All You Need To Know About The Music Business Seventh Edition

This revised and updated edition provides crucial information on the industry's adaptations to today's technological advances and uncertain economy.

A guide to the music business and its legal issues provides real-world coverage of a wide range of topics, including teams of advisors, record deals, songwriting and music publishing, touring, and merchandising.

The definitive, essential guide to the music industry, now in its eighth edition—revised and updated with crucial information on the industry’s major changes in response to rapid technological advances and economic uncertainty. For the first time ever, the guide also includes advice on the Canadian music scene from entertainment lawyer Chip Sutherland. The past two decades have seen file-sharing technology and digital streaming services transform the music business across the continent, and the changes keep coming at breakneck speed. How are record labels adapting to the demand for instantly accessible, low-cost music while coping with piracy? How can Cana­dian musicians break into the global market? And what does it all mean for aspiring and established artists today? Donald Passman, one of the most trusted music law­yers in the United States, offers his sage advice for creating, selling, sharing, and protecting your music in the Infor­mation Age in this updated Canadian edition of All You Need to Know About the Music Business. And now Cana­dian musicians have a voice of their own, as Chip Sutherland, one of Canada’s most distinguished enter­tainment lawyers, offers insight into the industry trends and particulars of the Great White North. Executives and artists, experts and novices alike will benefit from these detailed yet easy-to-understand expla­nations of the latest technologies, legalities, and practices shaping the music business, such as: • Royalties for music transmitted via digital down­loads, streaming services, cloud lockers, and apps • Updated licensing regulations and industry agree­ments • Selecting and hiring a winning team of advisors—personal and business managers, agents, and attorneys—and structuring their commissions, percentages, and fees in a way that will protect you and maximize these relationships • Mastering the major and the finer points of con­tract negotiations In a bonus Canadian content section at the end of each chapter, they give guidance on the basics, such as how to: • Navigate the Canadian marketplace and the tran­sition to a global presence • Find Canadian financial grants and bursaries • Understand regulations governing Canadian content development • Recognize the unique features of Canadian deal structures • Maximize concert, touring, and merchandising agreements in Canadian and American market­places Anyone interested in making and marketing music—musi­cians, songwriters, agents, promoters, publishers, managers, and record company executives—needs this crucial text to keep up with the frenetic pace of technological and legal change. No one understands the music business on both sides of the border better than Passman and Sutherland. Let them show you how to “make it” in one of the world’s most dynamic and challenging industries.

All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Don Passman—dubbed “the industry bible” by the Los Angeles Times—is now updated to address the biggest transformation of the music industry yet: streaming. For more than twenty-five years, All You Need to Know About the Music Business has been universally regarded as the definitive guide to the music industry. Now in its tenth edition, Donald Passman leads novices and experts alike through what has been the most profound change in the music business since the days of wax cylinders and piano rolls. For the first time in history, music is no longer monetized by selling something—it’s monetized by how many times listeners stream a song. And that completely changes the ecosystem of the business, as Passman explains in detail. Since the advent of file-sharing technology in the late 1990s to the creation of the iPod, the music industry has been teetering on the brink of a major transformation—and with the newest switch to streaming music, this change has finally come to pass. Passman’s comprehensive guide offers timely, authoritative information from how to select and hire a winning team of advisors and structure their commissions and fees; navigate the ins and outs of record deals, songwriting, publishing, and copyrights; maximize concert, touring, and merchandising deals; and how the game is played in a streaming world. “If you want to be in music, you have to read this book,” says Adam Levine, lead singer and guitarist of Maroon 5. With its proven track record, this updated edition of All You Need to Know About the Music Business is more essential than ever for musicians, songwriters, lawyers, agents, promoters, publishers, executives, and managers—anyone trying to navigate the rapid transformation of the industry.

An essential guide to the music industry incorporates information on major changes in response to technological advances and economic uncertainty, covering such topics as music copyrights and new digital streaming services.

