Digital List Price:	$10.92
Print List Price:	$16.95
Kindle Price:	$6.31 Save $10.64 (63%)
	includes VAT*

Add Audible book to your purchase for just $7.90

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Enter a promotion code or Gift Card

Share <Embed>

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by [Seabrook, John]

Audible Sample

Playing...

Paused

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory Kindle Edition

by John Seabrook (Author)

184 customer reviews

See all 12 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$6.31

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$16.99

$6.00

$2.26

Paperback

"Please retry"

$15.26

$8.00

$5.35

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Audio CD, Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$23.79

$12.23

$4.29

"An utterly satisfying examination of the business of popular music." —Nathaniel Rich, The Atlantic

There’s a reason today’s ubiquitous pop hits are so hard to ignore—they’re designed that way. The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider’s look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters—alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean—this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners’ brains. You’ll never think about music the same way again.

A Wall Street Journal Best Business Book

Kindle Feature Spotlight

Length: 362 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible book: Audible book Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible book with Whispersync for Voice. Add the Audible book for a reduced price of $7.90 when you buy the Kindle book. Available

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Bob Stanley

74

Kindle Edition
$7.18
Mihaly…

116

Kindle Edition
$10.49
Stacy Horn

129

Kindle Edition
$6.99
Joanne Chen

3

Kindle Edition
$9.99
Janine Driver

116

Kindle Edition
$11.99
Dorian Lynskey

26

Kindle Edition
$8.24

Product details

File Size: 902 KB
Print Length: 362 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (October 5, 2015)
Publication Date: October 5, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00TIZFO2W
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,325 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #5 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Music > Recording & Sound
- #8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Popular
- #10 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Humor & Entertainment > Pop Culture > Music

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

Be the first video

Your name here

Customer reviews

Write a customer review

See all 184 customer reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Emily

Fascinating!

December 14, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

No real insights as to how or why anything happened, but an AMAZINGLY fascinating read. My key takeaway here is that maybe sometimes it's better to die early from rare and aggressive cancer than to live to see the monster you've created! If crazy stories of art, corporate corruption, sneaky marketing, and terrible people are your thing, read this! But the most important thread through it all is a reminder that some people really are in this for the art, Innovation, and fun. Through the stories of terrible people, the stories of excellence and excellent people shine like bright diamonds.

7 people found this helpful

Comment

March 29, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The author posits himself somewhere between wannabe cool-dad and basic Wall Street bro, leaving for dry commentary that reads more like a laundry list of business deals than an anything else. I was revolted and outraged by his condescending read on the interaction between Kelly Clarkson, and her then-producer Dr. Luke, who has since been outted as a predator to women in the music industry. Randomly there are parts about his mom playing piano. There's some interesting information in here, but I found his take in general to be lacking in imagination and wonder.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

pingufreddy

Shorter and pacier with mot so much New Yorker-esque larger meanings and there would be a good book here

June 11, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A very long magazine article which seems to find deep themes in what properly are unrelated or coincidental events. For example, Dr. Martin, a Swedish producer, responsible for an extraordinary number of hits and this is apparently evidence that the "new way" of making a hit record (with a genesis in Sweden) has removed or diminished risk in the record factory and elevated a particular formula for success. But the opposite seems also true: Martin is prodigious because he is a prodigy: as Geffen and King were to Brill so perhaps is Martin to pop. The book seemed a bit long on padded detail and I felt the facts were being squeezed to fit a theme or conclusion that the author had in mind. Shorter and pacier with mot so much New Yorker-esque larger meanings and there would be a good book here. As it was - great idea though - it was a really rather boring read.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

R.Sudhagar Raghavan

An eye-opening and unforgettable ride through the music hit-making industry !

