The Label Machine: How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Independent Music Label


Book Description

Whether you want to start a record label, self-release your own music, or are just an avid music lover, this book will give you information about the business of music. The Label Machine: How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Independent Music Label is the first book to give music artists practical step-by-step comprehensive instructions for setting up and running an independent music label to successfully distribute and market their music. You will learn all about the music industry business and how to navigate the tricky dos and don'ts. You will finally understand and take control of your music copyright and get to grips with the legalities involved. You will build your music business effortlessly, learning how to professionally market your music and artists - allowing you to reach thousands of fans. And essentially, you will learn how to create multiple label revenue streams to create an established record label. It features a detailed breakdown of how every part of the industry works together, including copyright in the UK and US, record label set-up, record releases, and royalty collection. It also provides in-depth guides on marketing, covering; traditional PR, Facebook and Instagram advertising, Spotify playlisting, and fan growth. Includes templates for record label and management contracts, marketing and promotion schedules, press releases, and fan email automation.




Def Jam Recordings


Book Description

The illustrated oral history of the greatest hip-hop hit-making machine in history.




Dust & Grooves


Book Description

A photographic look into the world of vinyl record collectors—including Questlove—in the most intimate of environments—their record rooms. Compelling photographic essays from photographer Eilon Paz are paired with in-depth and insightful interviews to illustrate what motivates these collectors to keep digging for more records. The reader gets an up close and personal look at a variety of well-known vinyl champions, including Gilles Peterson and King Britt, as well as a glimpse into the collections of known and unknown DJs, producers, record dealers, and everyday enthusiasts. Driven by his love for vinyl records, Paz takes us on a five-year journey unearthing the very soul of the vinyl community.




Music Business For Dummies


Book Description

Start your music career off right with this fun guide to the music industry Music Business For Dummies explains the ins and outs of the music industry for artists and business people just starting out. You'll learn how file-sharing, streaming, and iTunes have transformed the industry, and how to navigate your way through the new distribution models to capitalize on your work. It all begins with the right team, and this practical guide explains who you need to have on your side as you begin to grow and get more exposure. Coverage includes rehearsing, performing, recording, publishing, copyrights, royalties, and much more, giving you the information you need to start your career off smart. Music industry success has never been easy to achieve, and recent transformations and disruptions to the business side have made the whole idea even more daunting than before. This guide gives you a roadmap around the landmines, and provides expert advice for starting out on the right foot. Find the right players, agents, and business managers Make more money from your work with smart distribution Build your brand and get people talking about you Get gigs, go on tour, and keep on growing If music is your calling, you need to plan your career in a way that sets you up for success from the very beginning. Put the right people in place, get the most out of your investments, and learn how to work the crowd both virtually and in person. Music Business For Dummies is your companion on your journey to the music career you want.




The Art of Mixing


Book Description

David Gibson uses 3D visual representations of sounds in a mix as a tool to explain the dynamics that can be created in a mix. This book provides an in-depth exploration into the aesthetics of what makes a great mix. Gibson’s unique approach explains how to map sounds to visuals in order to create a visual framework that can be used to analyze what is going on in any mix. Once you have the framework down, Gibson then uses it to explain the traditions that have be developed over time by great recording engineers for different styles of music and songs. You will come to understand everything that can be done in a mix to create dynamics that affect people in really deep ways. Once you understand what engineers are doing to create the great mixes they do, you can then use this framework to develop your own values as to what you feel is a good mix. Once you have a perspective on what all can be done, you have the power to be truly creative on your own – to create whole new mixing possibilities. It is all about creating art out of technology. This book goes beyond explaining what the equipment does – it explains what to do with the equipment to make the best possible mixes.




XXX Fanzine (1983-1988)


Book Description

xXx Fanzine isn't merely a collection of articles, reviews, and photographs from one of Hardcore America's best-known fanzines. It's a chronicle of punk's evolution in the 80's: a story of music and ideologies in motion. xXx's story picks up while the first wave of hardcore was in full swing. Major players including Minor Threat had already released landmark records, and bands were loading up station wagons to play now infamous venues like The Channel, A7 or D.C. Space. Now, in addition to reproducing (and restoring) original interviews and pages from the zine itself, xXx Fanzine re-interviews countless bands and musical prime-movers including Ian MacKaye, Keith Morris and members of Agnostic Front, Bad Brains and Cro-Mags to give the book a rare "Then-And-Now" perspective. xXx Fanzine isn't just a look back at hardcore's salad days, but a unique look at how punk's music and message shook the mainstream itself.




