$30 Music School [Paperback]

Michael W. Dean (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2003

"Making art your full-time job is a full-time job." If youÂ're ready to take on this job, then you're ready to follow the advice that you'll find inside $30 Music School. Do-it-Yourself recording, distribution, and promotion have made it easier than ever to make a living making music. Learn how to thrive in this new business model. $30 Music School is for people who want to be musicians, not just look like musicians. It's all about cutting through the star-system garbage and getting to the heart of art, and making great music that can reach the world on no budget. No matter what type of music moves you-rock, Alternative, Metal, Punk, Hip Hop, Country, Jazz or Salsa-you can take this book and put it to work for you. Go one-on-one with musicians who have made music their life. Use their advice and learn from their experiences. Find out what it takes to create both realistic goals as well as a map to reach them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dean's experience and knowledge provide a blueprint for young bands to follow. Dean offers a realistic perspective on the industry. -- Alt.Culture.Guide™ Reading List, October 2004

From the Publisher

Make great music that can reach the world on no budget. Written by a musician who has experienced everything he preaches, the author not only shows you how to make music, but also how to distribute, tour, promote, and sell your own music. $30 Music School is your ticket into the show—to do it yourself, not compromise your vision, and be heard. Book includes useful CD-ROM and insightful interviews.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 536 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (December 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592001718
• ISBN-13: 978-1592001712
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,304,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put this down., September 4, 2004

By 

Jeffrey J. Sanders "psychedelic tunesmith" (www.mountainmirrors.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: $30 Music School (Paperback)

This book is a great read. I'm a musician with the attention span of a bird, and I read $30 Music School in a day. Believe me. That's saying a lot. I've read a load of music business-related books, and none of them quite measure up to the experience of reading this one.
It's written with a style I can relate to with loads of humor and no-bull lessons. It's like chewing the fat about every aspect of what it means to be a musician with a friend of yours. Hell...I even had a great time reading about how to shop for and tune a drumset - and I'm a guitarist. (The chapters about internet promotion and songwriting basics are especially enlightening!)
If you're on a "mission from God" to take your music to a new level, you probably just landed here for a reason.
This book is exactly what the title says.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Punk Rocker's Boyscout Handbook, April 8, 2006

By 

Nathan Smutz (La Grande, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: $30 Music School (Paperback)

Michael's writing style realy makes this an enjoyable read. This how-to for garage banding covers everything from managers and road managers and bookers to the handful of guitar and keyboard chords you need for rock 'n roll to tutorials for various software packages. Hmm. Like a boyscout manual for punk rockers. Lots of anecdotes and real-world advise.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the most inclusive music book I've ever seen. Bravo!, January 3, 2006

By 

Thomas Dietzel - See all my reviews

This review is from: $30 Music School (Paperback)

Michael W. Dean's $30 Music School is the best book on this subject I've encountered. Mr. Dean (Dr. Dean?) covers every aspect of music-making: the politics of bands, writing songs, getting gear, practice spaces, booking shows, recording, making cds, the music business and the internet, and touring are all addressed at length in a personal, avuncular style that is always inspiring to read. Mr. Dean's enthusiasm is infectious. His DIY aesthetic is uncompromising but his attitude couldn't be more positive. This is a book for people who want to get out there and start living their art life instead of merely thinking about it. I've been a musician for over 20 years and every chapter in this book fired my imagination. If you read this book and don't feel inspired to begin or reinvigorate a DIY music career, you probably have a different calling altogether. I'm hoping he writes a sequel (graduate school?) that addresses many of these subjects at greater length. In the meantime, I'm on my own! Ha! If you liked this book, check out the others in the $30 music school series as well as Mr. Dean's fiction works and his film D.I.Y. or Die. Hooray for Michael Dean for doing so much of the hard work for the rest of us!