- Paperback: 95 pages
- Publisher: Random House USA Inc; 1st Vintage Books Ed edition (July 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679730613
- ISBN-13: 978-0679730613
- Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 2.3 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 404,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Music Week, June, 2003
....the best book ever written about the business side of the music industry.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The Guardian, 28 June 2003
"A squalidly compelling study of the murky, ill-regulated and shark-infested waters of the American music biz."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
PINK Floyd booked five concert dates at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in February 1980 and sold them out. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
PINK Floyd booked five concert dates at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in February 1980 and sold them out. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Powerful, interesting, impressive and often disturbing account of the life behind the 'good' image of the entertainment industry. A must for anyone who wants to dig further into the unknown truth that most of us would never believe.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
30 reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
HIT BY THE TRUTH
22 Mar 2004
Format:Paperback
As an experienced music industry professional with over 15 years of experience, I can tell you that this is the unofficial history book of the music industry that can be used to expose and introduce the truth about the origins and operations of the music business.
It's insightful, relevant, and shocking.
Buy it today.
20 of 22 people found the following review helpful
HARD TO PUT THIS AWARD-WINNING MUSIC-BIZ EXPOSÉ DOWN
11 Jan 2000
Format:Paperback
Dannen hit such a home run with this thoroughly researched book that he was honored from within the music industry (Ralph J. Gleason award) and without (national bestseller list). The topic here is unwholesome practices within the music industry, but the most passionate subtopic of Dannen's research is the system of independent promotion through which singles are "added" to radio station playlists and then moved through the charts. I almost think HIT MEN should be considered a must read for anyone in the music industry: artist, manager, songwriter or publisher. Since Dannen reports his quotes exactly as they come down, you will not find the dialog exactly suitable for Sunday School. The second edition covers events up to and including 1991 and contains a follow-up chapter not in the original 1990 hardback edition. Now, some years after its original introduction, HIT MEN is still gripping and relevant. Aspects of the described litigation still tend to resurface from time to time, and many of the key players identified and profiled by Dannen are still suited up and swinging on the music-business diamond. Ron Simpson, School of Music, Brigham Young University. Author of MASTERING THE MUSIC BUSINESS.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Twenty years later, still a fascinating and insightful read.
24 May 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wow. If only you knew how treacherous the music business is. Read this and you'll know.
"Hit Men" confirms what many music lovers saddened by the boring state of commercial rock radio already suspected: hit records are bought and paid for by the promoters, not made by the fans. Don't allow yourself for one second to believe ever again that radio stations are pushing songs into heavy rotation because they are responding to what their listeners want. They are doing so because someone is paying a LOT of money to cram those songs down your throat. As bad as this was in decades past, I dare say it is even worse now (in 2010).
"Hit Men" pulls back the curtain on the major players and activities in the record business over a period of several decades and reveals some extremely ugly and disheartening truths about how that business operates. I doubt anyone reading this book will regard the music business or the radio business with anything other than contempt from now on.
Want to know why certain songs become hits? It's because someone paid for it to happen. It has nothing at all to do with consumer preference. Well, at least not primarily.
Are you a fan of The Who? Want to know the REAL reason their 1981 album "Face Dances" tanked? Read this book.
Want to know the REAL reason artists on certain labels get massive amounts of airplay while artists on other labels struggle to get heard? Read this book. But here's a hint -- it has nothing to do with the quality of the music.
Educated readers will probably make the logical assumption that there are a great many industries that operate as the music business has and does. Welcome to the real world, folks. It's all about the money. In any battle between commerce and art, commerce has the advantage. Get used to it.
Fascinating, fascinating reading. Just as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1990.
"Hit Men" confirms what many music lovers saddened by the boring state of commercial rock radio already suspected: hit records are bought and paid for by the promoters, not made by the fans. Don't allow yourself for one second to believe ever again that radio stations are pushing songs into heavy rotation because they are responding to what their listeners want. They are doing so because someone is paying a LOT of money to cram those songs down your throat. As bad as this was in decades past, I dare say it is even worse now (in 2010).
"Hit Men" pulls back the curtain on the major players and activities in the record business over a period of several decades and reveals some extremely ugly and disheartening truths about how that business operates. I doubt anyone reading this book will regard the music business or the radio business with anything other than contempt from now on.
Want to know why certain songs become hits? It's because someone paid for it to happen. It has nothing at all to do with consumer preference. Well, at least not primarily.
Are you a fan of The Who? Want to know the REAL reason their 1981 album "Face Dances" tanked? Read this book.
Want to know the REAL reason artists on certain labels get massive amounts of airplay while artists on other labels struggle to get heard? Read this book. But here's a hint -- it has nothing to do with the quality of the music.
Educated readers will probably make the logical assumption that there are a great many industries that operate as the music business has and does. Welcome to the real world, folks. It's all about the money. In any battle between commerce and art, commerce has the advantage. Get used to it.
Fascinating, fascinating reading. Just as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1990.
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