Entertainment Books

I love this book. If you enjoy cultural trivia you would enjoy this book which is made up of 3-5 paragraph stories. I started reading them to my 10 and 12 year old kids and they love them.

I have both This book and I believe its called More of the rest of the story. To give you an expample of why I loved this book Im going to give you a short preview of one of my favorite storys Im not sure which of the books its in but I liked both books equally

A man was engaged to a woman named Lucy she was the daughter of a Senator Who a President named Ambasador to Spain Lucy Broke off the engagement cause she went with her family History tells his This man killed this president for a different reason and he may have killed this president Anyway But could he have been thinking about Lucy too.

Paul Harvey of couse tells this story better I was trying not to give anything away But this story led me to go buy a book on this particular asassination.

It was a fun book, full of very short storys.

I read this book about 15 years ago and was delighted to find it on amazon. This is a keeper, one that you can browse through over and over again. It contains stories of little known aspects of the lives of very well known people and is rather like an encyclopaedia based on People magazine. The element of surprise at the end gives a delightful twist to each story.

As Napoleon indicated, History is the lies upon which we've all agreed. There is no such thing as a work of history that doesn't leave some important element out. Partly that's to make history more palatable for a new generation -- who really wants to know about dentistry in the Colonial era when we're reading about George Washington and his false teeth? No matter what the reason, though, once an item is left out of history it tends to disappear permanently.

Unless Paul Harvey Jr. gets his hands on it.

Paul Harvey Jr, who writes the short vignettes for his father's radio show "The Rest of the Story," has a gift for uncovering forgotten facts. Did you know there was another Three Stooges? Did you know Jack Benny was invited to join the Marx Brothers? Did you know one of our Founding Fathers kept his wife chained in the basement because of persistent congenital madness? I hadn't known that.

This book is an incomplete collection of Harvey's vignettes for his father's show. Some are published under the name "Paul Aurendt," and if you can find them, jump on them with both feet. However, this book provides a good primer for the forgotten corners of history, and also allows you to own copies of the vignettes Harvey has made famous over the last 25 years. One can only hope that Harvey's example will inspire more historians to investigate the forgotten corners of history and find what's been otherwise forgotten. I'd buy more of these books if more of them were available.

Paul Harvey is a master at condensing the essence of a story into a few short paragraphs. These transcripts of his popular syndicated radio program serve as great models for anyone looking to create intriguing little stories for business presentations and sales letters. Highly recommended.

Although this book was originally scheduled for publication on 8-22, I received mine today, 8-19, a testament to Amazon.com's speedy delivery service. It's difficult to categorize this volume, falling somewhere between a coffee table picture book and a personal photo album. Bernstein's brother apparently came up with the idea, this in his brother's 90th year. There are articles and remembrances from mostly his years with the NYP, written by Alan Rich, Paul Boyer and others with Burton Bernstein commenting on each. There is a good amount of new black and white photos strewn among the 207 pages with lots of newspaper reproductions, sidebars and fancy graphics that I found a bit distracting and, again, make me want to put it on a coffee table rather than store more formally on a book shelf. But for those of us who cannot get enough of Bernstein and continue to re-read Humphrey Burton's masterful biography, this is a nice adjunct. It makes us miss him all over again.

Look through around a dozen knitting books in a book store, I just fell in love with this book and have to have it. It will give me creative ideas for my future knitting projects. I will make the lush American Beauty Capelet for sure.

Knitting Over The Edge: Unique Ribs, Cords, Appliques, Colors, Nouveau

This book, like all of Nicky's books, is terrific! Even if you don't knit, the photos are yummy. If you do knit, the directions are easy to follow, and the ideas will make your next project sing. A must have for the knitter's library!

This book was so very helpful with learning new patterns. I've used so many of them in my knitting.

A good companion book for volume #1. I especially liked the appliqué and color section.

