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Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay: The dodgy business of popular music
Let legendary rock manager Simon Napier-Bell take you inside the (dodgy) world of popular music – not just a creative industry, but a business that has made people rich beyond their wildest dreams.
He balances seductive anecdotes – pulling back the curtain on the gritty and absurd side of the industry – with an insightful exploration of the relationship between creativity and money.
This book describes the evolution of the industry from 1713 – the year parliament granted writers ownership over what they wrote – to today, when a global, 100 billion pound industry is controlled by just three major players: Sony, Universal and Warner. Inside you will uncover some little-known facts about the industry, including:
How a formula for writing hit songs in the 1900s helped create 50,000 of the best-known songs of all time.
How infighting in the American pre-war music industry shut down traditional radio and created an opening for country music, race records and rock'n'roll.
How Jewish immigrants and black jazz musicians dancing cheek-to-cheek created a template for all popular music that followed.
How rock tours became the biggest, quickest, sleaziest and most profitable ventures the music industry has ever seen.
After reading Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay, you'll never listen to music in the same way again.
He balances seductive anecdotes – pulling back the curtain on the gritty and absurd side of the industry – with an insightful exploration of the relationship between creativity and money.
This book describes the evolution of the industry from 1713 – the year parliament granted writers ownership over what they wrote – to today, when a global, 100 billion pound industry is controlled by just three major players: Sony, Universal and Warner. Inside you will uncover some little-known facts about the industry, including:
How a formula for writing hit songs in the 1900s helped create 50,000 of the best-known songs of all time.
How infighting in the American pre-war music industry shut down traditional radio and created an opening for country music, race records and rock'n'roll.
How Jewish immigrants and black jazz musicians dancing cheek-to-cheek created a template for all popular music that followed.
How rock tours became the biggest, quickest, sleaziest and most profitable ventures the music industry has ever seen.
After reading Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay, you'll never listen to music in the same way again.
- GenresMusicNonfictionHistory
580 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2014
15 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 6, 2016
The style of this history of the music industry is casual and gossipy, and it’d be really easy to read… if I didn’t keep running into phrases like “Red Indians” and “sang the verse like a virgin and the chorus like a whore”. You what? Red Indians, really? In this day and age? And really, a bit of straight-up Madonna/whore bullshit?
I took a couple of deep breaths and read on, but that was just the first chapter and there was plenty more where that came from. If you’re looking for something casual and gossipy, and you don’t mind the occasional stunningly offensive line, then you might well enjoy it; for a non-fiction book, it is actually quite well paced, and there’s plenty of scandal in the music industry to entertain you. Just… apparently very much not for me. So full disclosure: I didn’t finish it.
Originally posted here.
I took a couple of deep breaths and read on, but that was just the first chapter and there was plenty more where that came from. If you’re looking for something casual and gossipy, and you don’t mind the occasional stunningly offensive line, then you might well enjoy it; for a non-fiction book, it is actually quite well paced, and there’s plenty of scandal in the music industry to entertain you. Just… apparently very much not for me. So full disclosure: I didn’t finish it.
Originally posted here.
February 17, 2018
Offered a unique glimpse into the music world. The genesis of American pop music and all the genres it borrowed from. Where the genres evolved from and moved to and how genres like hip hop and jazz found wide spread success despite being pioneered by social outsiders.
I was most fascinated on the transition from clubs to publishing houses; there was always an invention out there that brought music into people's homes more conveniently and sheet music allowed artists to sell their music and earn royalties, rather than solely relying on live performances. Also the invention of the first record player allowed people to bring their favorite music into their homes (Thanks Edison!)
Music, like everything in life is constantly evolving. Radio went from a threat to music's best advertising vessel. The iPod came out in 2001 and shifted the music purchase scene from expensive singles to $0.99 purchases per song.
What this book teaches is music will never disappear. It will always change but the industry will always adapt.
I was most fascinated on the transition from clubs to publishing houses; there was always an invention out there that brought music into people's homes more conveniently and sheet music allowed artists to sell their music and earn royalties, rather than solely relying on live performances. Also the invention of the first record player allowed people to bring their favorite music into their homes (Thanks Edison!)
Music, like everything in life is constantly evolving. Radio went from a threat to music's best advertising vessel. The iPod came out in 2001 and shifted the music purchase scene from expensive singles to $0.99 purchases per song.
What this book teaches is music will never disappear. It will always change but the industry will always adapt.
