The Indie Band Survival Guide: The Complete Manual for the Do-It-Yourself Musician [Paperback]

Randy Chertkow (Author), Jason Feehan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 5, 2008

The Indie Band Survival Guide (2008 edition) is a tremendous resource for musicians looking to record, distribute, market, and sell their music for less than most rock stars spend on green M&M's. Musicians and web gurus Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan cover every step of the process. With nothing but creative talent and the Web, they've gotten tens of thousands of fans for their band, in addition to being hired to write music for film, television, theater, and other media.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this indispensable guide for indie musicians, Chertkow and Feehan, lead members of the Chicago band Beatnik Turtle, explain how they have managed successfully to get their music out to the public, to produce four albums, to build a huge following and to write music for television shows and theater without the benefit of a record label. Covering topics such as building a brand, networking, Web site, getting booked, playing live and getting publicized, Chertkow and Feehan pass along advice that, while sometimes self-evident, encourages bands to exploit the Internet and to become Web savvy to make a name for themselves. For example, in illustrative detail they spell out clearly the terms of contracts such as nonexclusive that can often be so fuzzy. In their section on getting booked, they remind bands that the essence of a good show is remembering that the band is there for the audience, and the authors explain step-by-step the ups and downs of dealing with bookers, scheduling and booking kits. Because this lively book offers such essential guidance in these changing times, no band should be without a copy. (Aug.) ""
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."

Review

"Indispensable ... This lively book offers such essential guidance in these changing times, no band should be without a copy."—Publishers Weekly

"The Internet is an extraordinary opportunity for musicians to make and profit from their music. This clearly written and comprehensive book shows exactly how. A perfect balance between the mess of the law and the promise of the technology, it should be read by anyone who wants to take their talent and share it—for the love of sharing, or for the profit."—Lawrence Lessig, author of Code, professor at Stanford Law School, founder of the Center for the Internet and Society, and CEO of the Creative Commons project

"Finally! A comprehensive and practical guide for musicians that explains how to navigate today's music world without a label. A must-read!"—Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby and HostBaby

"If they gave out Grammys for music career books, Randy and Jason should surely win one. Their Indie Band Survival Guide is a must-read resource for any musician wanting to take the independent path to success—which, these days, is the only way to go. Networking, branding, Internet promotion, live gigs, distribution, publicity ... they cover it all. Highly recommended!"—Bob Baker, author of Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook and founder of TheBuzzFactor.com

"A fabulous & comprehensive 101 guide for any musician trying to make it in the crazy 'new' Music Business."—Ariel Hyatt, founder of Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR

"A practical, down-to-earth guide for bands working in the real world."—Brian Austin Whitney, founder of the Just Plain Folks musician network

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312377681
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377687
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It had everything I needed September 18, 2008

By Rene I. Ferrer

Format:Paperback

The book does exactly what the author set out to accomplish. It is a compilation of knowledge and useful tips, usually spread out all over the internet, for all us small bands trying to take the next steps to a more professional level.

Everything is presented in a logical order and progresses from band promotion, gigs, experience and then into recording, production and music distribution, from CD (yuck) to digital

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Surviving Indie Style! April 7, 2010

By S. Elwood

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this book to aid in helping me get my band up and running. I was pleasantly surprised at the thoroughness of the topics and the author's insights on each. Real world experience pays dividends and the author really makes his case. I give this book 5 stars for content and delivery. My only gripe is the lack of an index. I am using highlighters and Post-It notes and have kind of created my own. Easily a third of the book deals with internet topics and should be very helpful to those musicians who are not web designers. And while this book provides a comprehensive look at the world of indie band business and details what you need to consider, it does not provide the legal underpinnings of that business. I would strongly recommend 2 other books to complement this one. The first is "Music Law" by Richard Stim, an indispensable legal guide that explains copyrights and many other legal issues surrounding the music business. The second is "All You Need to Know About the Music Business" by Donald Passman. This book details just about every way a musician can get screwed by the music industry and how to avoid or at least deal with it. All three books complement each other beautifully. Highly recommended!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a competing author and I dig this book September 10, 2008

By benboy

Format:Paperback

I'm the author of a book that competes (in a way) with this book and I have to say I am totally into "The Indie Band Survival Guide." It has a very fresh view of what it's like to be in an indie band -- so fresh that it should be called "Indie Band 2.0." It throughly analyzes the revenue streams for indie bands in this post-music biz blowdown era and provides lots and lots of realistic and helpful info.