Customer Reviews

Music Money & Success

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"How did you arrive at those percentages?" I asked a colleague, after he had presented a very complex licensing proposal for a revue-style stage show. His answer embarrassed me, because I was very familiar with both of the books he cited, one of which was this title, by Jeffrey and Todd Brabec. The Brabec twins' track record goes back thirty years or so. About 1970, when I was first setting up my music companies, both brothers worked for ASCAP, and helped me with some business details. Later on, as the dust-jacket bio explains, Jeff went on into private practice, and is now associated with the Chrysalis Group. Todd has stayed with ASCAP, and is currently Director of Membership, a position that gives him high visibility in the L.A. music community. In other words, these guys know their territory: when they talk about "the inner workings of a music publisher," they lead you into a world seldom seen by the uninitiated outsider. When they talk about "sources of income," their list is exhaustive, not ending until they've included all possible licensing revenues, even "greeting cards" and "dolls and toys." When they tackle co-publishing agreements with this same attention to detail, they are recommending strategies many enterprising and entrepreneurial songwriters will want to try, sooner or later. And we're just beginning: yet to come are the fields of records, television, movies, live performance income, and, finally

musical theater, where my colleague had discovered more complex principles and formulas for computing royalties than I had seen before. Thanks, Jeff and Todd, for taking time to create this book. Okay, sure, you'll make some money with it-costs thirty bucks, for heaven's sake. But still, getting these concepts out of your heads and onto our desks is a major service. While the value of this material is obvious to anyone involved with licensing or contracts, it can be equally helpful as a university text. Consider it for honors work in music business, or for independent readings projects. Now that the book has been around a few years, it has found its way into the libraries of many star-level artists and songwriters, who regularly sing its praises to anyone who will listen. Ron Simpson, School of Music, Brigham Young University. Author of MASTERING THE MUSIC BUSINESS.

As a student of USC's Music Industry program, I not only had this book as a course text, but also had the extreme privilege of having the authors as instructors. I have used the book as an invaluable reference as well as a recommendation or loan to fellow songwriters who needed more information on how they may find a successful strategy toward a career in the industry.

Completely lacking any vague ambiguities regarding the often "mysterious" inner workings of the music industry, the Brabec brothers have clearly defined realistic expectations for those entering the music world from any angle. Straightforward and to-the-point explanations of just about every aspect of the business, especially on the publishing side of things, render this book an essential part of any student or songwriter's library.

Also great for the the vaguely curious, this text is a steal at any price!

Music, Money, & Success is a must read for anyone interested in music business. As a Vice President/General Manager in the fast moving industry of music publishing, I need to keep abreast of all the changes and any new developments that take place. The revised edition of this book has allowed me to do just that. I strongly recommend this book to anyone trying to keep up with the business and, most of all, anyone who is interested in getting into the business. It is written in a way that all people can easily understand the "ins and outs" of the industry and would enable anyone to grasp the knowledge to enable them to start on the road to a career in the music. It has great information on how the "web" has affected the music business and also contains all the new royalty rates for CDs, Motion Pictures, Television, and other Media.

I am a Vice President and General Manager of a Music Publishing Company. This book was written in a way that enabled me to grasp all aspects of the Music Industry and filled in all the gaps that had eluded me in the past. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants the information presented to them in a way that makes it easy to understand.

This is an excellent example of what you can do if you keep the little people in mind and your nose to the grindstone. Everyone who has any contact with the music business should keep a copy of this book, not on their bookshelves, but on their desk.

Well Done!!!!!

I have thoroughly gone through this book. It is written in a way that all can understand. If you have an interest in the Music business this book will explain how to make money with music and leave no question unanswered. It is a great reference tool! Congratulations Jeff & Todd Brabec. You have written a great book.

Success is about having the right information and then knowing how to and actually applying it! This is one of the books we recommend highly in our Hip Hop Entrepreneur Bookshelf on our website!

--Walt Goodridge, President Hip Hop Entrepreneur Association (Walt is also author of Rap: This Game of Exposure and, The Game of Artist Management, The Hip Hop Entrepreneur Lists of Exposure, The Niche Market Report, and other success tools for the Hip Hop Entrepreneur)

ANYONE CONSIDERING THE MUSIC BIZ(OR ALREADY IN IT) SHOULD THE BOO