 1990s. Now, because powerful people like Doug Morris and Tommy Mottola failed to recognize the incredible potential of file-sharing technology, the labels are in danger of becoming completely obsolete. Knopper, who has been writing about the industry for more than ten years, has unparalleled access to those intimately involved in the music world's highs and lows. Based on interviews with more than two hundred music industry sources -- from Warner Music chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. to renegade Napster creator Shawn Fanning -- Knopper is the first to offer such a detailed and sweeping contemporary history of the industry's wild ride through the past three decades. From the birth of the compact disc, through the explosion of CD sales in the '80s and '90s, the emergence of Napster, and the secret talks that led to iTunes, to the current collapse of the industry as CD sales plummet, Knopper takes us inside the boardrooms, recording studios, private estates, garage computer labs, company jets, corporate infighting, and secret deals of the big names and behind-the-scenes players who made it all happen.

With unforgettable portraits of the music world's mighty and formerly mighty; detailed accounts of both brilliant and stupid ideas brought to fruition or left on the cutting-room floor; the dish on backroom schemes, negotiations, and brawls; and several previously unreported stories, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" is a riveting, informative, and highly entertaining read. It offers a broad perspective on the current state of Big Music, how it got into these dire straits, and where it's going from here -- and a cautionary tale for the digital age.

When I thought about writing a book about being a working musician, a few things went through my mind. Who am I to write a book on this subject? Am I really an expert on this? I spoke with more and more people who have known me for a long time and know my history. They all gave me a resounding, "Yes You are in the business and have seen all areas of the business, go for it " In my travels all around the world, many aspiring artists and musicians have asked me questions about touring. Many of the questions are similar, but some really stand out. Nevertheless, I've always made notes on what questions were asked. When I started writing this book, I quickly realized I was writing more than just a book on touring. It is a guide for the music business and solid musicianship in general. This is for the working musician who may play on the weekends for a hobby, but aspires to do more. Some "Notes" may be fairly basic. Others are for the advanced musician, who has already moved to Nashville, L.A., or New York. Everything in this collection is for any musician (or music lover) looking for secrets and tips about being on the road and beyond. This book is a personal account of this business from my humble opinion and experiences. Some may agree on certain points and some certainly will not. Often, there are no clear-cut guidelines in this business. The following notes are some of mine. Enjoy your read and leverage my experiences (and mistakes) to help you on your musical journey. I hope it helps you become successful in whatever aspect of the business you pursue. Don't let anyone stop you... go for it

Conglomerate Rock examines how the music industry is creating a new distribution infrastructure by dividing access to exclusive releases through different subscription services, hardware, and new media like audio DVDs in order to maximize profits. Author David J. Park argues that while these changes make it easier to see and hear artists from a handful of transnational corporations in commercial culture, access to music is becoming more dispersed, expensive and difficult to acquire. In addition, music and performers are increasingly being cross-promoted in films, television shows, commercials and other media owned by the Big 4 corporations. Conglomerate Rock critically analyzes these and other trends in order to provoke public discussion concerning the interaction between industry practice and music consumption. The present strategies employed by the industry will have long-term effects on the way consumers experience and access music, as well as how culture is viewed and portrayed in the United States and throughout the world.

Finally, a New Breakthrough Book Written for the Musician by a Musician As you struggle to pay the bills do you find yourself wishing you could be one those "lucky ones" who seem to have great music gigs all the time? Well now you can. When you go through this complete marketing guide, you will find the secrets you've been looking for. 15 proven steps that will let you find out how to get your phone ringing and your gig calendar filled up - fast You will . . . *Never, Ever have to Cold Call Again *Find good paying daytime gigs you may have never thought of *You will learn why most musicians can't get their marketing to work for them . . . and what you can do to insure yours will work for you Filled with practical no nonsense ideas that will show you how you can position your band, build buzz, create product and make money - no matter where you live no matter what style of music you play. This book shows you how.

THE SOUND OF MONEY is a refreshing and honest glimpse into how to succeed in business in America. Instead of relying on the old standby stories of excess and celebrity this book explains in simple and accessible terms what you really need to do to avoid losing millions of dollars with a record label. The lessons you will learn from this book will help all businesses that are trying to break into the American market. From chemicals to coffee there are certain things about America that make it unique. This book will help you to understand how to overcome some of the problems you will face. There is advice here that will show foreign business people what makes trying to deal with American businesses so exhilarating and so infuriating. This book is your key to making it past the crooks and charlatans that lurk around every corner in the American business world.

This is resource guide to help you-the Independant Artist chart out the right road map and succsessfully completing your journey to your desired awareness. With over 243 leads both in the real and cyber world alike, you will reach your goal in a short amount of time

Bandalism [ban-dəl-i-zəm] n .: the willful or malicious destruction of, or damage to, the fabric of a rock/pop/indie group brought about by one or more of its members

Axl Rose's monumental meltdowns . . . Kurt Cobain's tragic band-slaying suicide: The long history of platinum-selling uberband implosions is more dramatic than a Russian novel. But even local cover bands can suffer the ill effects of the limelight.