I'm just a beginner knitter myself and the contents in this book is mostly definitely for intermediate to advanced knitters in my opinion. There is plenty of knitted borders in the book, many of them very pretty, however, they come with very basic instructions that may confuse those who are are suited to more detailed instructions.

The book has many different patterns and cover a wide range of borders; from ribs to coloured borders. I find that a lot of the patterns are quite bulky looking and may be more suited to heavier knitted pieces.

Nonetheless it's a very nice book, lots of clear pictures too. For those who design or alter their knitwear, this would be an excellent addition to one's collection. Regardless of what you're knitting, there's definitely something to learn from the book.

The background story on the high wattage Mexican Radio Stations alone is worth the price of this book. Goat Gland Transplant??!?!?! (for male...errr...Vitality) If you have an interest in American Music, this book is for you.

The Carter Family are one of the greatest and most influential acts in the history of American music. Having my own family's roots dating back over 200 years in the Southern mountains, listening to the Carter's songs evoke powerful feelings in me. I feel transported back into another time that I never lived through but somehow know.

The writers do a credible job of telling the extradorinary Carter Family story. For example,the 1927 recordings in Bristol, Tennessee where Ralph Peer signs both the Carters and Jimmie Rodgers to recordings deals. This began the popular era of what would later become known as country music. Also covered are the broadcasts from the Mexican border town megawatt radio stations which brought the Carter's comforting voices to a nation suffering through the Great Depression. The circumstances surrounding the divorce of A.P. and Sara is discussed, as well as numerous other stories about life, love and family in Maces Springs, Virginia.

But what I found to be missing is a serious analysis of the Carter Family's music. Part of the Carter's greatness is based on A.P.'s "songcatching trips" where he travelled the Southern mountains in search of old hymns and folk ballads for the Carters to sing. I would have liked to learn more about the history and meaning of these incredible songs. Instead a larger percentage of the book is taken up with old family stories and anecdotes, often based on the lives of cousins, uncles, nieces and neighbors rather than the primary Carter Family members. I would have preferred more concise and music focused writing, perhaps dropping some of the corn pone humor and scaling the book back from it's nearly 400 pages. Also I would have appreciated a more scholarly look at the Carter's place in American music as well as more attention to compelling subjects such as the influence of African American music on the Carter Family.

For Carter Family fans and interested newcomers this is a book still worth reading. But I do hope a more song focused and scholarly biography of the Carter Family will eventually be written.

So, you think you know everything about the Carter Family? Well, you don't until you read this book. Every single word tells about a signifant history in the Carter Family's life. From the Originals to the Carter Sisters, to Mother Maybelle, this is any Carter Fan's treasure! I absolutely loved it, and the pictures make me smile every time I look at them with even just a glance. This book will bring you lots of happiness for the rest of your life. Be sure to read my other reviews for June Carter Cash's Keep on the Sunny Side: Her lfie in Music, Wildwood Flower, Press On, The Best of the Carter Family, From my Heart, A proper introduction to the Carter Family, and Louisiana Hayride: Live Performances. Honestly, after you read this book, you'll have a brand New look at the Carter Family and their music!

Keep on the Sunny Side,
June

Keep on the Sunny Side

If you are a fan of the Carter Family, then you will find this book interesting to the same extent that you enjoy their music, I would say!

WILL YOU MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE is a great biography that goes pretty in-depth, and explains the joys and sorrows of the lives and musical careers of the Carter Family!

It is really fascinating to read about who the original Carter Family trio were -- (A.P. CARTER, who was the songwriter, researcher, arranger, bass backup vocalist and leader of the group; and SARA CARTER, his wife, the lead vocalist and harpsichord player; and MAYBELLE CARTER, their younger cousin/in-law, backing vocalist, and the most underrated and forgotten guitar playing pioneer in musical history!), -- and how they got into the music business, and how they influenced the early music industry and country music.

All the Carter Family members sang, and their harmonies and vocal interplays are among the most sincere, skilled, and enjoyable of all country music, of any time period, though they did it first and best on record. That's a fact, in my opinion!

