The best books for musicians that will help your parents feel better about your choice to become a musician

Unlike most music business books that are full of legalese and require an advanced degree, this book is written by a musician who appreciated the business but held firm to their creativity. The explanations of terms and anecdotes about why those terms matter and their practical application, helped me navigate a number of contracts as well as learning how to cope with and make lemonade from my bad business decisions. Though a little out of date in regards to advanced technologies and changes in the current business of music, there is still valuable information as we have to remember that the entertainment business builds new structures on top of old concepts. At its core these scenarios, terms, and industry hustles still apply.

This is the quintessential bible for anyone that is into branding and marketing from the man that created iconic advertising and marketing campaigns. The title implies it all, in this business of music or rather entertainment overall, at times, the ideas get stale and redundant, it’s in those moments that you have to move against the fray of society and trends and simply ZAG, while everyone else is Zigging. I found this to be a necessity in understanding how to navigate in a sea of people that do exactly what I did, the concepts and information given are evergreen. Whether an independent creative or one attached to a machine, your personal brand messaging (and at times you are a brand) is important and Marty has the answers.

A great guide to starting over, Do Cool Sh*t resonated with me so much while I was working a 9-5, touring, and being a multi-hyphenate at the same time. This book is about shedding the idea of what is “practical” while embracing the concepts of taking chances, failing, learning, failing some more, and understanding that all of these steps are necessary to convert dreams into realities. It’s a personal journey to being content, not complacent, understanding that sometimes it’s leaping off the edge, both feet at the same damn time. 

Woooo. Lord, where to begin. I can’t emphasize enough that this hydra that we call the entertainment business, whether music, visual art, music, film, or any industry where you are subject to opinions that are subjective at the core, you are in what I call a “thick-skinned business.” I mean Wall Street brokerage managers and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies could say the same and they would be correct, especially given the quantifiable data by which “performance” is judged in these industries. This book hits home when you are feeling like you can’t get past yourself and that “self” being doubt, imposter syndrome, or fear. This book moves you to take stock of what your “values” are, what you can control, what you cannot, and the reason as to why you shouldn’t waste any energy looking for validation.  

I wish I could add the trilogy of Austin Kleon books; with Steal Like an Artist and Keep Going completing the trilogy. Show Your Work was the first book that I read that spoke to me about letting your supporters in on the creating. The sharing of exclusive content has become a staple for independent and major-label artists, Instagram, Tik Tok, and social platforms all rely on the need to share. For me this book was the progenitor of this line of thinking, encouraging the creative to share and disperse with the secrecy of process and move toward converting investors in one's product to investing in the person.