May 9, 2016
In my life, there is nothing better than sitting down, and reading a book by Simon Napier-Bell. He was once the manager of Marc Bolan (solo), Japan, The Yardbirds, and Wham!. He has written three books about his experience in the music business, which are three masterpieces. His humor, intelligence, and distain for the music business world is equally fantastic - and he's hysterical on top of it. His new book, "Ta-Ra-Ra- Boom-De-Ay" is very much a history of the music business with a focus on the song publishing as well as record companies and how they obtain and then lost their power. It's pretty straight forward, which is a weakness in this book. I miss the voice of Napier-Bell, yet, there are chapters that really shine. Especially the segment on the history of boy bands, which is pretty amazing. If you never read a book on music business history, this is a superb entrance to that world. But if you have read many - this one wouldn't be that essential of a read. For me, I treasure all Simon Napier-Bell books - and I'm a fan of his record productions as well (Fresh and mid-period Yardbirds).
September 21, 2014
I remember when Simon told me that he was writing this book and have long waited to read it and in-fact supported the publication of this book..And am so glad that I did.....This book is a ground breaking contribution to the world of literature about one of the most important industries of the pass few centuries !
I can not recommend this book more highly. It is one of the best and most fact full and truthful books on the beginnings of the music/record business written to date ! Having worked for many of these companies, I found their history fascinating, how they all came to be and how they have progressed to what they are today an amazing tale, that needs to be studied and learned from, as the music/record business moves forward in today's digital age.
Having personally known and worked with many of the people mentioned in this book, Simon has captured and exposed many of the "half-truths" often perpetrated by the popular press...As usual Simon pulls no punches and lays the facts out without sweetening or political correctness.....This is a brilliant book about the music/record industries and needs to be "required reading" for anyone and everyone in or wanting to be in the music/record business.
Not only does he factually show how "history continues to repeat its self", but exposes the answers to many of the questions about why and where it will all be headed.........Thank you Simon for making such a valuable contribution to this industry what we both have long loved.....Good Job !
I can not recommend this book more highly. It is one of the best and most fact full and truthful books on the beginnings of the music/record business written to date ! Having worked for many of these companies, I found their history fascinating, how they all came to be and how they have progressed to what they are today an amazing tale, that needs to be studied and learned from, as the music/record business moves forward in today's digital age.
Having personally known and worked with many of the people mentioned in this book, Simon has captured and exposed many of the "half-truths" often perpetrated by the popular press...As usual Simon pulls no punches and lays the facts out without sweetening or political correctness.....This is a brilliant book about the music/record industries and needs to be "required reading" for anyone and everyone in or wanting to be in the music/record business.
Not only does he factually show how "history continues to repeat its self", but exposes the answers to many of the questions about why and where it will all be headed.........Thank you Simon for making such a valuable contribution to this industry what we both have long loved.....Good Job !
October 17, 2014
The former manager of The Yardbirds, Japan and Wham! knows a thing or two about making a dollar in the music industry. His affectionately cynical history of the music business goes back to the beginning of music publishing to present day. The book is basically chronological, and has it moves through the decades, with some of the short chapters focusing on a single aspect of the biz. Napier-Bell's style is chatty and gossipy, as he mixes the facts with anecdotes - some tales may be apochryphal, but they are generally amusing.
Napier-Bell doesn't shy away from the cutthroat, exploitationist nature of the music industry. He acknowledges how unfair it is to artists, but notes that pursuit of profit by a publisher or label can be what leads to artists reaching wider audiences and succeeding financially. While the book is researched and sources, it is likely not a complete history, though it hits the highlights and more.
Ultimately, it's entertaining and informative on a subject that could have been fairly dry.
Napier-Bell doesn't shy away from the cutthroat, exploitationist nature of the music industry. He acknowledges how unfair it is to artists, but notes that pursuit of profit by a publisher or label can be what leads to artists reaching wider audiences and succeeding financially. While the book is researched and sources, it is likely not a complete history, though it hits the highlights and more.
Ultimately, it's entertaining and informative on a subject that could have been fairly dry.
April 23, 2015
I don't think I've enjoyed a non fictioner as much as this in a long long time.
Napier-Bell has an encyclopedic knowledge of and true love for his subject: The music business (or as he calls it "Music Racket") and a joyful cynicism.
it's not art, he rationales; it's business. And like all businesses based on generating vast profits from intangible product - Banking, Fashion, Publishing, Movies - it attracts lunatics, cynics and greedy cynics like magnets attract filings.
The book is filled with gossipy asides, stories so outrageous that it's almost impossible to believe that some of them are true.
But they are.
His ultimate findings are less than optimistic, but - as has been said before - the music goes on and on.
*Highly recommended for anyone who loves Business stories, Showbiz stories, History and Popular Culture.
Napier-Bell has an encyclopedic knowledge of and true love for his subject: The music business (or as he calls it "Music Racket") and a joyful cynicism.
it's not art, he rationales; it's business. And like all businesses based on generating vast profits from intangible product - Banking, Fashion, Publishing, Movies - it attracts lunatics, cynics and greedy cynics like magnets attract filings.
The book is filled with gossipy asides, stories so outrageous that it's almost impossible to believe that some of them are true.