The second version of the Carter Family, (mother Maybelle and her three daughters, Helen, June, and Anita), is also covered in-depth in the second half of the book! This is where many characters overlap characters seen in the 2005 Johnny Cash biography movie, WALK THE LINE, (also highly recommended by me, to you).

There are plenty of interesting, informative, and entertaining photos (both family and professional promotionals) sprinkled throughout the book, too!

If I had to criticize anything, I would say that sometimes the author wanders too long explaining the peripheral things going on in America and/or the music industry. These things are fascinating, but you start to wonder why it's all included. Thankfully, most of it pays off later when these obscure, forgotten people and events cross paths with our heroes of the story, the Carter Family! Stick with it, it's worth it!

I actually started reading this book a few years back, but I got bogged down trying to picture who was who, so I ended up putting it on the shelf for years. After I saw the recent Johnny Cash biography film, WALK THE LINE, which featured some of the Carter Family members, I was better able to put names with faces and characters, and that film also rekindled my dormant interest in the Carter Family.

There is a pretty decent DVD from PBS called THE CARTER FAMILY: WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN, which shows the author of this book, and is a terrific companion piece for this book. In fact, I'm not sure if you should read the book first, or watch the DVD biography? You decide whichever format you prefer first, and you will likely get both eventually.

The DVD sort of shows, accidentally, that there are two kinds of Carter Family fans: actual people from the South who love and live the music, and folk music loving intellectuals who love the music and its place in Americana! I am of the latter, but I grew up around plenty of Southern people, though the youngsters preferred Skynyrd, while only the older folks liked the really rootsy classics.

You should also get the two 5-disk CD sets from JSP Records, 1927-1934, and 1935-1943. These two CD sets are affordable from amazon.com, and they are the best and most economical way to have a virtually complete library of the original Carter Family's studio recording history, and there is no better collection currently available to my knowledge!

I would recommend the 1927-1934 set first, which has the most historic stuff, the most energy, and the best vibe. The 1943 set is after they had stopped living together, but is more professional sounding, yet less energetic (more melancholy); but you will likely get both after hearing the 1927 set, I trust.

This book, along with Jimmy McDonough's biography of Neil Young "Shakey," is one of the best written books about popular music that I've ever read. The breadth of the research is staggering, and the prose is a curious mix of cussing and twenty-dollar words that relays the events surrounding the ascention of the Carter Family with the immediacy their massive cultural and artistic impact deserves. Zwonitzer not only provides succinct yet detailed descriptions of the Carters' everyday lives, he also lays out a vivid portrait of the full context into which the Carter Family fits. It's a fairly quick read, with tremendous amounts of information crammed into every sentence. As with the best Carter Family recordings, not a breath here is wasted, and every note hits the stomach like a punch.

From his early days as a ragamuffin loner dropout on the streets of new york, to his years in the spotlight as one of history's greatest comedians, Harpo takes us on a whirlwind ride through his life, and every page is more engaging than the last. I love the Marx Bros, and reading the success story through the eyes of their silent (but not unheard) partner is a must of any fan, be they casual or hardcore. Thank you Harpo, for sharing your rich life experiences with us. I'm forever grateful.

"Harpo Speaks" is one of the few books I've ever read that left an lasting impression on me. I first read it in 1975 when I was a teenager. I had always loved the Marx Brothers movies, and Harpo was always my favorite. My mother loved celebrity biographies, and she knew I would love this book.

Now, some 35+ years later, I still am in love with this book. I have used many of the illustrations with my children over the years. I love the story after Harpo lost most of his money in the crash of 1929, and he came upon a couple who was being evicted from their flat. The landlord was selling their belongings, and Harpo bought a scrub brush for a nickel. If I remember correctly, he gave the scrub brush back to the couple.

