This Business of Music Marketing and Promotion

Rating:
Summary: Loads of useful information
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Misguided, Misinformed, Not Worth the Paper it's Printed On
Review: I have read every other music business book published by Billboard Press and have always been highly impressed by the quality and content of their books. This book, however, should never have been published. Written by 2 people who have never worked in any substantial capacity for a record label, the information contained in this book is often misguided and misinformed. There is little information that will be of use to any band without a record deal, and if you are a signed act, following the advise in this book can get you dropped from your label. The section about merchandising (tee shirts, stickers, etc.) is particularly odd: we all know how merchandising can be a fantastic promotional tool for musicians, not to mention a great source of income. The authors talk about none of that. They instead choose to discuss why an act should never let a venue make the merchandise. Does this sound like information that can help you? Do yourself a favor, don't even think about buying this book. Instead, purchase books that will give you a wealth of useful information, such as any other book published by Billboard Press (especially from author Daylle Deanna Schwartz (by far my favorite author on the music business),and the king of all music biz books "This Business of Music" by Krasilovsky and Shemel). If you are after a really fantastic music marketing and promotion book, Allworth Press publishes a book by Jodi Summers ("Making and Marketing Music") that will actually help your career rather than do irreparable damage to it.

Rating:
Summary: Adequate, but not intended for musicians
Review: It seems that most reviewers are quite split on whether this is a "good" book or a "lousy" one. First off, reading the book I got a distinct impression that this book is not intended for musicians, it seems to be targeted more towards those in marketing who are familiar with marketing basics, but not about how they apply to the music industry.

There are much better books about the inner workings of the music industry (see books by Donald S. Passman and Moses Avalon.) There are much better books on marketing (see the "Guerrilla" series by Levinson and Godin). This book is adequate at introducing the music biz to marketing juniors, but not marketing to musicians.

One review wrote: "...dizzying amount of extremely useful information, all within an engrossing and enjoyable text" -- I find this review extremely suspect. I've read many books on both the music biz and marketing -- but this one is so mind-crushingly boring it's difficult to read and useful info is easily forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Adequate, but not intended for musicians
Review: It seems that most reviewers are quite split on whether this is a "good" book or a "lousy" one. First off, reading the book I got a distinct impression that this book is not intended for musicians, it seems to be targeted more towards those in marketing who are familiar with marketing basics, but not about how they apply to the music industry.

There are much better books about the inner workings of the music industry (see books by Donald S. Passman and Moses Avalon.) There are much better books on marketing (see the "Guerrilla" series by Levinson and Godin). This book is adequate at introducing the music biz to marketing juniors, but not marketing to musicians.

One review wrote: "...dizzying amount of extremely useful information, all within an engrossing and enjoyable text" -- I find this review extremely suspect. I've read many books on both the music biz and marketing -- but this one is so mind-crushingly boring it's difficult to read and useful info is easily forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Adequate, but not intended for musicians
Review: It seems that most reviewers are quite split on whether this is a "good" book or a "lousy" one. First off, reading the book I got a distinct impression that this book is not intended for musicians, it seems to be targeted more towards those in marketing who are familiar with marketing basics, but not about how they apply to the music industry.

There are much better books about the inner workings of the music industry (see books by Donald S. Passman and Moses Avalon.) There are much better books on marketing (see the "Guerrilla" series by Levinson and Godin). This book is adequate at introducing the music biz to marketing juniors, but not marketing to musicians.

One review wrote: "...dizzying amount of extremely useful information, all within an engrossing and enjoyable text" -- I find this review extremely suspect. I've read many books on both the music biz and marketing -- but this one is so mind-crushingly boring it's difficult to read and useful info is easily forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: An essential component to a succesful record business
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A publicist's-eye view of how to court labels and distro
Review: Tad Lathrop and Jim Pettigrew have written a comprehensive overview of how musical acts get pitched to major labels and distribution houses, as well as the media saturation that is necessary for a nationwide release. "This Business of Music Marketing and Promotion" does not purport to be a how-to manual for bands trying to DIY their way to major gigs. One might turn to Maximum RockNRoll's "Book Your Own F*&$in' Life" for that. There is a useful section concerning online promo and distro, which in light of the genesis of MP3s, cannot be ignored. This book is an invaluable resource for publicists and talent management.

Rating:
Summary: YOU CAN BUY BETTER BOOKS THAN THIS ONE
Review: This book is similar to KASHIF's book, EVERYTHING YOU'D BETTER KNOW ABOUT THE RECORD INDUSTRY. Both books are thorough and provide a good general overview, but Pettigrew and Lathrop are so dry and boring that they will put you to sleep, while Kashif is personable and tries to be interesting. (He doesn't always succeed). If you are in a band and you want specific, practical ideas that you can use, then Tim Sweeney may be a better choice for you.

Rating:
Summary: YOU CAN BUY BETTER BOOKS THAN THIS ONE
Review: This book is similar to KASHIF's book, EVERYTHING YOU'D BETTER KNOW ABOUT THE RECORD INDUSTRY. Both books are thorough and provide a good general overview, but Pettigrew and Lathrop are so dry and boring that they will put you to sleep, while Kashif is personable and tries to be interesting. (He doesn't always succeed). If you are in a band and you want specific, practical ideas that you can use, then Tim Sweeney may be a better choice for you.

Rating:
Summary: don't buy this book. Horrible
Review: This book sucked. A complete waste of time for me. Hardly any of it was about marketing & promotion. It was basically a watered down rundown of how the industry works. If you want to know how the industry works, buy the Donald Passman book about it. For a GOOD book about Marketing & Promotion buy Gurilla PR by Levine instead.