But they are.
His ultimate findings are less than optimistic, but - as has been said before - the music goes on and on.
*Highly recommended for anyone who loves Business stories, Showbiz stories, History and Popular Culture.
May 19, 2021
A book like this needed to be written; a history of popular music from the business side of things. But there is probably a reason it hasn't been...
Although understanding about how music publishing works and why is quite interesting, reading about corporate wheeling and dealing is not. There is a reason I don't read the Financial Review. I did however quite like the battles between BPI and ASCAP. I was definitely on BPI's side.
Assuming that is that Simon's depiction of the battle is correct, because it has to be said, he made a lot of mistakes. Did anyone fact check this book? I am suspecting not. And yes, they are little mistakes but when you are writing a history, little mistakes can make a big difference to the story.
For example: the Notorious B.I.G. was not a "group." It was just a stage name for Biggie Smalls, which of course in turn was a stage name. Christopher Wallace was a complex man. He contained multitudes.
My main problem with the book though was in the section on disco, in which the Village People's "YMCA" is depicted as some sort of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the disco generation, kicking the movement into the mainstream. "When the Village People went to Number One with "YMCA" the entire music business jumped on the bandwagon." He then goes onto to name check Boney M - who peaked in 1978 - ABBA - "Waterloo" was in 1974 but since we are talking disco "Dancing Queen" was a smash in 1976 - "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" - both of which dominated the charts in 1978.
"YMCA" didn't reach Number One in the UK until the beginning of 1979. Can you see the problem here? If anything "YMCA" was one of the last of the disco classics.
And if he gets the chronology of disco so wrong, what other mistakes did he make?
Although understanding about how music publishing works and why is quite interesting, reading about corporate wheeling and dealing is not. There is a reason I don't read the Financial Review. I did however quite like the battles between BPI and ASCAP. I was definitely on BPI's side.
Assuming that is that Simon's depiction of the battle is correct, because it has to be said, he made a lot of mistakes. Did anyone fact check this book? I am suspecting not. And yes, they are little mistakes but when you are writing a history, little mistakes can make a big difference to the story.
For example: the Notorious B.I.G. was not a "group." It was just a stage name for Biggie Smalls, which of course in turn was a stage name. Christopher Wallace was a complex man. He contained multitudes.
My main problem with the book though was in the section on disco, in which the Village People's "YMCA" is depicted as some sort of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the disco generation, kicking the movement into the mainstream. "When the Village People went to Number One with "YMCA" the entire music business jumped on the bandwagon." He then goes onto to name check Boney M - who peaked in 1978 - ABBA - "Waterloo" was in 1974 but since we are talking disco "Dancing Queen" was a smash in 1976 - "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" - both of which dominated the charts in 1978.
"YMCA" didn't reach Number One in the UK until the beginning of 1979. Can you see the problem here? If anything "YMCA" was one of the last of the disco classics.
And if he gets the chronology of disco so wrong, what other mistakes did he make?
August 18, 2020
This could have been so good. Napier-Bell is a music legend as songwriter (You Don't Have To Say You Love Me) and manager (Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, Wham) but this 400-page whirlwind tour through the history of the music business is sadly disappointing. There are interesting nuggets of information but most anecdotes are related in such a dull way that they fall flat. It's only when we reach the chapter on Michael Jackson and Madonna that the narrative comes alive, gossipy not to say scurrilous.
When he strays into the area of sociology or psychology one rather wishes he hadn't bothered. The "insights" aren't much more profound than "acid meant that singles were too short, so the rock album was born." or "Most pop managers are gay because they know what little girls like". He also makes the odd comment that the Beatles split because they were unable to make the leap from "pop" to "rock" which seems perverse given that with Revolver the Beatles literally invented the rock album. Some hidden agenda there, perhaps.
If you enjoy the final chapters in Beatles biographies where all the Klein/Eastman/Lew Grade stuff is hashed over, this is for you. Otherwise, not recommended.
When he strays into the area of sociology or psychology one rather wishes he hadn't bothered. The "insights" aren't much more profound than "acid meant that singles were too short, so the rock album was born." or "Most pop managers are gay because they know what little girls like". He also makes the odd comment that the Beatles split because they were unable to make the leap from "pop" to "rock" which seems perverse given that with Revolver the Beatles literally invented the rock album. Some hidden agenda there, perhaps.
If you enjoy the final chapters in Beatles biographies where all the Klein/Eastman/Lew Grade stuff is hashed over, this is for you. Otherwise, not recommended.
January 30, 2022
Music is always a reflection of society and the times. When slaves in the American South belted out work songs, their tunes reflected the hardships of their lives and the injustice of the world at large. And when, in the 1970s, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer let the chords on their Hammond organ ring out, these futuristic sounds signaled the inevitable and continuing integration of technology into music.
