# Reference works on building a career as a performing musician? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910 "2008-10-07T21:50:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/1 "2008-10-07T21:50:59Z")
A friend of mine is a very talented singer-songwriter who is interested in a career as a performing musician. She has produced and published four albums on her own, and has been fairly successful on the local coffeehouse circuit and local indie radio stations. She would like to find a larger audience for her music, but she doesn’t have connections in the music industry, so she is looking for information about how the industry works and how to break through to the next level. Are there references that I can point her to that would be helpful? I would be interested either in how-to guides for breaking into the music industry, or biographies of other musicians who have moved up from the coffeehouse circuit. (In case it matters, her genre is folk – I would compare her to Nanci Griffith or Joni Mitchell.) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/2 "2008-10-07T23:16:32Z")
I am related to [this kid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Brock). He’s my first cousin once removed. From what I’ve heard over the years, he hasn’t made a penny. Just the opposite, in fact: his family members have had to shell out big bucks to keep him afloat. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s extremely difficult to make any money via performing music. Tell her to maintain a regular, paying job and do the performing on the side. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/3 "2008-10-07T23:49:19Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s extremely difficult to make any money via performing music. Tell her to maintain a regular, paying job and do the performing on the side. Sorry to hear about your family’s experience. Please feel free to start another thread. But the OP contains a factual question and is seeking factual answers to that question. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/4 "2008-10-08T12:06:39Z")
bump ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/5 "2008-10-08T13:43:16Z")
There was a book called something like “Breakin’ In To The Music Business” that was pretty good. It covered not only being a musician, but also the various business functions around music. I read it during a career-change phase. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/6 "2008-10-08T14:20:41Z")
Several years ago Mr. S was seriously considering getting into working as a booking agent for local musicians. He ended up going a different way, but he acquired some reference books during his research. I can’t vouch for how useful they might be, but I seem to recall that someone recommended them to him, and you can certainly check them out: _How to Be Your Own Booking Agent_, by Jeri Goldstein _This Business of Artist Management_, by Xavier M. Frascogna, Jr., and H. Lee Hetherington I had thought there were a few others, but I couldn’t find them. I’ll ask him when he gets back from the dentist. ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/7 "2008-10-08T15:10:50Z")
Thanks! I’ll take a look at those books. I appreciate the help. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/8 "2008-10-08T15:35:35Z")
OK, Mr. S is back, and he found a bunch more: _The Billboard Guide to Music Publicity: Techniques and Tools of the Professional Publicist for Musicians, Managers, Publicists, Promoters, Record Companies_, by Jim Pettigrew, Jr. _This Business of Music: The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry_, by M. William Krasilovsky and Sidney Shemel _The Touring Musician: A Small-Business Approach to Booking Your Band on the Road; An Invaluable Survival Manual for Musicians_, by Hal Galper _All You Need to Know about the Music Business_, by Donald S. Passman _Ruthless Self-Promotion in the Music Industry_, by Jeffrey P. Fisher ---
**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reference-works-on-building-a-career-as-a-performing-musician/466910/9 "2008-10-08T15:56:27Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > OK, Mr. S is back, and he found a bunch more: Thank you! This information is just what I was looking for.