How to approach the music business world, its strategies, secrets, and recipes for success. The Best Music Business Books.
Led by experts in the field, the idea is to help new artists and music producers take control of their own destiny, save money and time, and eventually get the attention of the music industry.
After all, what matters is making music, enjoying the process, and connecting with other people.
If you want to delve into this exciting world, keep reading the list of books below and get the ones that interest you the most.
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Disclosure: Some of our articles contain affiliate links (as an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases).
Music Marketing for the DIY Musician: Creating and Executing a Plan of Attack on a Low Budget
by Bobby Borg, 2014
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This is a step-by-step guide to producing a fully integrated, personalized and low-budget plan for artists marketing their own music.
In a conversational tone, it reveals a systematic business approach with the same tools and techniques used by top-notch innovative companies, always encouraging musicians to remain true to their art.
It is the result of the author’s 25 years of experience as a musician and entrepreneur, and more than a decade of academic and practical research involving thousands of freelance artists and marketing experts from around the world.
This Business of Global Music Marketing: Global Strategies for Maximizing Your Music’s Popularity and Profits
By Tad Lathrop, 2007
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The market is full of opportunities, but it is also full of cultural, regulatory, administrative, legal, political and logistical difficulties.
This reading offers a map of the world of music, with comprehensive information on how to enter the global market, how to distribute records abroad, how to find an audience, how to establish strategic partnerships with foreign companies, how to handle the different rules of the trade, and much more.
Music Marketing: Press, Promotion, Distribution, and Retail
by Mike King, 2009
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With this book, you will learn how to market and distribute your songs in order to sell more music.
This multifaceted and integrated approach will help you develop an effective global marketing strategy. Step by step, you will develop an active marketing plan and timeline tailored to your unique strengths and budget.
Music Management for the Indie Artist: Everything you need to know about managing your music career, exploding your popularity & getting discovered by a top manager
by John Macallister, 2016
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If you’ve just released your first song or are a seasoned musician ready to take your music career to the next level, this book is for you.
You will discover how to get a crystal clear vision of your future in music; the most important thing you can do to start receiving calls from music managers; why you need a business and marketing plan and how to write it; how to protect yourself from being the victim of unscrupulous managers.
Once you know how to manage your music career, it is very likely that many managers would like to work with you.
Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook: 201 Self-Promotion Ideas for Songwriters, Musicians & Bands on a Budget
by Bob Baker, 2005
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In this manual, you’ll discover that music marketing doesn’t have to be expensive or flashy to be effective.
Whether you’re promoting a fast-growing indie band, record label, or solo work from your basement, here are the tools you need to get the most out of your music career.
Six-Figure Musician – How to Sell More Music, Get More People to Your Shows, and Make More Money in the Music Business
by David Hooper, 2013
![Six-Figure Musician – How to Sell More Music, Get More People to Your Shows, and Make More Money in the Music Business (Music Marketing [dot] com Presents)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+mPMO6pNL._SL500_.jpg "Top 10 Music Business Books You Must Have If You Want To Boost Your Career 7")
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It is common to hear that musicians are told to quit and that in music it is considered “normal” to be broke. But the truth is that if you know what to do you can earn a lot of money as a musician.
This book will teach you how to make money in theaters, on the Internet, and on the road. You will discover how to release your material in the most profitable way and how to stand out so that record labels will notice you.
Music 4.0: A Survival Guide for Making Music in the Internet Age
by Bobby Owsinski, 2014
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Written for artists overwhelmed by the seemingly endless options of the rapidly evolving Internet, this is the only book that offers a comprehensive strategy for online success.
Bobby Owsinski includes an in-depth look at the streaming economy, with real information about royalties that distributors and record labels don’t want you to know.
The book also looks at how YouTube and other video streaming services generate revenue. In addition, it provides techniques to optimize videos and channels for maximum online performance.
Start An Online Record Label: Steps, Insights and Strategies
by Thomas Ferriere, 2014
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If you’ve been thinking of quitting your day job and going into the music business then this book is for you.
You will learn the basics of starting an online label and it will give you many hints on how to make it profitable.
If you want to give yourself the best chance of success, going through a proper setup process is very important, and this book can be your guide.
How Music Got Free: A Story of Obsession and Invention
by Stephen Witt, 2015
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After years of research, Stephen Witt builds a fascinating story that explores various moments in history that explain how the world has changed in relation to the consumption of recorded music.
The author will try to understand how we stopped paying for music, the debacle of the music industry as we knew it, and the irruption of digital culture, piracy, and MP3 audio files.
How Music Works
by David Byrne, 2012
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Informative, literary, and documented, this book combines exciting notions about the history of music technology, autobiographical anecdotes, a review of the musical trends of the 20th century, and an interesting analysis of the present and future of the music industry.
David Byrne shows how music has always been the result of cultural circumstances and individual creativity.
And at a time when many announce the end of the music industry, a text as rigorous and optimistic as this is frankly necessary.
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