The Music Industry Bible: Donald Passman’s, All You Need To Know About The Music Industry

if you’re an aspiring artist, the word is you should take the time to understand the business side of the music industry. otherwise, you run the risk of getting taken. watch the movie, Elvis (2022), to get a view of perhaps the saddest, worst case in music history.

fortunately, entertainment lawyer Donald Passman has written the definitive book, All You Need To Know About The Music Business, now in its tenth edition. what greatly helps is that he’s written it so that it’s easy to read and understand, weaving in humor to lighten up and brighten up an otherwise a dull and extremely complicated topic. clearly, passman wants to help artists. he spent four years revising the latest edition because so much has changed in the industry, namely with streaming.

i had already powered through the ninth edition and was amazed at what i learned, when i had to put it to use. i was talking to a potential guitarist for a band i wanted to start who seemed to check out. yet something wasn’t sitting right with me. the red flags began when one day he turned the tables and, instead of wanting to join my band collaboratively, invited me to join *his* band, but use my original music. he was going to manage the band and told me things like, the front person, i, would have to provide the PA system. he wanted to move quickly.

reading passman’s book i learned that the band usually shares the cost of the PA system. even if that was negotiable, if i hadn’t read passman’s book, i wouldn’t have thought about things like, what happens with the song rights if the band were to split up or i was kicked out of the band. apparently, you have to think about these things even if you’re a no name band. all it takes is for one song taking off down the road for things to get contentious. in lieu of coming to an agreement, he kept saying that we’d figure things out as we go. whether good or bad, my music means too much to me to throw that much caution to the wind. so, ultimately, i passed.

passman recommends always doing a “tummy check.”

according to passman, yes, there are crooks out there, and true, business deals don’t always favor the artists. but the best thing you can do is educate yourself so that you can make the best possible decisions every step of the way.