Music interacts, changes, and develops with society, specifically with the emergence of new technologies, laws, and trends. But because societies are largely shaped by economic interests, music also has a lot to do with business.
These blinks will guide you through the history and business of modern popular music. You will dance to jukebox classics, step into the jazz clubs of Chicago and New York and join the masses at Woodstock.
The history of the music industry is intricately linked to technological innovations and the many other changes that society has experienced over the years. Through all of this, the industry has managed to adapt and often thrive by taking steps to ensure its continued success.
Music interacts, changes, and develops with society, specifically with the emergence of new technologies, laws, and trends. But because societies are largely shaped by economic interests, music also has a lot to do with business.
These blinks will guide you through the history and business of modern popular music. You will dance to jukebox classics, step into the jazz clubs of Chicago and New York and join the masses at Woodstock.
The history of the music industry is intricately linked to technological innovations and the many other changes that society has experienced over the years. Through all of this, the industry has managed to adapt and often thrive by taking steps to ensure its continued success.
July 2, 2020
An amazing piece of history on the music industry narrated with a simple timeline covering over a century of events. A brilliant account on how popularity of different formats of music and even dance evolved over time fueled by aggressive business motives, treachery, manipulation and perennial exploitation of musicians over decades by publishers and mostly music companies where creativity would take a back seat to garner profits to meet popular demand ... a must read for anyone who loves music from the west....
April 3, 2021
A good high-level history of the record industry, from its origins in sheet music publishing to the dawn of streaming.
By necessity, covering more than 100 years of history requires a lot of compression, and the parts I was most interested in - the 1960s through to the 1990s - were dealt with in a few chapters.
That condensing of whole eras would be my only real criticism, as this was a thoroughly researched and presented history from someone who experienced the industry from the inside.
By necessity, covering more than 100 years of history requires a lot of compression, and the parts I was most interested in - the 1960s through to the 1990s - were dealt with in a few chapters.
That condensing of whole eras would be my only real criticism, as this was a thoroughly researched and presented history from someone who experienced the industry from the inside.
April 11, 2021
One of the best books I have read on the music industry.
He is knowledgeable, irreverent, incisive.
It covers immense ground coming bang up to date.
In addition there are excellent appendices covering quotes and artistes.
He is knowledgeable, irreverent, incisive.
It covers immense ground coming bang up to date.
In addition there are excellent appendices covering quotes and artistes.
January 12, 2025
Informative and helped by an insider's lived-through viewpoint and cheeky enough to elicit some laughs. Not perfectly edited though. Could have used some more copy corrections.
April 9, 2015
It's a fascinating glimpse into a part of history I knew nothing about and a world I only suspected. So many crazy anecdotes and colourful characters. Thought ultimately I found it all a depressing reality to come to terms with. And there I was quite taken aback to find the last words from the author to be roughly 'everyone get's screwed in this business- just learn to enjoy it'. Huh? Just because something can be traced back through two centuries doesn't mean we should accept this to continue into the future. I just can't understand that.
On the writing side, I have mixed feelings. It was an entertaining read, and kept my attention (which is usually hard for me and non-fiction). There are many parts that feel to quickly glossed over or fail to mention the date of the event. The author's attempts at humour at times left confused as to wether there was a deliberate joke or if the situation was truly that amusing (as some where). That left me frustrated, as I don't want to drop the book to start researching.
Overall, well worth a read as I don't believe there's any comparable book written on this subject.
On the writing side, I have mixed feelings. It was an entertaining read, and kept my attention (which is usually hard for me and non-fiction). There are many parts that feel to quickly glossed over or fail to mention the date of the event. The author's attempts at humour at times left confused as to wether there was a deliberate joke or if the situation was truly that amusing (as some where). That left me frustrated, as I don't want to drop the book to start researching.
Overall, well worth a read as I don't believe there's any comparable book written on this subject.
July 26, 2015
I mostly quite dry account of the history of the music industry, occasionally peppered with snippets of what would be really interesting annecdotes that are summarised into a sentence. Endlessly talks about such-and-such being the biggest record company at any one time, obsessed with money, and utterly trivialises vast swathes of music with cod-sociology. It was vaguely interesting though.
October 11, 2015
Uneven, unfocussed, but lots of interesting tidbits. I got bored halfway through, but some of it was really engrossing. Gave me a different way to look at music production over the decades. Wasn't so interested in the insider perspective. Overall: enjoyed it, but could have done with some serious editing.
January 2, 2016
As usual, Mr. SNP does a tremendous job describing the music industry not only highly in-depth but always in an entertaining way!
I recommend all of his books to anyone and everyone interested in the history of music.
I recommend all of his books to anyone and everyone interested in the history of music.
January 22, 2015
Interesting account of the pop/rock music business. I found the earlier stuff more interesting and skipped some detail of the contracts and deals in the 80s and 90s
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