All You Need to Know About the Music Business
10th Edition
by Donald S. Passman
Reading Profile
Should I read this?
Passman's book reads like a practical, lawyerly field guide to today's music deals: organized by topic, heavy on contract language, fee schedules, and royalty math. Its useful part is translating clauses and streaming mechanics into usable explanations for people negotiating or advising artists. The main limitation is density — long sections of legal detail and repetitive tables make it slow, and it offers no hands-on worksheets or exercises. Best used as a reference you consult chapter-by-chapter rather than a breezy single-sitting read.
Read this if...
- •an independent artist negotiating a first record or publishing deal who wants clear breakdowns of royalties and common contract clauses to avoid costly mistakes
- •a manager at a small label advising multiple acts on streaming splits and licensing who needs chapter-by-chapter answers to contract language and payment flows
- •an early-career music-business paralegal or A&R person transitioning from creative work who needs to learn industry vocabulary and the mechanics behind advances, royalties, and rights
Skip this if...
- •you want storytelling, cultural history, or personalities — you'll likely put it down when the book shifts into long, clause-level legal explanations
- •you prefer light, short-essay reading — the dense numbers, charts, and repetitive legal detail will feel tedious
- •you wanted a workbook or templates — no hands-on exercises or downloadable forms are included, so it isn't a turn-key negotiation kit
All You Need to Know About the Music Business by veteran music lawyer Don Passman?dubbed ?the industry bible? by the Los Angeles Times?is now updated to address the biggest transformation of the music industry yet: streaming.For more than twentyfive years, All You Need to Know About the Music Business has been universally regarded as the definitiv...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- an independent artist negotiating a first record or publishing deal who wants clear breakdowns of royalties and common contract clauses to avoid costly mistakes
- a manager at a small label advising multiple acts on streaming splits and licensing who needs chapter-by-chapter answers to contract language and payment flows
- an early-career music-business paralegal or A&R person transitioning from creative work who needs to learn industry vocabulary and the mechanics behind advances, royalties, and rights
- you want storytelling, cultural history, or personalities — you'll likely put it down when the book shifts into long, clause-level legal explanations
- you prefer light, short-essay reading — the dense numbers, charts, and repetitive legal detail will feel tedious
- you wanted a workbook or templates — no hands-on exercises or downloadable forms are included, so it isn't a turn-key negotiation kit
Check formats, pricing, and availability options for Kindle, physical print, or audiobooks directly.
View available editions on AmazonKey themes
Why recommended
appears in Music Production, Filmmaking, and Nonfiction.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
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Appears In
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