HIT MEN

Rating:
Summary: Terrific reading as both information and entertainment.
Review: A frightening and enthralling look at the history of the modern music business. Dannen creates a mosaic of life in the industry by tracing the histories and careers of some of its most colorful characters. He looks at the rise and fall of Walter Yetnikoff, the education of Dick Asher, David Geffen's success with Asylum Records-- to name just a few of the people and issues _Hit Men_ tackles.

This is really a warts and all treatment with wickedly funny asides and adult language quotations from the people involved. It made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and I still came away feeling as though I understood a whole lot more about how this industry really functions.

High Recommend.

Rating:
Summary: HIT BY THE TRUTH
Review: As an experienced music industry professional with over 15 years of experience, I can tell you that this is the unofficial history book of the music industry that can be used to expose and introduce the truth about the origins and operations of the music business.

It's insightful, relevant, and shocking.

Buy it today.

Rating:
Summary: HARD TO PUT THIS AWARD-WINNING MUSIC-BIZ EXPOSÉ DOWN
Review: Dannen hit such a home run with this thoroughly researched book that he was honored from within the music industry (Ralph J. Gleason award) and without (national bestseller list). The topic here is unwholesome practices within the music industry, but the most passionate subtopic of Dannen's research is the system of independent promotion through which singles are "added" to radio station playlists and then moved through the charts. I almost think HIT MEN should be considered a must read for anyone in the music industry: artist, manager, songwriter or publisher. Since Dannen reports his quotes exactly as they come down, you will not find the dialog exactly suitable for Sunday School. The second edition covers events up to and including 1991 and contains a follow-up chapter not in the original 1990 hardback edition. Now, some years after its original introduction, HIT MEN is still gripping and relevant. Aspects of the described litigation still tend to resurface from time to time, and many of the key players identified and profiled by Dannen are still suited up and swinging on the music-business diamond. Ron Simpson, School of Music, Brigham Young University. Author of MASTERING THE MUSIC BUSINESS.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Fantastic account of the not so legal practices of those employed in the music biz. It's all here: bribes, schemes, backstabbing execs and fast talkin' thugs all in hot pursuit of untold riches. Mr. Dannen is to be commended for this candid, behind the scenes examination of the power structure which drives pop music. The author wags an accusatory finger at some of the biggest names in the biz and backs it all up with a truckload of corraborating evidence. Well researched and highly informative, "Hit Men" should be pre-requisite for anyone seeking a career in music. Frighteningly entertaining and highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Dannen provides frightening accounts of the music industry.
Review: For those who think that the music business is all glitz, glamour, and money, after reading Federic Dannens 'Hit Men' will make you think again. This book is a must have for those currently involved in the industry, or those looking to enter it.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Journalisitic Romp Through The Music Industry
Review: Frederic Dannen's book, Hit Men, will be fun for anyone interested in business or crime, or those who do not believe that much difference exists between the two at the best of times. The book concentrates on the seventies and eighties in the music industry, after a too-short introduction to place the events in an historical context. It focuses on certain individual and specific companies in its anecdotes as it traces their rise and fall. The author is not providing a history of the industry. Instead he is offering a freak show of its most colourful characters. The book pulls few punches as it explores this twisted business. Above all, it is a fun read for any reader, even those not interested in the music industry.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Journalisitic Romp Through The Music Industry
Review: Frederic Dannen's book, Hit Men, will be fun for anyone interested in business or crime, or those who do not believe that much difference exists between the two at the best of times. The book concentrates on the seventies and eighties in the music industry, after a too-short introduction to place the events in an historical context. It focuses on certain individual and specific companies in its anecdotes as it traces their rise and fall. The author is not providing a history of the industry. Instead he is offering a freak show of its most colourful characters. The book pulls few punches as it explores this twisted business. Above all, it is a fun read for any reader, even those not interested in the music industry.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent, depressing, and bitterly funny book
Review: I enjoyed this book for its witty stories and quips. I'm a musician and I'm almost convinced that the music business is thoroughly hopeless in a madcap way after reading the book. I mean hopeless because it is impossible not to get ripped off as an artist and that you have to deal with this den of snakes to sell your music successfully. I used to have an innocent joy of listening to pop records but now I know how they are promoted and my innocence is dead. I'm also suspicious of artists who moralize in their songs, but will do anything to get their songs on the air. But I suppose that is the only way one can have a career. The book also shows how hard it is to obtain justice, fairness, and decency through personal effort or the judicial system. It also revealed how ego-driven the music and entertainment business is; the ones with the biggest egos and worst ethics often rise to the top. I doubt I would, as a musician, would want to live through any of these sordid, sardonic tales [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down until it was finished
Review: If you can't stop reading it, it must be good non-fiction. Well done. If you like this one, I'd recommend "Mansion on the Hill" as a companion. Same good problem: To interesting to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down until it was finished
Review: If you can't stop reading it, it must be good non-fiction. Well done. If you like this one, I'd recommend "Mansion on the Hill" as a companion. Same good problem: To interesting to put down.