Also, I remember how much he used humor when raising his children. Harpo shared throughout the book that if you keep your kids laughing, you will have them in the palm of your hand. That pearl of wisdom is so true, and I always remembered that with my children. They are grown now (well my youngest is 16), and they all have a great sense of humor.

I need to buy this book again. I lost it in a move around 20 years ago. I want each of my children to read this book, and get to know one of the most unique and down-to-earth men in our country's history. Harpo Marx was one of a kind, and we won't see anyone like him ever again. What a shame!

When speaking of the Algonquin Round Table of which he was a member for years - he claims his only contribution was to be a listener among all the great talkers. He lies. His storytelling, practical jokes and childlike sense of fun were an essential ingredient of that famed circle.

No other book, not even Groucho's own autobio, conveys the early 20th century world of Vaudeville in all its raunchy splendor as this book does. There was never so amazing a place as New York of that era. Its a fun read throughout.

Surprisingly, at the heart of the book is the unlikely pairing of best friends Alexander Wolcott and Harpo Marx. Wolcott, sexually neutered by a glandular condition or mumps as his story went, obese, ridiculous and brilliant, saw in Harpo the image of freedom he could never know. Harpo, a second grade drop-out who at fourteen was playing piano in a whorehouse, was perhaps the only human being who really understood his friend.

this was a very entertaining book. I never knew how intelligent Harpo was despite quitting schoool in the second grade. He met a great many well-educated people in his life and had a way of being accepted into their inner circles. He was able to describe these relationships in a way which brought these people once again to life.

The title is just as clever as the man himself. Harpo, the silent clown of the Marx Brothers movies, finally gets to tell his own story after years of witnessing the antics of some of the most famous people of his time. Adolph "Harpo" Marx grew up in the poor Jewish slums of New York, quit school in 2nd grade, and proceeded to become one of the most famous and lovable faces of the movies. He led a colorful life influenced by his four famous brothers and the people he associated himself with. His childhood is perhaps the most interesting segment, filled with hilarious anecdotes that spring to life thanks to excellent storytelling. A chunk of Harpo's adult years were spent with Alexander Wollcott, an interesting and lovingly portrayed writer with a penchant for the odd. The years spent with him during the 1920s were wild, but Harpo managed to extend the fun through the rest of his life.

Very little of this book is spent scrutinizing the films the Marx Brothers made. In fact, only a few are even mentioned at all. Harpo took more pride in the people he knew and his other accomplishments. His movies were a small part of his existence.

Coming away from this book, one feels incredibly close with the author. Harpo manages to vividly portray his life and in doing so, paint an intimate portrait of himself as well. He was a lovable man with a great attitude toward life. This book is a treasure, and a great memory of a great man.

when this book was released in hardback, ginger rogers went on a book signing tour. she stopped in chicago and the press was there to record the event. i was there and she signed my copy. she said to me, with a bit of bemused surprise, 'bless you heart'. i, goon that i can be, just smiled and stared at this icon of film and dance. i didn't care that arthritis had robbed her of her dancing prowess and the meds had blown her up. the winsome half smile was in place and the eyes were still an amazing green.

so, i niftied my way back to my apartment and started to read. it was a little bit of a comedown.

i did some research on film musicals for a paper i hope to publish this year and re-read. i was left a little numb and cold. i realize that a woman like rogers came from a different place and time. and being a staunch midwesterner that she was there was no way she was going to write about her life with the candor of say, rue mcclanahan or shelley winters(they're both midwesterners--i'm about to lose my point!). but besides claiming credit for the beautiful gown of blue feathers and satin she wore in 'top hat', there was little enlightenment about her life or career. the stories just had the same bemused, slightly dazed quality she had when i met her and touched her hand that day.

but i touched ginger rogers' hand! in our minds, that moment counted for something.

now, if i didn't own this book, would i buy it? no. i would get it from the library and read it. and i would hope for the biography that will elucidate this woman who is a lot more complex than she let on. an only child with a domineering mother and an electra complex--hey, this is the stuff that minieries are made of!

