Customer Reviews

Releasing An Independent Record 6th Ed.

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

when i published this edition of "releasing" back in 1997, it was a must-have for indie bands releasing their own music. because so much has changed in the past five years, this book is now totally out-of-date and out-of-print. please do not buy a used copy of this book! the book is mostly contact info for various independent music-related companies, and all of this info is outdated. the web does a much better job at providing this sort of information, so start searching. good luck! -gary hustwit

Unfortunately, the main reference for my first self-released recording. The "information" here may have worked for someone at sometime, but hurt my efforts more than it helped. The contact lists are woefully out-of-date and contain loads of typos (which you only discover when the promo packages you send out for $2 a pop are returned as undeliverable).I urge you to look elsewhere.

I purchased this book for information on a research project thinking it would provide helpful information. Much to my dismay, the only useful pieces of information is a short "to-do" list and a few, mostly unhelpful, contact lists. The commentary in the book is unhelpful and tells you nothing, while leaving you wanting more. Also included is NON-INFORMATIVE information about getting radio airplay seemingly to get you to purchase his book on gaining radio airplay. If it is an uninformed as this book is, I would strongly discourage others from purchasing it.

If you're new to the record label busines then you might not know all the tips and trics that go into starting your own label A good guide cand mean the difference between succes and failure and you'll be far from failure when coosing this guide.It details all the intricate workings of the inner circle in the mussic industry and reveals all the secrets. When compared to "How To Make A Furtune In The Music Industry By Doing It Yourself: Your Personal Step-By-Step Guide To Having A Successful Career In The Music Business. ... To Sell Music, Book Shows And Get Noticed!" By Ty Cohen the book looks fragile and incomplete, many of the features described in Ty Cohen's book are unexplored in this title.

It only took me about 3 or 4 days to read this book. There are alot of good suggestions & pointers -- it seems like Mr. Huswit has been involved in the industry for a number of years. (I guess that saves me alot of trial and error). There are a ton of references here: Publishing, Distribution, Record Stores, Labels, etc. I will say that after I was finished, I wanted to search for more information on contracts, signing & releasing OTHER band's music. It got me motivated and ready to start, so I still give it a 5-star rating. Alan Houser, POETIC WAX RECORDS

This book is a farce. It is full of pages and pages of lists that are outdated and incomplete. There is some SPARCE writing in the book that seems to serve the purpose of filling the space between the lists. It is of no help whatever for someone trying to learn how to start a record company. It is clear that the author has no understanding of this business beyond the knowledge that an average Joe band player has .

This book is a farce. It is filled with outdated and incomplete lists and very little content. The SPARCE writing that is in the book seems to serve the purpose of taking space between the lists. It doesn't provide any helpful information. It is clear that the author doesn't know any more about starting a record company than the average Joe band member.

i'm a big fan of "how-to" books that are on-point and concise.

i bought this book in the late 1990's and it was extremely helpful in providing the nuts and bolts of releasing an independent record and/or starting an independent record label. gary himself says "don't buy it" (see his review)- lots of info is outdated. but it's still worth a flip through for anyone looking to release their first record.. the details on replication and promotion are still useful, as is the section on how to start a label.

you can supplement the outdated info with the internet and cover your basics with this book.

Having read Gary Hustwit's How To Release... and then having read the reviews previously posted, I have to wonder if the other reviewer's had even read the same book! The writing in Hustwit's guide is cool, crisp, detached, eloquent, engaging, and informative! What more could you ask for in a book about releasing an indie record. Hustwit has more street cred in this field than all of the reviewers combined. Have they ever looked at the entire Hustwit ouevre? Perhaps the problem with the poor reviewers below wasn't with the quality of the book that they read but the quality of the record that they attempted to release. The only possible better source for Independent music guides would be Hustwit's equally poignant "Websites for Musicians" - together they embody a kind of "rememberance of things past of record release guides". I understand the German translation loses some of the earth tone quality of the prose. Unlike other guides for music Hustwit does not allow his book to, as Jean Baudrillard says, "Fall into the abyss of culture."

this book totaly sucked dont buy i