The best place to start for any inspiring musician is the book shelf. I have personally learned more from reading books of all varieties than I have learned in my years in school. Today I am going to give you the best ten books to read that will be more than helpful in your music careers.
1)
All You Need To Know About The Music Industry: This book is the best book about the industry I have ever come across. It is my personal favorite and will do so much good for anyone involved in the industry, whether you are a producer, manager, or agent it will be more than helpful.
2)
The Mental Game of Electronic Music Production: Aside from the talent it takes to produce music, there is a lot of stress and outside factors that play into the game as well. This book will walk you through the steps of handling the unknown factors that will be thrown at you throughout your career. It is crucial to keep your ultimate goal in mind and never let anything conflict that.
3)
Mixing Secrets in the Small Studio: For every young producer starting out money is always an issue. This book points out key secrets on how to get the best sound quality out of any studio, yes including your make shift studio in your bedroom.
4)
Audio Engineering 101: This book is one of the best for beginners who do not know much about making music. It is very basic in terms of knowledge, so if you fall into the category of 'clueless' this is your starting point.
5)
Unlocking Creativity: Here is a book that spans farther than the common genres. It will push you to be your own producer, creating whatever music you want. This is where the genre defying production comes from and most importantly it will help you find your true sound.
6)
The Art of Music Production: This is also another guide on how to produce music for beginners. It shares success stories and practices of successful producers that will guide down the right path for breaking out in the industry.
7)
Rhythmic Genius: This is not so much a producing manual but more of how to create a melody and rhythm that people enjoy listening to. This can be applied to anyone in the industry that needs a solid base of production.
8)
Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing: This book will teach you everything you need to know about publishing your music. It provides knowledge on how to properly go about copyrights and other legalities when it comes to making music and more importantly, profits.
9)
How Music Got Free: This is less of a teaching novel in music producing but more of a warning on how the world and industry's change. You need to adapt to the changing times to stay relevant. It is about the downfall of CDs and paying for music. We live in a time where music streaming is the new way of listening.
10)
Artist Management for the Music Business: This one is for all those who have an interest in managing talent. It provides a lot of the same content as the first book on this list but goes further in depth on how to properly manage artists with out running into problems.
All of these books will provide you with an ample amount of information on the industry. Whether you are new to the game or have been around for a while, these are staple books that everyone in the industry should read. Remember knowledge is power.
