Confessions of a Record Producer: How to Survive the Scams and Shams of the Music Business - Softcover

Avalon, Moses

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0879308745 ISBN 13: 9780879308742

Publisher: Backbeat Books, 2006

Synopsis

(Book). This fully updated and expanded book is not about how the music business should work, but how it does work. Industry insider Moses Avalon tells it like it is how producers dip into budgets, artists steal songs, lawyers write contracts in code and shows you how to survive these and other career-stifling situations. Deconstructing actual major and indie-label record deals, this book dissects each party's involvement and offers perspective on their actual roles, how much they get paid, and what their agendas really are. Engineers, managers, producers, artists, labels and lawyers each take their turn in the hot seat. It also outlines realistic alternatives for newcomers, such as "baby" production deals and vanity labels. This third edition includes: an entire chapter comparing ASCAP and BMI a publishing first * new insights for indie artists, including the lowdown on digital-distribution scams and independent A&R * information on new legislation and its impact on sampling and other legal matters * new music-industry "family trees" that reflect recent consolidation and reorganization * 80 pages of new material * and much more.

About this title

About the Author

Moses Avalon has produced and engineered records for Warner Brothers and BMG. His work with Grammy-winning recording artists has earned him five platinum records and several Billboard and Ampex Golden Reel awards. In 2003 he advised a California Senate panel in its investigation of recording industry practices. Moses Avalon writes under a pseudonym because of the sensitive nature of the material his books cover.

From Booklist

Confession is good for the soul! Over the years, among many other like-minded authors, a stockbroker, a "dirty" ballplayer, a "lapsed" librarian, a corporate headhunter, and an advertising man have all felt the need to atone in print either for their own misdeeds or for those of their profession. Here Avalon pseudonymously exposes the ways the recording industry can take advantage of budding artists. Avalon started in the business 15 years ago as a studio engineer and went on to produce records. He has also composed soundtracks for several independent films and now consults for artist managers, record labels, and investors. Avalon examines the various stages of the record deal. He explains the role of each person involved and suggests what that person's self-interest is. He also contrasts the differences among deals at the major labels, independents, and vanity labels, and he discusses "baby" deals between artists and production companies. Avalon's final cut is a medley of stories, rumors, and myths about ways people can be or have been "ripped-off." Though sometimes too blunt, Avalon provides a caveat that novices could miss out on elsewhere. David Rouse

Edition details

• Publisher: Backbeat Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0879308745
• ISBN 13: 9780879308742
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 335