September 5, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Superbly written and researched, this book is a wonderful addition to the modern music literature. The writer, for the first time ever, goes deep into the hitherto hidden and little known industry behind the music hits to reveal the often surprising and shocking truths. We all know that the industry has evolved since the 80s and 90s but these changes are little known to outsiders. There has been seismic changes in terms of the music industry structure, the balance of power and in the music production that were kept hidden from the general public and the fans.

Reading this book will open your eyes wide and you'll never see or hear a hit song the same way again.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

AaronHNahum

Interesting overview, wished for deeper reflection

December 28, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book is a truly excellent overview of the current "hit factory" behind today's pop music. In all of this: history, movements, immediate affects, and some juicy stories, it's fantastic.

What it isn't, really, is deeply insightful into what all this means for music as an art-form, nor for artists themselves. Each time an insight comes ('it's noticeable that Taylor Swifts 1989 is her first album that could have been sung by anyone') it passes without any real reflection on this. What does this mean? How does an artist speak in this factory and is it even possible?

Were genuine artists ever speaking in popular music? Presumably so. What made those times so different? Was it just album sales? Etc...

Also, there is really only a passing mention of what it all means for actual musicians. Of course there's the standard "this is dying" stuff - but how are people adapting? What possibilities are there? And look, are any of these guys even good musicians? Dr Luke's utterly laughable analysis of a melody: Is that really the height of what the creatives know about music? It doesn't seem so, but then there's this final thing that isn't analyses:

None of these people - not the singers, not the labels, not the producers - are actually trying to make good music. They are trying to make "hot products" that will by nature flare up temporarily and then make way for the next thing. This is the opposite of an artist, isn't it?

So, while really enjoying this book, I wish there had been a lot more along these lines...

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Stuart Rosen

One of my favorite books in the past few years

March 16, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One of my favorite books in the past few years. Seabrook dives deep into modern pop songwriting, which reflects a production line more than the mythic writer with a guitar and notepad. You don't have to love current pop music to love this book, but you are sure to come out of reading this with eyes open to the talents of these craftspeople. Along the way are terrific profiles of pop geniuses known (Max Martin) and relatively unknown (Deniz Pop's key role in the Swedish pop machine is made clear throughout the book). Read it.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

The Real Low Down On The Corporate Machine That Has Reduced The Power Of Music To Just Another Consumer Product!

October 2, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a GREAT read that displays the phony music industry for the evil empire that it actually is!
Explains why everything today sounds the same & exactly how music when from being a cultural force to being dumbed down to a sleek packaged product. Basically lip synching super models that have NO redeeming talent whatsoever!
This book reveals just why no one really cares about music anymore!

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Frankie Longings

Very interesting read but a little hard to follow

February 21, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I found the storyline incredibly interesting. The author compiles various interviews from different sources as well as personal interviews. While reading, it was sometimes difficult to follow who he was talking about since he called the same person different names. Also, there were chapters which ended leading up to a climax that you thought you'd continue into the next chapter, but then the author would switch stories only to come back 2-3 chapters later.

Overall I did enjoy the book and recommend it as a read for anyone interested in the music business.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory

Set up a giveaway

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Eric Beall

18

Kindle Edition
$11.99
Frans de Waal

272

Kindle Edition
$9.99
Richard P. Feynman

1,312

Kindle Edition
$9.99
Judith Martin

14

Kindle Edition
$6.99
Florence Williams

105

Kindle Edition
$2.99
Fumio Sasaki

424

Kindle Edition
$12.40

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.

Would you like to report poor quality or formatting in this book? Click here

Would you like to report this content as inappropriate? Click here

Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? Click here

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory Kindle Edition

Kindle Feature Spotlight

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Product details

Related Video Shorts (0)

Be the first video

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Customer reviews

Filter by popular topics in reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Most recent customer reviews

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory Kindle Edition

Kindle Feature Spotlight

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Product details

Related Video Shorts (0)

Be the first video

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Customer reviews

Filter by popular topics in reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Most recent customer reviews

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Customers who viewed this item also viewed