Ginger Rogers wasn't much for self-reflection, and that's very evident in the recounting of her life. For instance, you never know precisely why all her marriages failed. There weren't any transitions from being head-over-the-heels-in love with her husbands to getting a divorce. And it's probably because the marriages failed that quickly. She was a romantic and when the romance faded, so did the marriage. After the fifth marriage, I think she finally realized she enjoyed being single and dating, more than she enjoyed being married.

Pretty much that's about as deep as she gets about herself. Mostly it reads like a travel guide of all her movie-making. There are some amusing anecdotes which will give the reader a sense of the real Ginger Rogers. And there's also a lot of mention about her religious beliefs. These beliefs probably helped to curb any self-reflective moments she might've had, because she allowed her faith in God to guide her through the really tough times.

There is one movie of hers, that, now that I've read the book, gives me a better understanding of her overall personality. 'Monkey Business' with Cary Grant. The part where she regressed to childhood was perfectly played, and I could see this as a side to Ginger Rogers that could've annoyed a lot more serious-minded people. Maybe even her husbands. But, if that's her worse sin, she did good.

Fluff, but if you enjoyed Ginger Rogers as the hard-working actress she truly was, this book won't disappoint.

I was a huge fan of Ginger Rogers until I read this book--oy vey, what a moaner! She comes across as thoroughly tedious and completely self-involved. I can fully understand exactly why she had so many husbands. I truly sympathized with one of the later husbands who had to resort to hiding booze up in the loft of their house--anything to numb the pain, I suspect!

Not being an avid "autobiography" reader, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can honestly say that even if you aren't a reader you will like this book. It has surprises out of nowhere & it's enjoyable.

I'd recommend this book to anyone.

What do you get when you cross Ginger Rogers with Tammy Faye Bakker? You get, evidently, Ginger Rogers--or at least what remained of Ginger in her not-so-sprightly seventies. Though much has been said and written about the cruelty of time, the gentle reader must nonetheless brace herself for a shock upon cracking Ginger's memoirs to the pages of recent photographs. There is nothing left of the buff, scrub-faced girl that graced the cover of Life Magazine in 1942 sporting boots, coveralls, and a fishing rod. Alas, Ginger in her dotage was an overweight, diabetes-ravaged, pancake makeup-smeared parody of her former self, more frightening and less recognizable than any male drag artist's impersonation could ever have been.

But what, you may well ask, is the relevance of these observations? None in particular, unless you speculate that the medical treatment Ginger shunned throughout her life might have boosted her long-term physical and mental health, leading to a more lucid, balanced, and enjoyable memoir. But such was not to be. Nay, Ginger--devout Christian Scientist that she was--relied exclusively on prayer, and credited it with curing everything from an ailing starlet's acute appendicitis to the boils on her fourth husband's derriere. Where most Hollywood memoirs are chock full of juicy gossip and innuendo, Ginger's runneth over with religious testimonials. It seems that in childhood, little Ginger, stricken with warts, first employed the bury-the-potato method to no avail. Shamefaced at her lapse in faith, Ginger then tried prayer, which--lo and behold(!)--vanquished the warts, leading to a lifetime of unwavering, prayerful devotion. So says Ginger in three scores of hindsight, at any rate.

These sorts of rose-colored recollections might justifiably strain the credulity of even similarly devout readers, and will certainly alienate young film buffs, who tend to lean toward the cynical and metrosexual. This is too bad, because La Ginger was indisputably one of the great geniuses of the Golden Era--one who could not only dance like the wind and sing tolerably but act, both dramatically and comically. She was a quadruple threat, as evidenced by her Oscar turn in *Kitty Foyle* and her uproarious comic rhythm in classics like *Swing Time*, *Stage Door*, *Tom, Dick, and Harry*, and *Monkey Business*.

