Musician's Business and Legal Guide, The (Paperback)

by Mark Halloran (Compiler), Beverly Hills Bar Association Committee for the Arts (Corporate Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Women, don't let your talents get ripped off! Get educated about the music biz with this one. "In one way or another, music benefits everyone in our society." Well put, and if you're a serious musical writer, performer or producer, you'll want to put this comprehensive legal guide on your reference shelf. It's full of information on managers, unions, contracts, publishing and royalties that may save you thousands of dollars and big headaches. Too many musicians never see the fruits of their labors. This is more than an ounce of prevention. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by Lenore Troia --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 462 pages
• Publisher: Pearson P T R; 2 edition (February 12, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013237322X
• ISBN-13: 978-0132373227
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #971,167 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Randolph Walker Jr. (Mississippi) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, very insightful, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

This book is a great find! It covers many aspects of the music industry that are not only of interest to artist, but others in the industry as well. This book is a great investment even containing sample contracts and explanations so you can understand what they are saying without having a law degree.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very thorough. Easy reading. Great examples., March 11, 1999

By A Customer

This book covers the gammit of what every working musician or artist should know. From music publishing to copyright agreements, defining a business plan to writing contracts, this book has helped to explain the basics and beyond, time and time again. Great investment.