How to Make It in the New Music Business, Second Edition

Practical Tips on Building a Loyal Following and Making a Living as a Musician

By: Ari Herstand

Narrated by: Ari Herstand

Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hailed as an "indispensable" guide (Forbes), How to Make It in the New Music Business returns in this extensively revised and expanded edition. 

When How to Make It in the New Music Business hit shelves in 2016, it instantly became the go-to resource for musicians eager to make a living in a turbulent industry. Widely adopted by music schools everywhere and considered "the best how-to book of its kind" (Music Connection), it inspired thousands to stop waiting around for that "big break." Now trusted as the leading expert for "do it yourself" artists, Ari Herstand returns with this second edition, maintaining that a stable career can be built by taking advantage of the many tools at our fingertips: conquering social media, mastering the art of merchandising, embracing authentic fan connection, and simply learning how to persevere. Comprehensively updated to include the latest online trends and developments, it offers inspiring success stories across media such as Spotify and Instagram. The result is a must-have for anyone hoping to navigate the increasingly complex yet advantageous landscape that is the modern music industry.

©2016, 2020 Ari Herstand; Foreword copyright 2017 by Derek Sivers (P)2019 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Every single musician needs to read this

The definitive friendly guide to understand music bussines elemental concepts and what makes a real musician to make it. Love how Ari open the panorama to get ready for the new and future industry but also really solid advice. Totally worth it.

So well done !

This book is amazing ! So well done and informative . The holy grail for musicians . Ari speaks clear and is funny too. This is easy to digest and makes you wanting to listen to more !

This is the Bible for any Musician

Not only I have read this book but I have recommended it to so many musician friends who have been super grateful ! This is a must if you need any kind of help promoting your music. MUST HAVE !

Thanks for your hard work. Lou Lollio

Thanks for your hard work. It is helpful for getting a feel of the overall industry. Lou Lollio

Okay, but best for live bands/artists

There is a fair amount of decent advice in here, but the book is squarely targeted at live, gigging artists (especially bands). Even the sections about Internet marketing, building a fan base, and album release strategies focus on how to best leverage these in regards to touring.

If you're looking for best strategies for music release and promotion but have no intention of touring or performing live, then I'd skip this book.

Incredibly detailed and informative

I learned so much from this book. I'm just trying to get educated about how to get more shows with my band... But I learned so much more than that. The stories, examples, advice, and reality Ari presents is invaluable to anyone trying to make money as a Musician. His performance is a bit wooden, but the content is amazing.

The Most Complete Book on the Music Business

Ari explores virtually every aspect of the independent music business. He has his own independent music career and has learned all of the things taught in this book through his own firsthand success and experience. The information is up to date and relevant. To be successful at the concepts taught in this book requires work. There is no easy path. Do the work he suggests and you will be successful. Read it listen to this book or both. I have listened to this book several times and have the physical copy for reference.

Thanks so much

The amount of information that is practical and immediately applicable to anyone's music career is stunning. Ari, hats off to you brother. I'm going to look to this book as an ongoing guide as I try and get my music out there. Thank you so much.

Inspiring and informative 👏

Amazing, all you need really to get a plan and get started, I am buying the physical copy for reference

Thank you Ari

Cristina Mackey here, thank you so much for this book. Although I am not in a band, I am a solo artist, independent artist, and this really gave wonderful direction.

Band People Read this - EDM producers (me) = Waste

Waffle Waffle Waffle - Band Music - Ari's College Days - Concerts for Band Music - Cheesy and cringe (and laughable) description of (band) music 'locations' in London (UK) - Did I mention Band Music

EDM (Electronic Dance Music) Producers that want to potentially earn some kind of income whilst working a day job to support this (me) - will relate minimum to zero in this Waffle Session and get lost and potentially drown in the "Sea of Ari" thinking WTF as you sink into the depths of realising "why am I listening to you"

Ari's voice (after you have lost interest) makes this book sound like you are listening to a 'Friends spin-off' audiobook

If you are an EDM Producer looking for inspiration - don't fall for the '2019 - this book must be modern re all music' - this is way biased towards band music and individuals who may want to pursue this

At the time of writing this review (2020) EDM Producers should stick to YouTube, Google & and Reddit for advice and inspiration on how to be a 'successful' artist, how to 'make a passive income' from EDM whilst working a 'day' job, information re starting an independent 'Digital' record label relevant to EDM, more comprehensive data on Distribution related to certain genres of EDM as well as the 'black & white' pros and cons of every single distribution platform associated with EDM - I'm not a book author = the last paragraph took me 5 minutes to write and at the end of Ari's book did not mention any of this - which concludes why this is not applicable to EDM Artists / Producers

Really enjoyed listening

I’ll be putting in to practice all the knowledge Ari reveals in his book.
Really enjoyed it.
Thanks Ari!

Worth a read

If you know what you're looking for, let this inspire your journey. I'm an aspiring musician lookibg to level up, this provided the building blocks.
I'd recommend zooming through the boom to get the shell, then dwell in the sections that are of most importance to your path.