Musician's Business and Legal Guide, The (3rd Edition) (Musician's Business & Legal Guide) [Paperback]

Mark Halloran (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130316814 | ISBN-13: 978-0130316813 | Publication Date: July 27, 2001 | Edition: 3

Demystifies the music business and the indecipherable body of law which shapes it!

• Provides vital information about how the Internet is changing the way music is marketed and sold.
• Expanded/updated information on the impact of the Internet on legal and business issues.
• Appendix includes names; URL and mailing addresses of major industry associations and organizations, as well as a list of the important industry publications.

Definitive in scope and written specifically for musicians and songwriters by top professionals currently working in the industry, this book provides substantive information on actual practices—with clause-by-clause commentaries on all major contracts in the industry, featuring extensive analyses, not just forms and casual commentary. Clarifies the language, shows actual practices, and offers advice on what to watch for. Requires no background in law or business; is written in plain English, not "legalese." Chapters are written by lawyers, managers, agents and business people working in the music industry in New York and Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Demystifies the music business and the indecipherable body of law which shapes it!

* Provides vital information about how the Internet is changing the way music is marketed and sold.
* Expanded/updated information on the impact of the Internet on legal and business issues.
* Appendix includes names; URL and mailing addresses of major industry associations and organizations, as well as a list of the important industry publications.
Definitive in scope and written specifically for musicians and songwriters by top professionals currently working in the industry, this book provides substantive information on actual practices—with clause-by-clause commentaries on all major contracts in the industry, featuring extensive analyses, not just forms and casual commentary. Clarifies the language, shows actual practices, and offers advice on what to watch for. Requires no background in law or business; is written in plain English, not "legalese." Chapters are written by lawyers, managers, agents and business people working in the music industry in New York and Los Angeles.

About the Author

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Product Details

• Paperback: 489 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 3 edition (July 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130316814
• ISBN-13: 978-0130316813
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 4.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,636 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Keep Coming Back to This Book, September 3, 2004

By 

Ran Walker (Hampton Roads, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Musician's Business and Legal Guide, The (3rd Edition) (Musician's Business & Legal Guide) (Paperback)

I bought this book to fill out my music law library. Among the many books I have read are Passman's book "Everything You Need to Know About the Music Industry", "This Business of Music", and even Moses Avalon's more gritty book "Confessions of a Record Producer." While all of these books provide a great deal helpful information to understanding the music business, they are not really books that contain samples of what the actual contracts look like.

I bought The Musician's Business and Legal Guide a while back just because of the sample contracts. After sorting through the plentiful boilerplate contracts, I found that the information prefacing the agreements, i.e. that actual chapter contents, were even more invaluable than the contracts, which in themselves are pretty thorough. While I use my own hybrid, individualized contracts for the entertainment clients I represent through my law practice, I find myself constantly flipping back to this book as a reference since it covers such a wide range of information. In addition, the annotations in the sample contracts helps to illustrate the degrees of flexibility usually available to those contracts and what the terms actually mean.

This book is definitely not, as another reviewer stated, a book that you set out to read from cover to cover like Passman's book, but it works tremendously well as a reference to go to from time to time. My copy is highlighted and marked all up (and I'm one who normally writes in books).

The value of this book seriously exceeds its cost, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to see how the concepts discussed in other music business books play out legally.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 19, 2006

By 

Crystal "www.MusicContracts101.com" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Musician's Business and Legal Guide, The (3rd Edition) (Musician's Business & Legal Guide) (Paperback)

People think music business is all about creation and keeping the fans happy. Well it mostly is but a young artist can become stuck in all that legal stuff. For somebody who is new that can be very difficult and people could take advantage of this and try to cheat you so this book is about all the legal involved aspects of the music business. This book will offer you a detailed explanation of everything that concerns the people in the music business. After you read it you will know what to avoid and understand the issues as they are explained in an easy and franc manner.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must have, May 29, 2008

By 

ATC2 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Musician's Business and Legal Guide, The (3rd Edition) (Musician's Business & Legal Guide) (Paperback)

Weather you in the business or getting into it, this book is essential. Even if you have a lawyer. Good insight...