The Future of the Music Business: How to Succeed with the New Digital Technologies (Paperback)

~ Steve Gordon (Author) "Copyright is the basis of virtually every music business transaction..." (more)
Key Phrases: standard recording agreement, aggregate tuning hour, digital music services, Creative Commons, Copyright Act, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

New technologies are revolutionizing the music industry. While peer-to-peer file sharing and CD burning are devastating album sales, they are also creating new opportunities to distribute and sell music. This up-to-date guide focuses on these opportunities as well as new business and digital delivery models, and explains how aspiring musicians, established recording artists, independent labels, and entrepreneurs can all take advantage of the new digital technologies. The book includes a comprehensive discussion of new laws and business practices that apply to online music distribution along with a detailed list of vendors and services. The CD features a seminar on the future of the music business, links to reference websites, interviews with key players in the new music business, and links to webpages updating the book so that it will never be out of date!

About the Author

STEVE GORDON is an entertainment attorney. His clients include Microsoft. Steve served as Director of Business Affairs, TV/Video for Sony Music from 1991 to 2001. He is a frequent contributor of articles on entertainment and copyright law to Entertainment Law and Finance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (April 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879308443
• ISBN-13: 978-0879308445
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #542,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Pay the Ferryman..., February 7, 2006

By	Sean Goodwin (The New Europe) - See all my reviews

After reading these reviews and taking Anna Lee's very sage advice to try it via the library first, now I understand. It looks as if Mr. Gordon had several of his friends jump in and write reviews to get Ms. Lee's unfavorable review off the front page. Being the suspicious type, I checked out these reviewers, and they have all written only one review each, all giving Mr. Gordon five stars for his book, all within days of each other.

But no matter. Typical lawyer tactics don't impress me and neither did this typical lawyer's book. Having spent most of my adult life in the music industry in NYC and elsewhere, I have experienced just about everything in this business, and I am only sorry that Ms. Lee and so many others had to listen in person to this gentleman's spiel, as that's what The Future of the Music Business turns out to be: a spiel.

Yes, he has the requisite case studies with "indie" artists giving it a go on their own as an attempt to add cred to his manuscript, but Mr. Gordon (or perhaps his ghostwriter) knows nothing about digital technologies, that is apparent, nor does he offer his readers any new solutions. He is very much from the old school where the only game in town was the nearest major label that pulled all the purse strings. Now that the Internet has obliterated that, formerly holier-than-thou industry types are finding themselves at a real loss as for how to deal with it, and we see plenty of old dogs with half-a$$ed new tricks to push on the public.

The only advice I have for those in this new music industry, and it's free: Carve your own niche instead of trying to fit the ones sculpted by the suits. In these strange times where Kelly Clarkson, et. al., are unbelievably considered punk rock, we are definitely due for some big changes. The markets are changing with the emergence of India and China, not to mention a European Union with over 450 million people. Add the Internet to this mix and you have the opportunity for many niche markets to evolve without the current major label system as a constituent. The Internet is integrating into and changing the very nature of TV and radio as we know them, and amen to that.

Mr. Gordon deserves credit for one thing and one thing only: his book is no better or no worse than anything else out there.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Another Music Lawyer, Another Book to Milk the Hopeful Masses, December 31, 2005

By	Anna Lee (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I spoke to the gentlemen who wrote this book after one of his public engagements. He told me point blank that "the only way to really make any money in the music industry is to sign with a major label". Interesting, considering he is selling this book to an audience of indie entrepreneurs.

But that's the whole point. He obviously hasn't signed anything good lately (listen to the radio), so why not write a book and tease the masses of people who so desperately want to make it? That's one way to make money when you haven't been able to cash in elsewhere, right?

After he told me to "go out and buy" his book, I went to the library to check it out. It turns out to be a collection of common sense advice that is just as easily found for free on the internet, things like "put a mailing list on your website" and "have buy buttons for your CDs all over your site" - gee, do I really need to pay money for this? Same goes for all the instructional drivel regarding licensing and other stuff---these things are very easily researched and found for nothing on the net, where it seems that everyone is an expert these days.

Don't waste your money or your time. Let sleeping music industry attorneys lie.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Clean out and Beware of Bogus reviewing..., September 9, 2007

By	Nate (S. CA) - See all my reviews

Why Can't Amazon start cleaning out all the obviously bogus reviews written by the writers hired-reviewers and friends. Read the only other 2 reviews below that DONT have 5-stars. A good one below from December 31, 2005 is titled: "Another Music Lawyer, Another Book to Milk the Hopeful Masses, December 31, 2005
By Anna Lee".