Rating: 
Summary: yea, baby
Review: I LOVE your book. It is well written, very informative and I am
impressed at how up to date it is. Times have changed in the last few
years and I am happy to be reading something that is a reflection of
what is current.
Rating:
Summary: Three Word Plan: BUT THIS BOOK!
Review: If I wanted to read a book about war, I don't want the author to be a news anchor, politician, or general. I want the book to be written by a soldier in the field who can tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly about war (so I can avoid being killed). Bobby Borg is a strong soldier with plenty of knowledge about the "war" that is the music business. As I started to read the book my first impression was "This is the drummer from Warrant?" Bobby Borg is not your typical musician. He rattles off quotes from dozens of books (so he is well read). He graduated Berklee with a BA in Professional Music (received the "Outstanding achievement in the Berklee College series) as well as UCLA (with a certificate in music business). He has been recording on major labels for 12 years. In addition to recording two albums with Warrant he has also recorded with Left for Dead, and Beggars & Thieves. Yes, our "Soldier" is WELL decorated. OK, so Bobby can play the drums and he's smart. But can he write? If I lead a class on "being in a band" The Musician's Handbook would be required reading. In a newsletter I publish, we have been talking in the last few issues about "Planning your band." Bobby outlines this whole process THOROUGHLY. The whole book is THOROUGH. Now there are times when you could get "fact overload" with books like this, but Bobby has done a nice job of adding entertaining sidebars to keep you interested. At the point my eyes were going to roll back in my head during the discussion of taxes, Bobby throws in an interview with freelance drummer Kenwood Dennard who gives you real life knowledge, and "brings it on home." This style of "commentary, sidebar, and interview" is used throughout the book. About half the way through the book, I noticed that not only does Bobby do a good job of making things easy to understand, but he is a really good interviewer. When he interviewed Fred Croshal (the head of Maverick Records), he was not afraid to ask the tough questions that might show a record label in a bad light (the type of questions that you would ask if you had the chance). His chat with Chris Arnstein (who has worked for um, EVERYBODY) about touring is CLASSIC. The book covers about every aspect of the business from starting the band, choosing your management team, recording, publishing, and a whole lot more (Bobby lists the entire table of contents on his site). He shows the reality of the BUSINESS. For example, how you can obtain gold record status and still owe the record company money. If you're thinking, "Well I'm just in a cover band" this book is still for you. I can see having this in my library as a reference book (I've added it to the "Success Library" on my site). It really does a nice job of covering a large amount of topics. When I turned over the back cover to see how much this book was, I expected to see a price of at least 35 bucks (the book is 288 pages and could inflict some bodily harm with some velocity put behind it). The fact that this ... ... is amazing. ... BUY THIS BOOK. Bobby says that he wrote this book because so many awesome musicians polish their art, only to learn about the business end one mistake at a time. He wanted to create an easily understood book that musicians could use to better understand the music business and he did a fine job. Here at the Musician's Cyber Cooler we are all about mentoring, and if we gave out medals, this solder would get pinned for a job well done. Dave Jackson
Musician's Cyber Cooler
Rating:
Summary: Must Have For Your Music Career!
Review: Incredible! I thought it was one of the clearest & most up to date music industry books written. Power packed with helpful tools & inspriation! Definitely one that I will always comeback to. Music,Career, goals, artists & bands, songs, management, promoting, business, LIFE! It's all there!~ Most of all, this book gave me the courage to really focus and give it all I got in this competitive industry! This guy is on fire! Read for yourself.
Composer/Producer
Rating:
Summary: The 21st Century Voice for the New Music Revolution
Review: The Musician's Handbook by Bobby Borg has to be one of the greatest and helpful resources out there for all levels of people in the Music Business. If you only had one book to accomplish your musical achievements this would mean all the ENCOURAGEMENT in the world for you. Every Dreamer, Visionary and Thriver deserves to have this book in their corner for the knockout punch to overcoming and persevering through all the obstacles that exist in this Industry. From the very first page, all my friends and myself have become much more educated, pro-active and determined to succeed in our Music Business Careers. I respect and commend this author for the blood, sweat, tears and time he sacrificed to make his Purpose a Reality and for not leaving any topics missing. This book is going to be a very significant and strategic part in creating a whole new definition for Music Business Professionals: Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced for the 21st Century Generation and Beyond!
Rating:
Summary: The 21st Century Voice for the New Music Revolution
Review: The Musician's Handbook by Bobby Borg has to be one of the greatest and helpful resources out there for all levels of people in the Music Business. If you only had one book to accomplish your musical achievements this would mean all the ENCOURAGEMENT in the world for you. Every Dreamer, Visionary and Thriver deserves to have this book in their corner for the knockout punch to overcoming and persevering through all the obstacles that exist in this Industry. From the very first page, all my friends and myself have become much more educated, pro-active and determined to succeed in our Music Business Careers. I respect and commend this author for the blood, sweat, tears and time he sacrificed to make his Purpose a Reality and for not leaving any topics missing. This book is going to be a very significant and strategic part in creating a whole new definition for Music Business Professionals: Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced for the 21st Century Generation and Beyond!
Rating:
Summary: Must have ! Carry it with you everywhere you go
Review: This is an excellent book for someone just getting into the business. Not just for rockers, either! Easy to read and understand. The best part is, this guy's not bitter about the whole industry! It's great to read a book that doesn't just tell you how horrible everything is in this business and how you are destined to fail! He just gives you the facts along with great anecdotes.
You MUST buy this!!!
Rating:
Summary: absolutely necessary
Review: This is an excellent book for someone just getting into the business. Not just for rockers, either! Easy to read and understand. The best part is, this guy's not bitter about the whole industry! It's great to read a book that doesn't just tell you how horrible everything is in this business and how you are destined to fail! He just gives you the facts along with great anecdotes.
You MUST buy this!!!
Rating:
Summary: Will save you years of time and thousands of dollars
Review: This is commonsense advice that could save you years of time and thousands of dollars. Drummer Bobby Borg, who worked with Warrant, Left For Dead, and Beggars & Thieves, has authored an accessible music business book, The Musician's Handbook - A Practical Guide to Understanding the Music Business, which makes it obvious he studied a lot more than cymbals and sticks during his 12 years as a major label artist. Borg explains the nuts and bolts of the music business - like recording contracts, royalties, merchandising, publishing, managers, talent agents, and more - from his unique perspective as a signed musician. The book is not written in "legalese", but in layman's terms, allowing you to more easily understand a subject like "recording contracts". He uses many real-life examples which make complex topics easy to digest, and easy to apply to your own situation. The book is loosely focused on bands close to signing a label deal, and includes valuable advice about contracts, financial arrangements, and how to build your professional team. However, indie bands will also find much to learn in The Musician's Handbook, because Borg has included everything you need to know to do it yourself, too. Probably the most valuable aspect of The Musician's Handbook is the easy to understand financial information. Borg uses detailed examples of musicians' income and expenses, and then offers useful advice on how to maximize earnings and longevity. It never bogs down into complex accounting and boring contractual verbiage (save that for more formal and academic texts), but instead gives the the musician a broad-based and thorough understanding of the important aspects of the music business.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are green might be good, if you have any knowledge...
Review: you will see just how much this person is an outsider trying to look in and understand a world that is foreign to him. Very misleading and at times unbelievably naive.
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