Description

By (author) Passman Donald S.

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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.

Biographical note:
Donald S. Passman practices law in Los Angeles, California and has specialized in the music business for over forty years, primarily representing artists. The Harvard Law grad is the author of All You Need to Know About the Music Business and has received numerous industry recognitions.

Excerpt:
Chapter 1: First Steps1 First StepsSTATE OF THE UNION
Welcome to the eleventh edition.

And for you Spinal Tap fans, “This one goes to Eleven” (if you have no idea what the hell I’m talking about, Google it).

I have lots of new goodies for you since we last got together, such as the dominance of streaming, why artists have more power than ever in history, the emergence of music created by artificial intelligence (some argue that’s been going on since the beginning of stoner rock), how TikTok has majorly rocked the music world (and whether that’s good or bad), the recent mega-sales of music catalogs, music in Web3/metaverse/NFTs, and of course updated numbers and practices.

Piracy slaughtered the music business in the 2000s, as U.S. music revenues plummeted from their high of $14.6 billion in 1999 to half of that, and they stayed stagnant or steadily declined for sixteen years. But thanks to streaming, we’re now booming, having hit an all-time high of $15.9 billion in 2022, and still growing healthily. Streaming is clearly the savior, but in the process, it changed the music biz more radically in the last few years than at any other time in its history.

Let me explain:

First, of course, there was a massive change in how music is delivered. Since the 1890s, music has been monetized by selling something: wax cylinders, piano rolls, shellac records, vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, and cheesy merchandise (well, I