Author:John Seabrook
Why does every pop tune sound the same these days? That’s the question answered in this, rather brilliant book about the music industry these days. John Seabrook takes us into the world in which people like Denniz POP, Max Martin, Clive Davis, Clive Calder et al reign supreme and their artists, who include Ace Of Base, The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Rhianna, Katy Perry and others are actually the supporting acts. This book is basically a business and economics book about pop. Basically, thanks to streaming and piracy, the industry needs hits more now than it did in the past. However in the past while those hits could support an alternative to the mainstream, now they cannot. Which means it’s a depressing read for those of us who like their music weird. However on the other hand it’s a bracing stuff for those of us interested in music as an industry or a business. I highly recommend it. Even if you don’t like Katy Perry or Rhianna how they became big is undeniably fascinating.
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Any memoir by a manager or a label head. People who dig cheesy pop.
One thing you’ve learned
ABBA really are the most important band, in terms of influence and sound, of the past fifty years. The Swedes just decided they were happy writing everything and getting paid, rather than being onstage.
Wrote this up tipsy and I’m a bit embarrassed about how poor my writing was. Don’t let that put you all off, this really is a damn fine book.
Also Shawn Fanning? Invented Napster, invested in Facebook and Spotify? Bloody hell, if any of you have some cash you want to invest in a business, plainly he’s the go to guy for advice…
In which case, invest in Helium. His new launch.
Mind you. He’s not always right.