All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Don Passman—dubbed “the industry bible” by the Los Angeles Times—is now updated to address the biggest transformation of the music industry yet: streaming. For more than twenty-five years, All You Need to Know About the Music Business has been universally regarded as the definitive guide to the music industry. Now in its tenth edition, Donald Passman leads novices and experts alike through what has been the most profound change in the music business since the days of wax cylinders and piano rolls. For the first time in history, music is no longer monetized by selling something—it’s monetized by how many times listeners stream a song. And that completely changes the ecosystem of the business, as Passman explains in detail. Since the advent of file-sharing technology in the late 1990s to the creation of the iPod, the music industry has been teetering on the brink of a major transformation—and with the newest switch to streaming music, this change has finally come to pass. Passman’s comprehensive guide offers timely, authoritative information from how to select and hire a winning team of advisors and structure their commissions and fees; navigate the ins and outs of record deals, songwriting, publishing, and copyrights; maximize concert, touring, and merchandising deals; and how the game is played in a streaming world. “If you want to be in music, you have to read this book,” says Adam Levine, lead singer and guitarist of Maroon 5. With its proven track record, this updated edition of All You Need to Know About the Music Business is more essential than ever for musicians, songwriters, lawyers, agents, promoters, publishers, executives, and managers—anyone trying to navigate the rapid transformation of the industry.

Dubbed “the industry bible” by the Los Angeles Times, All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Donald Passman is the go-to guide for everyone in the music business through ten editions, over thirty years, and over a half a million copies sold. Now with updates explaining why musicians have more power today than ever in history; discussion of the mega-million-dollar sales of artists’ songs and record catalogs; how artist access to streaming media, and particularly TikTok, has completely reshaped the music business; the latest on music created by AI; and a full update of the latest numbers and trends. For more than thirty years, All You Need to Know About the Music Business has been universally regarded as the definitive guide to the music industry. Now in its eleventh edition, Passman leads novices and experts alike through what has been the most profound change in the music business since the days of wax cylinders and piano rolls: streaming. For the first time in history, music is no longer monetized by selling something—it’s monetized by how many times a listener streams a song. And also, for the first time, artists can get their music to listeners without a record company gatekeeper, creating a new democracy for music. The “industry bible” (Los Angeles Times), now updated, is essential for anyone in the music business—musicians, songwriters, lawyers, agents, promoters, publishers, executives, and managers—and the definitive guide for anyone who wants to be in the business. So, whether you are—or aspire to be—in the music industry, veteran music lawyer Passman’s comprehensive guide is an indispensable tool. He offers timely information about the latest trends, including the reasons why artists have more clout than ever in history, the massive influence of TikTok, the mega million dollar sales of artists’ songs and record catalogs, music in Web3 and the Metaverse, music created by AI, and a full update of the latest numbers and practices.

​This book discusses the economics of the music industry in the context of the changing landscape brought about by innovation, technological change, and rapid digitization. The ability of digital technology to reduce the transaction costs of music copyright licensing has all but destroyed the traditional media business models of incumbent Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), music publishers, record labels, and radio and television stations. In a climate where streaming services are rapidly proliferating and consumers prefer subscription models over direct ownership, new business models, such as direct licensing, are developing. This book provides an overview of the economics of the traditional music industry, the technology-induced changes in business models and copyright law, and the role of publishers, copyright holders and songwriters in the emerging direct licensing model. In Part One, the author examines the economic aspects of direct licensing as an alternative to the traditional blanket license for copyrighted musical compositions, with an emphasis on the often monopolistic nature of PROs. In Part Two, the author focuses on the music publisher and the role direct licensing and competition may play in the changing business models in the music industry and the potential benefits this may bring to copyright holders, such as songwriters. To compliment this model, the author proposes a maximum statutory fixed-rate for musical performances to further streamline the royalty process, especially where distributors such as Google and YouTube are concerned. This book adds to the growing body of literature on the economics of music licensing in the digital age. It will be useful to those in the fields of economics and law, as well as music executives, musicians, songwriters, composers, and other industry professionals who are interested in understanding how technology, innovation and competition have reshaped the music industry.​