How to Start A Rap Record Label: A Step by Step Guide


Book Description

Dear Soon-to-be Record Label Entrepreneur, If you want to start your own record label but thinks it’s confusing and difficult and looking for someone who can actually help you, then you’ve come to the right place. Despite this guide is focused on Starting rap and Hip Hop Labels...Here you’ll find out exactly how you can start an indie record label in any genres of music including country music, reggae, rock..etc The author is Record Executive turned Music Business consultant with 20 years of Entertainment lawyer experience who hails from the birth place of hip hop music New York City.He’s penned down everything there is about starting a record label into this over 100+ pages e-book. It will take you by the hand and guides you step by step through what’s involved in starting an independent record label of your own and will help you to become the KING KONG of the record label business. Unlike other How to start a record label e-books here on Amazon, this e-book is guaranteed to get you started and help you succeed in record label business. This ultimate record label guide will provide information and advice on everything you should know to start your own record company and run it successfully. It will show you how to start your own record label business, retaining lawyers and accountants, what to include in your business plan, how to construct budgets, what to look for in an artist and how to sign one, the ins and outs of artist contracts, what to seek in a distributor, and how to develop a marketing plan that can market your music effectively. This comprehensive record label guide is your road map to success and offers information on the following: • Everything there is to know about owning a record label such as what you know before starting and exactly where to start from! • Step by step instructions on legally establishing your record label! • Comprehensive discussion on the most important aspects of your record label and its type! • Estimation of required start-up cost, advice on where to find the investors and more! • Tips and advice on establishing your record label business! • Details on different aspects of releasing CDs including the technical aspect of making CDs! • Helpful tips and advice on making money and spreading word-of-mouth for your music! • Various proven ways of publicity that will push your artist, and your label, right into the center of attention! • Everything about radio stations, from how they run to who works there! • A complete guide to forming a radio promotion plan! • Importance of promotional tours for grabbing media attention and expose your artist to new fans! • Complete list of the pros and cons of being small in a very big business! • Explanation of a distributor and the importance of distribution for your record label business! • Things to look for in order to finding the right distributor for your label! • Details of how it all works with the distributors! • Guidance on paying royalties and negotiating artists’ royalties! Know what you need to consider when calculating royalties! • Guidance about various aspects of wheeling and dealing your business such as contracts, deals, letters and other massive amounts of paperwork! • Guidance on some other major business aspects! • Bonus information that will help you with the details of your record label business, such as CD pressers, radio stations, and how to write great promotional pieces! This e-book is written in simple and easy to understand language, jam packed with vital advice, helpful tips and proven techniques that show you exactly what you need to become the next Artista Records or even Universal Record Label and market yourself as a top-notch record label executive! Imagine What You’ll Be Up To After Reading Our Guide… • You’ll be one of the few lucky people who actually live their dreams! • You’ll fire your boss, quit your job and leave the boring life of the 9 to 5 grind! • You’ll be a re




Major Labels


Book Description

One of Oprah Daily's 20 Favorite Books of 2021 • Selected as one of Pitchfork's Best Music Books of the Year “One of the best books of its kind in decades.” —The Wall Street Journal An epic achievement and a huge delight, the entire history of popular music over the past fifty years refracted through the big genres that have defined and dominated it: rock, R&B, country, punk, hip-hop, dance music, and pop Kelefa Sanneh, one of the essential voices of our time on music and culture, has made a deep study of how popular music unites and divides us, charting the way genres become communities. In Major Labels, Sanneh distills a career’s worth of knowledge about music and musicians into a brilliant and omnivorous reckoning with popular music—as an art form (actually, a bunch of art forms), as a cultural and economic force, and as a tool that we use to build our identities. He explains the history of slow jams, the genius of Shania Twain, and why rappers are always getting in trouble. Sanneh shows how these genres have been defined by the tension between mainstream and outsider, between authenticity and phoniness, between good and bad, right and wrong. Throughout, race is a powerful touchstone: just as there have always been Black audiences and white audiences, with more or less overlap depending on the moment, there has been Black music and white music, constantly mixing and separating. Sanneh debunks cherished myths, reappraises beloved heroes, and upends familiar ideas of musical greatness, arguing that sometimes, the best popular music isn’t transcendent. Songs express our grudges as well as our hopes, and they are motivated by greed as well as idealism; music is a powerful tool for human connection, but also for human antagonism. This is a book about the music everyone loves, the music everyone hates, and the decades-long argument over which is which. The opposite of a modest proposal, Major Labels pays in full.




The Anthology of Rap


Book Description

From the school yards of the South Bronx to the tops of the "Billboard" charts, rap has emerged as one of the most influential cultural forces of our time. This pioneering anthology brings together more than 300 lyrics written over 30 years, from the "old school" to the present day.




Sing to Me


Book Description

In this long-awaited memoir, illustrated with over 100 never-before-seen photos from his personal collection, the groundbreaking record producer chronicles his struggles, his success, and the celebrated artists that made him a legend. Over the last twenty-five years, legendary music producer and record man LA Reid—the man behind artists such as Toni Braxton, Kanye West, Rihanna, TLC, Outkast, Mariah Carey, Pink, Justin Bieber, and Usher—has changed the music business forever. In addition to discovering some of the biggest pop stars on the planet, he has shaped some of the most memorable and unforgettable hits of the last two generations, creating an impressive legacy of talent discovery and hit records. Now, for the first time, he tells his story, taking fans on an intimate tour of his life, as he chronicles the fascinating journey from his small-town R&B roots in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his work as a drummer to his fame as a Grammy Award-winning music producer and his gig as a judge on the hit reality show, The X Factor. In Sing to Me, Reid goes behind the scenes of the music industry, charting his rise to fame and sharing stories of the countless artists he’s met, nurtured, and molded into stars. With fascinating insight into the early days of artists as diverse as TLC, Usher, Pink, Kanye West, and Justin Bieber, his story offers a detailed look at what life was like for stars at the start of their meteoric rise and how he always seemed to know who would be the next big thing. What emerges is a captivating portrait from the inside of popular music evolution over the last three decades. Part music memoir, part business story of climbing to the top, this beautifully designed book, jam packed with photos, showcases Reid's trademark passion and ingenuity and introduces a multifaceted genius who continues to shape pop culture today.