The Indie Band Survival Guide is the ultimate 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.
The Indie Band Survival Guide
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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."
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
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
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
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
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
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
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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
It's a great purchase!
I needed some info about Indie Bands. I chose this book and I'm glad, for I've found it very helpful. Don't hesitate and buy it!
Published 11 months ago by Ulises Troyo Barriga
Must have for any musician trying to show a profit from their business
Full of common sense advice and plenty of resources. Great examples from the school of hard knocks and plenty of great ideas for dealing with an unpredictable business. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Donald Joslin
Wow. Color me impressed
Have you ever read a "How To" book and it wasn't much of a "how to" at all? I've been duped before. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Dane E. Forst
Rock & Roll 'How To' Manual
Well written and organized, answering a lot of the questions for the novice musician as well as the seasoned veteran who wants to take the next step with a career in music.
Published 18 months ago by mosaicdan
Cool and relevant
Got this book also because it was included in many of the Berkelee School of Music Business courses. Read more
Published 19 months ago by eggshen
THE Go-To Guide For A New Perspective!
I've read tons of music business books over the years and this one put a new spin on it for me. The Indie Band Survival Guide is the go-to Guide for the basics and beyond. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Daniel Mitchem
A thorough and wide-ranging guide for DIY musicians
Even as a non-musician, with a healthy interest in the machinations of the music industry, I found the Indie Band Survival Guide extremely helpful. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Steve
If you are an indie artist you'd be crazy not to own this!!
This book is amazing!! This is my band's bible right now!! You would be insane not to own this if you are an indie artist!!
Published 24 months ago by M. Grant
Great Book
This is such a great book! It's informative, well written and speaks to everyone in the music industry. Money very well spent!
Published on January 3, 2010 by Kristie Gliniewicz
Lots of practical information and ideas
Very useful information. It was obvious that care was taken to organize the book in a practical and actionable way. Read more
Published on November 12, 2009 by Brian Skinness
Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
(learn more)
beatnik turtle, brand toolbox, performance license, music aggregators, most podcasters, digital music stores, indie musicians, online press kit, fan network, band bio, mastering house, share your music, radio promoter, social bookmarking sites, mechanical license, songwriting contests, indie bands, band agreement, song samples, band photo Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Legal Right, Creative Commons, Second Life, The Brobdingnagian Bards, Jonathan Coulton, Get Publicized, Harry Fox, Get Noticed, Copyright Office, Carla Ulbrich, Song of the Day, Long Tail, Star Wars, George Hrab, Cheapass Games, Hollywood Records, Unique Visitor, Mur Lafferty, Lawrence Lessig, Brad Turcotte, Property Office, Chris Anderson, Red Book, Free Bird, United States Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
beatnik turtle, brand toolbox, performance license, music aggregators, most podcasters, digital music stores, indie musicians, online press kit, fan network, band bio, mastering house, share your music, radio promoter, social bookmarking sites, mechanical license, songwriting contests, indie bands, band agreement, song samples, band photo Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Legal Right, Creative Commons, Second Life, The Brobdingnagian Bards, Jonathan Coulton, Get Publicized, Harry Fox, Get Noticed, Copyright Office, Carla Ulbrich, Song of the Day, Long Tail, Star Wars, George Hrab, Cheapass Games, Hollywood Records, Unique Visitor, Mur Lafferty, Lawrence Lessig, Brad Turcotte, Property Office, Chris Anderson, Red Book, Free Bird, United States Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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