re: Who wrote the book of love? The MB book thread

Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay: The Dodgy Business of Popular Music by Simon Napier-Bell



The author has been a successful songwriter (Dusty Springfield's hit single "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me") but is best known as a manager, most notably for the Jimmy Page-era Yardbirds, T. Rex, and Wham. So he clearly has experience inside the music business.

That is to say, he has experience with people trying to rip him off.

For Napier-Bell the music business is just one big racket, and has been ever since the days of Stephen Foster.

His book is a historical overview, from the age of "broadsides" sold in the streets of London to the digital downloads of today. He tells how music publishers took control of the industry, only to see that control challenged by record companies.

I noticed some factual errors and messed up chronologies -- the book could have used a better editor. Still, I learned quite a bit here, such as how much Bob Dylan was ripped off by his first manager Albert Grossman. Curiously he ignores some other legendary manager-as-thief stories, such as Allen Klein's embezzlement from the Rolling Stones (Keith Richards described the band's time with Klein as "$25 million worth of experience") and Terry Knight's slave contract with Grand Funk. Somebody should write a book about rock managers.

This is very breezily written and easy to read. If you're a music fan and unfamiliar with the business side of things, you should definitely check it out.