On the bright sider, evidence of Ginger's cross-medium artistic ability is plentiful in *Ginger, My Story*. While her memoir doesn't come close to matching the literariness or wit of say, Tallulah Bankhead's, it conveys a sense of physical place and culture with an effectiveness unparalleled by other Hollywood bios. Whether Ginger is squatting in the dirt at her childhood home in Independence Missouri, sashaying around Astaire, or cringing at a bull fight in Rio, the reader can see, feel, and smell things as they were. This delightful sense of immersion makes *Ginger, My Story* a more than worthwhile read, despite what I would call the book's principal flaw: the author's tendency to depict the otherworld of human relationships in black-and-white, two-dimensional terms.

Four stars.

I love this book, unreservedly and unabashedly. It's entertaining and informative, and covers the concepts recordists like myself need to know, and skips all the junk recordists like myself haven't any use for. It is concise where it needs to be, in-depth where it needs to be, and explains step-by-step how to use the program, hitting the high points while referring one to the manual for the deep, deep, DEEP capabilities of Pro Tools. As one who uses the computer basically like a very capable tape-machine, and as one who has no use for probably 80% of what the program can do, I found this book indispensable; it's sitting next to my Mac, on top of the Digi manual as I type, and I refer to it almost every session for one thing or another. Even if I were into electronic music or into slicing and dicing performances unto "perfection", I'd still have use for this tome, though I think I really love it because it seems geared towards musicians like myself: we're tracking live bands, real instruments, and we're used to using tape machines, and we don't care one whit what depths one can plumb with the program. I want to capture performances quickly and easily, edit out the coughs and chatter, and this book has helped with that immensely. The Digidesign manual is a fine thing, but one problem with the transition from analog to digital is in nomenclature; i.e., if you don't know what a process is called in the world of PT, good luck finding it in the manual. Things that should be easy to figure out and find in the manual, simply put, ain't, and the volume becomes 750 pages of frustration. Enter this book: the information I need is right where I think it oughta be, and the session continues rather than me having to send my band-mates home (again) while I slog through the Digi manual. Thank you, John Keane.

As stated, Keane wrote this initially as a guide to get his friends who had purchased Pro Tools rigs up and running. The official Digidesign Pro Tools manual is comprehensive, but not particularly instructional.

Keane provides the answers to all of the obvious "How do I do this?" questions, and throws in savvy engineering and production tips to boot. The addition of actual sessions to practice with is invaluable, since seeing is believing...and learning.

This is a great book for learning your way around Pro Tools. It's basically a Pro Tools course that you take at your own pace. A bit of patience is required because it's very important that you follow every instruction sequentially and specifically. If you do that, you will have a good grip on PT techniques when you finish.

The other reviews pretty much cover what this book is about, but here's another perspective. I consider myself an intermediate PTLE user, but recently upgraded from 6.9 to 7.4. This is the only book I found that covers PTLE up to 7.3.1, and I've found it very helpful in explaining many of the new features that 6.9 didn't have. Even some of the material I thought I knew is covered from a slightly different perspective, which was helpful, and there were some cool tips about things I'd never thought of before.

Overall, the book is well written and edited. I think if you're coming into PT from another DAW, this might be all you need to get to an intermediate level fairly quickly. (Wish I'd had it when I was first starting out.) If you have no recording experience at all, you might also benefit from a more basic primer on general hard disk recording. For a basic PT reference, I like "Pro Tools for Dummies". As others have pointed out, the whole topic of subtleties in mic setup and EFX for various instruments, mixing/mastering in general, studio layout, etc. requires its own material. Check out Bobby Owsinki's books on those topics.

I've used a number of these and this one seems to get down to the practical things that you need to know in dealing with recording with Pro Tools. It's been a while since I've recorded so this was sort of like starting over. This book takes you step by step in set up and gives good pictures and illustrations of what you're doing. It comes with some files you can load but it recommends that you create some of your own. I found that to be very helpful. It took me from hooking up any instruments, drum boxes, or whatever to recording something to work with. It made it more "real world" instead of just following a file you've been given.

