Book Description
The maxim in the music industry has always been "You can't make it on talent alone," and with This Business of Music Marketing & Promotion, you don't have to. In language that is simple and direct, author Tad Lathrop details promotional skills, publicity plans, royalty guidelines, and more, all supported by real-world examples. He shows how the Web and other technological developments have revolutionized not only how music is made, but how it is marketed and promoted. The old rules still apply--create a marketing plan, know your audience, be familiar with the laws of commerce--but there are a host of new ones as well, along with new strategies on how to give your recording the exposure it deserves. This streamlined, reorganized, and updated edition features an all-new chapter ("Twenty Profile-Building Ideas to Use Right Now"), which will help readers get a running start in the recording business. They'll also find completely updated material about Internet sales and promotion techniques, the latest information available on integrated marketing and e-marketing strategies, and brand-new listings of information resources.


About the Author
Tad Lathrop has written and edited music and marketing materials for a variety of media and a host of companies, including MTV's Sonicnet and Billboard Publications. He produced and co-wrote Jazz: The First Century and the book/CD compilation Cult Rockers and has developed dozens of other books on music and the performing arts. Lathrop has lectured on music and music business topics at CUNY and San Francisco State University's Music Recording Industry Program.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Transformation has been the operative dynamic in the music industry since the first publication of This Business of Music Marketing & Promotion in 1999. Online music has provided much of the fuel, with downloadable songs and file-sharing programs creating new avenues of distribution and promotion to consumers worldwide. The old rules of marketing and promotion still apply: You still need to create a marketing plan, cultivate your audience, and understand all the latest music business conventions - from royalty percentages to pricing strategies - that this book thoroughly discusses. But the conventions that were in place at the end of the 20th century no longer apply today. The revised and updated edition of This Business of Music Marketing & Promotion accounts for the music industry's dramatic transformation. It reveals how the Web and other technological developments have revolutionized not only how music is made but also how it can be delivered to customers. Central to this objective is its focus on the full integration of online sales and promotion into the standard music marketing mix, as well as on competitive marketing and promotion tactics, innovative uses of e-mail, and creative approaches to generating sales on a Web site.

New to this edition are expanded chapters on Internet distribution and promotion; more about building a market presence through traditional channels such as television, radio, and video, and through sales incentives, live shows, cross-promotion, advertising, and trade shows and conferences; and a chapter offering "Twenty Profile-Building Ideas to Use Right Now." Also new are six incisive interviews with industry insiders from all corners of the business: an independent singer/recording artist skilled in self-marketing; a veteran major-label marketing executive; a president of a mid-sized record company; a music licensing specialist; a radio promotion executive; an independent music publicist; and a record label's staff publicist. Finally, this edition includes an updated and expanded appendix of marketing and promotion resources, offering current information on advertising; audience and market characteristics and research; government agencies; Internet and Web development; Internet consumer music sites; CD manufacturing; marketing (general and Internet); music distribution (domestic and international); books and magazines; music industry conferences and seminars; music retailing; organizations and trade associations; and more.

FROM THE CRITICS

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