Books like The song machine by John Seabrook

David Byrne explores how time, place, and recording technology shape music, tracing evolutionary patterns and cultural responses that culminated in the transformative practices of the 20th century.

How Music Got Free tells the intertwined history of digital music piracy, the invention of the MP3, and the business titans who shaped the industry, revealing how music became free online.

A comprehensive guide to the modern music industry, covering economics, copyright, technology, recording, publishing, and career development for writers, performers, and executives.

"Thirty Seven of the world's top record producers share their creative secrets and nuts-and-bolts techniques in this prime collection of firsthand interviews. These masters of the trade offer real-world advice you can apply to your experiences in the studio - professional or at home - whether you're a musician, producer engineer, student or just want to know how the hits are made. From creating room treatments to choosing a song's best key, you'll view the recording arts with the keen perspective of the pros behind the glass."--BOOK JACKET.

From 1958 to 1963, Neil Sedaka sold 25 million records - more than anyone except Elvis Presley. He thought he could do no wrong, but a year later he was all but off the charts, swept away by The Beatles and the British Invasion - a blow he never saw coming. The deejays stopped playing his records, and the public stopped buying them.

The book examines the ways in which popular music is produced, structured as text, and understood and used by audiences. It includes overviews and critiques of general theories, outlines of the most important empirical studies, and data on the contemporary production and consumption of popular music. Drawing on the theories of Adorno and Weber, Longhurst examines the contemporary organization of the music industry, the social production of music, and the effects of technological change on production. The history and politics of popular music are discussed, as are the connections of popular music and sexuality. Issues such as authenticity, stemming from the debates around black music, are addressed, and several different ways of studying the texts of popular music are reviewed. The literature on subculture and music is looked at in the context of an examination of the audience for pop music. Developing work on fans is considered, as are contemporary approaches which problematize relationships of production and consumption. . Clearly written and well illustrated, Popular Music and Society will be an excellent textbook for students in the sociology of culture, cultural studies, and media and communication studies.