Confessions of a Record Producer

Avalon (the pseudonym of a record producer who has worked for BMG and Warner Brothers) dissects the music business, explaining who's in it for what, and the tricks that are used to cheat artists, writers, producers, and managers in this notoriously greed infested industry.

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This practical, provocative book is not about how the music recording 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, labels skim royalties, lawyers write contracts in code - and shows readers how to survive in the wake of these and other unfortunate truths. Deconstructing actual major record deals, Avalon dissects each party's involvement and perspective: what they actually do, how much they get paid, and what's really on their agenda - on the table and under it. As Avalon notes, "no one gets away clean." Engineers, managers, producers, artists, labels, and lawyers each take their turn in the hot seat. Avalon also outlines more realistic alternatives for newcomers, such as independent labels, "baby" production deals, and vanity labels. This second edition examines important recent developments and their impact, including Internet "file sharing" and "streaming," mergers and acquisitions that are making the big guys even bigger, trade associations and their agendas, the evolving economics of the music business, and much more.