It's truly a book from a musician to a musician. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get down to recording!!!

Doug

Good Book. It does use some of the same sories as his book everybody has a price. It did go into more detail on WCW and such.

The book is written well and provides a detailed account of his entire life to this point. He talks about his childhood, his mother and father's wrestling career, highschool and college football, his wrestling career from the terrritorial to the WWE and WCW, to his addictions and being a born again christian. I picked up this book based on hearing his son Ted would be coming to the WWE, which jogged my memory of the WWE in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I really liked some of his stories about being on the road and also hanging with Andre The Giant!

This book is an excellent one which provides the reader with much insightful information about professional wrestling during the 1970s through 2006. Ted DiBiase was a very talented wrestler who performed as one of the greatest heel characters of all times - the totally despicable Million Dollar Man. It was also quite interesting to note that the heel persona which Ted DiBiase was able to so successfully present was clearly not the real Ted who is known to his friends, fellow wrestlers, family and others. This book presents solid information about how the Million Dollar Man was created by the WWE honcho Vince McMahon and capably carried out by DiBiase. The book also provides much insight into what it takes to become a wrestler and the sacrifices which must be accepted in order to receive any measure of success in the mat world. I know that true wrestling aficionados will find reading this book to be a real pleasure with much that can be learned about the profession of wrestling. After ending his wrestling career, Ted went into the Christian ministry to serve people in a very different capacity, and very successfully too. All aspects of Ted's life were covered in this book and provided in a way which demonstrates his self awareness and his honesty in revealing himself to the reader.

This book was not informative at all. There was no insight into the legal aspects of the music business. I was extremely disappointed in the content. This book was all about entertainment law in California. It did not give an overview of business law or business law practices. The title is quite misleading! Please do not waste your money on this book. I will give you mine if you'd like to have it. I will probably donate it to the library. I am sure that you will feel the same way that I do once you purchase this book...disappointed! Find another book to purchase that will live up it its name. This one did not!!

When my Entertainment Law professor told his partners that he was going to start practicing Entertainment Law they weren't quite sure exactly what it was he was doing. They called it "Voo Doo Law", and honestly, it's not entirely untrue.

As in any business, agreements are necessary to hold parties accountable, define rights and responsibilities, and to give all parties terms they can reasonably rely on so that business can move forward. The Music Business is no different, but it has its own peculiar quirks, traditions, and problems.

This book takes all kinds of agreements between the many parties required to make a profitable, creative musical endeavor. The Author goes through band incorporation agreements, management contracts, recording and publishing agreements and explains them in ways that will benefit everyone from the aspiring 'band manager' to the experienced attorney looking to get a grasp on a new field of law.

Mr. Schulenberg examines every area of music contracts and gives plenty of demonstrations of contract language benefiting the Artist or the parties with whom the Artist is dealing.

This book also does an excellent job of addressing copyright and trademark law applicable to the music industry and giving thoughtful examination of how the digital download phenomenon is affecting the business in general.

Many people get al excited when they first try to get into the music business only to get shot down by the many intricate twists and turns involving all the legal aspects of running a record label. Mountains of forms and paperwork with no understanding slowly stack up on the producer's desk with no end in site. The situation is a cry for help and that help comes in the form of information, information obtained by reading this very interesting book that details all that is involved with law aspects of this kind.

This book was so boring but it is necessary and I'm glad it exists. You do need a lawyer to absorb it or at least when you're negotiating your own contract. Reading it made me feel smarter and more boring. I could have done without the cheesy quotes. The other thing that gets me is that I have been offered contracts that look nothing like what's in this book by the same people that are on the "Billboard" chair committees etc. so it makes me wonder if what is published here is truly "industry standard".

This is (for the most part), clearly written in a straightforward manner, but you'll waste a lot of time if you don't already have a foundation.

Prerequisites:

1. "Everything You Need To Know About The Music Business" (Donald Passman)
2. "Music Law: How to Run Your Band's Business" (Richard Stim)