This Business of Music Marketing & Promotion

In this day and age of "YOU BETTER DO IT YOURSELF" for no one else can afford to do it with you; ie: the fear and parrelization set in by the new world music on the internet and what it's done to the slow moving, almost obsolete Biz structure of the MAJOR labels, THIS BOOK is a MUST. It's the first one I've read that covers everything you need to know to get your tunes out into the world by yourself if you have the drive to do so...It's tremendously detailed in every area of the biz ....It's my new MARKETING bible...THANKS!!Michael Brandmeierhttp://www.michaelbrandmeier.com

Mr. Lathrop and Mr. Perrigew manage to provide the reader with a dizzying amount of extremely useful information, all within an engrossing and enjoyable text. This book provides inside information about the interworkings of the big time music player's marketing techniques. It then shows how you can execute these techniques as well as others, which are more well suited to a smaller operation. Plus, if you are reading this in the year 2000 this book is very up to date and exremely relevant to the everchanging record biz. If you want to become competitive in the music marketplace, this is the book for you. I laud Lathrop and Pettigrew for their efforts, and for creating this gem of knowledge.

This excellent book is worth many times the purchase price. The average would-be professional musician, songwriter, or recording entrepreneur will require several lifetimes to use all the information it contains. "You don't get what you deserve," the great jazz drummer Roy Haynes once said. "You get what you negotiate." Knowing what this book teaches, you are armed with the facts concerning every conceivable aspect of surviving in the labyrinthine -- and sometimes treacherous -- world of music. Lathrop and Pettigrew are both seasoned music-business professionals whose credits range from the World Wide Web to various colleges and universities, as well as advertising and marketing companies and publicity campaigns for such spectacularly successful acts as ZZ Top and the Allman Brothers Band. Among the topics they cover are song writing, recording, publishing, promotion, advertising, and many different approaches to marketing, including sheet music, radio, film, television, and live performance. They even tell you in detail how to set up and use a Web Site. An additional lagniappe is the book's section of interviews with such veterans as Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records, a leading blues label. Highly recommended.

When I read scathing reviews of books such as the reivew of this book, by DAVID from NYC, I wonder about two things: 1) Did they read the same book I read, and 2) What hidden agenda do they have? I found that this book provides a one-stop reference manual for music enthusiasts of all levels, including record producers, recording artists, business managers, entertainment executives, Web designers, and multimedia developers. It divulges the specifics of making and marketing music, from conceiving an idea to working with a record company to designing and distributing a finished product. I love this book! And I don't trust David of NYC. Sorry.

I consulted this book for its sections on promotion and publicity, which are very helpful, but found a lot more of value. Overall, a great starting point if you want to find out about the way the business works, and all the different ways music can be sold. Very clearly written and logically presented.