Customer Rating: Summary: Gives you the rules to the Music Game Comment: I came in not knowing much of anything about the music industry...and after reading this book from cover to cover (its a long book), I can say I learned a lot. The book is very easy to read, with real and made-up examples, and simple language. The author does a great job breaking down the rules of the industry. It does not tell you how to run your operation or how to market a hit record...it just lays out all the rules for you to either follow, break, or bend.
The best chapters were about song ownership, copyrights, publishing, royalties, and taxes. Actually, the taxes chapter was really enlightening. You can tell a lawyer wrote this book from that chapter.
Customer Rating: Summary: Great book Comment: I've been in a band for several years, and unfortunately, everyone else that has been in my band has never had the experience of running it as a business. We have been skating by all these years just doing gigs, but now we are planning on releasing a CD and this definitely makes things more complicated. This book has been a godsend. Very informative and USEFUL information. Other music law type books are informative, but haven't been very useful on the level we needed it. You can use what is in this book right away. Its easy to read and understand. Customer Rating: Summary: Absolute Must have for Non-Lawyers in the Music Industry Comment: There comes a time in a musician or band's career when they get serious about what they're doing and need to start focusing on legal aspects of their endeavors. This book is and indispensable reference for that situation.
The book is written in easy to understand layman's terms. It covers a fairly broad range of subjects, and provides pointers to other resources for more in depth cover of the covered subjects.
One more notable point about the book is the pre-fabricated contracts and legal forms that it comes with. They seem to be solid, could be useful in a number of situations, and are explained thoroughly. Customer Rating: Summary: The Essential For ALL Musicians Comment: Like all carpenters needing important tools to build a house, this book is the tool for all musicians. It covers all the important music business information and will help cut down unnecessary misfortune for musicians. Definitely a MUST BUY!!! Customer Rating: Summary: Solid law basics w/ clear presentation Comment: This offers a great foundation to Music Law. It is clear & easy to read w/ room in the margins for notes. Richard Stim even mentions a few legal loopholes you can benefit from.
You can also recieve free book updates on the Nolo website, which is a cool perk.
If you belong to a band and love the art of your job, but sing the blues when it comes to the business, you need Music Law. Composed by musician and lawyer Richard Stim, the book explains how to:
find the right manager buy, insure and maintain equipment get gigs and get paid tour on a budget use samples do covers legally protect your copyright trademark your band's name choose a recording studio sell your music manage your website understand record contracts deal with taxes and much more
Music Law provides all the legal information and practical advice musicians need. The 5th edition -- completely updated to provide the latest in the law -- covers music downloads and other trends affecting the digital-music scene. It also provides up-to-date legal forms on CD-ROM.