Multi-rock-band veteran Julian Ridgway's "Bandalism" is a can't-miss guide to rock 'n' roll survival, offering sage advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that can doom your group. Here's how to: Find nonpsycho band members Craft the perfect band image Choose a name that doesn't suck

And much more, including the handy Healthy Band Checklist, an ideal MySpace profile generator, and the Second Album Venn Diagram.

(Book). A classic, finally back in print British rock historian Barney Hoskyns (Hotel California, Across the Great Divide: The Band in America) examines the long and twisted rock 'n' roll history of Los Angeles in its glamorous and debauched glory. The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Doors, Little Feat, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and others (from Charlie Parker right up to Black Flag, the Minutemen, Jane's Addiction, Ice Cube, and Guns N' Roses) populate the pages of this comprehensive and extensively illustrated book.

A Capitol Juggling Act
That Turned Out Right

Everybody wants a platinum record. *Don't just wait around to get your music placed on albums that may never be released! Make your money now by scoring music for high priced tv commercials. Advertising is a billion dollar industry. Learn how to position yourself to make 30 grand in the 30 second field of advertising!!

Few expressions of popular culture have been shaped as profoundly by the relationship between commercialism and authenticity as country music has. While its apparent realism, sincerity, and frank depictions of everyday life are country's most obvious stylistic hallmarks, Diane Pecknold demonstrates that commercialism has been just as powerful a cultural narrative in its development. Listeners have long been deeply invested in the "business side" of country. When fans complained in the mid-1950s about elite control of the mass media, or when they expressed their gratitude that the Country Music Hall of Fame served as a physical symbol of the industry's power, they engaged directly with the commercial apparatus surrounding country music, not with particular songs or stars. In The Selling Sound, Pecknold explores how country music's commercialism, widely acknowledged but largely unexamined, has affected the way it is produced, the way it is received by fans and critics, and the way it is valued within the American cultural hierarchy. Pecknold draws on sources as diverse as radio advertising journals, fan magazines, Hollywood films, and interviews with industry insiders. Her sweeping social history encompasses the genre's early days as an adjunct of radio advertising in the 1920s, the friction between Billboard and more genre-oriented trade papers over generating the rankings that shaped radio play lists, the establishment of the Country Music Association, and the influence of rock 'n' roll on the trend toward single-genre radio stations. Tracing the rise of a large and influential network of country fan clubs, Pecknold highlights the significant promotional responsibilities assumed by club organizers until the early 1970s, when many of their tasks were taken over by professional publicists.

Author Michael Wood has been described as "the hardest working man in show business." He has been called one of the "most connected people in today's music industry." Everything from touring North America to voting on the Grammy Awards to now being a professor at one of the largest colleges in Canada, Michael has tried to take everything he has learned along the way and help aspiring musicians and music executives to reach their goals. On top of sharing his experiences and ideas, he has called upon some of his "friends in the 'biz" to share their stories and help point you in the right direction. People such as Casey Kasem, Ruth McCartney (Paul McCartney's sister), JT The Brick (Fox Sports Radio), Don Kronberg (worked with Jerry Seinfeld, Martina McBride), Dale Penner (Producer, Nickelback), Shawn Mullins (Grammy Award winning songwriter) and many more have all participated to make this book a down to earth, unpretentious and humorous guide to the music industry. The back of the book contains contacts in the industry and an opportunity to contact Michael directly to receive hundreds of more contacts making this the most interactive music industry book between writer and reader on the market today.

Noted jazz author Ashley Kahn brings to life the behind-the-scenes story of Impulse Records, one of the most significant record labels in the history of popular music. "Kahn mingles engaging stories of corporate politics with insider accounts of music-making and anecdotal takes on particular albums. His history of Impulse is also the story of the genesis of an American art form and the evolution of the record industry through the tumultuous 1960s-and will compel readers to seek out this label's masterful albums," says Publishers Weekly in a starred review. Kirkus Reviews calls the book "a swinging read," adding that "Kahn covers all the aesthetic, business, social, and historical bases with crisp economy." Don't miss the exciting inside scoop behind some of the most enduring masterpieces of jazz!

What you will go onto read is a part biography, part dissection and part educational book that start's at the very beginning with a young boy who was inspired by London, family life, football and world music, a love that nearly ended in a long term prison sentence. Fortunately not only Tony, but the many that went on to succeed because of his drive and direction, he was given another chance, this turned into his sliding doors effect, and not only did it change his life but the lives of many others. Creator of a leading London record label and manager for one of the pioneering acts over the past decade, Tony Portelli became part creator of a genre of music that took inspiration and street culture and turned it into careers for many who also had a dream. So what has been written within these pages, a first of its kind from a genre, is probably the most contentious behind the scene's book ever written about the Music Industry, a book that's entitled; The Music Industry Raw, Pirates, Clubs, House and Garage.