Overview

From the first Tin Pan Alley tunes to today’s million-view streaming hits, pop songs have been supported and influenced by an increasingly complex industry that feeds audience demand and regulates supply. As musicians and performers have created new styles and content to satisfy public craze for novelty, music producers, distributors, promoters, and even lawyers have also evolved to present that music in the best way. Harvey Rachlin investigates how music entered American homes and established a cultural institution that would expand throughout the decades to become the multi-billion dollar industry. As form followed function, the music produced shaped and was shaped by consumer buying habits, technological advances, new distribution channels, expanding global markets, and legal strictures. Exploding in the 1950s and 60s with pop stars like Elvis and the Beatles, the music industry used new technologies like the television to promote live shows and record releases. More recently, the development of online streaming services has forced the music industry to cultivate new promotion, distribution, copyright, and profit strategies. Growing in tandem with each other, pop music and its business has become a relationship that has defined our shared cultural history. This book not only charts the music that we all know and love but also reveals our active participation in its development throughout generations.

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9781538112120

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Reviews

An amazing book covering all the history of popular music from beginning to end. Perfect for any music lover, history buff, or musician who wants to know the background of what they're listening to or playing.--Dutch Robinson, lead singer of the Ohio Players Bravo! What an achievement! So insightful, educational, and informative of the history of our crazy, wonderful business--a must read for any and all music lovers.--Sandy Linzer, composer, author, publisher/record producer I always knew Harvey was a terrific editor; I had no idea he was such a brilliant researcher as well!--Janis Ian

Anyone can now listen to any song at any time via streaming. How this came to be is the subject of Song and System. The prolific Rachlin (Manhattanville College) traces the history of popular song in the US and the behind-the-scenes development of the music industry . . . Popular music is an important part of American life, and aficionados will learn from this book.--CHOICE Opening with Tin Pan Alley and counting through years of rock and roll, disco, hip hop, rap, and many other genres and subgenres, [Rachlin] explores the often symbiotic relationship between music and its purveyors. . . . sure to be a hit with readers interested in music or pop culture.--Booklist [Song and System] expertly lays out the history of pop music . . . Rachlin's informative and highly detailed narrative will resonate with music geeks and industry folks alike.--Publishers Weekly Harvey Rachlin never ceases to amaze me. Even after recording my first hit song, I'm still learning from this author. Thank you for writing this one. It's amazing!--Tony Orlando Harvey explains how it all happened and the evolution in the music industry as we know it today. This is a must read for music lovers!--Bobby Rydell I always knew Harvey was a terrific editor; I had no idea he was such a brilliant researcher as well!--Janis Ian Bravo! What an achievement! So insightful, educational, and informative of the history of our crazy, wonderful business--a must read for any and all music lovers.--Sandy Linzer, composer, author, publisher/record producer An amazing book covering all the history of popular music from beginning to end. Perfect for any music lover, history buff, or musician who wants to know the background of what they're listening to or playing.--Dutch Robinson, lead singer of the Ohio Players

[Song and System] expertly lays out the history of pop music . . . Rachlin's informative and highly detailed narrative will resonate with music geeks and industry folks alike.--Publishers Weekly Harvey Rachlin never ceases to amaze me. Even after recording my first hit song, I'm still learning from this author. Thank you for writing this one. It's amazing!--Tony Orlando Harvey explains how it all happened and the evolution in the music industry as we know it today. This is a must read for music lovers!--Bobby Rydell I always knew Harvey was a terrific editor; I had no idea he was such a brilliant researcher as well!--Janis Ian Bravo! What an achievement! So insightful, educational, and informative of the history of our crazy, wonderful business--a must read for any and all music lovers.--Sandy Linzer, composer, author, publisher/record producer An amazing book covering all the history of popular music from beginning to end. Perfect for any music lover, history buff, or musician who wants to know the background of what they're listening to or playing.--Dutch Robinson, lead singer of the Ohio Players

[Song and System] expertly lays out the history of pop music . . . Rachlin's informative and highly detailed narrative will resonate with music geeks and industry folks alike.

Author Information

Harvey Rachlin runs the Music Business and Music Internship program at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. Rachlin is the author of 13 books including The Songwriter’s Handbook and The Encyclopedia of the Music Business. The latter title won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism, was named Outstanding Music Reference Book of the Year by the American Library Association, and was recommended by composer Henry Mancini on the 1984 internationally-televised Grammy Awards. His music books have been praised by Elton John, Aaron Copland, Johnny Mathis, Pat Boone, and the Academy Award-winning songwriters Burt Bacharach, Sammy Cahn, Marvin Hamlisch, Henry Mancini, Richard Rodgers, and Jule Styne.

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