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Earworm: A novel about the music industry
A HILARIOUS SATIRE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
It took ten years to create the perfect song. Clive Bigg is the only man who can bring it to the masses, but his record label has built defences to keep fresh ideas out. Can Jonathan break in and convince Bigg to gamble on his track? The future of the music business is at stake.
In this entertaining techno-thriller, Sean McManus takes a slice through the music industry: from the boardroom to the stage; from the studio to the record fair. The story explores how fans relate to their favourite bands, how businesses can use technology to manipulate consumers, and what would happen if the music business disappeared overnight.
Sean McManus is a professional writer who has contributed to magazines including Musician, Making Music, Melody Maker, and Future Music. He has written more than ten non-fiction books about technology and business. This is his first novel.
Reviews
"A fun novel about the problems faced by musicians in making their mark on a music industry that's falling apart. A bitter satire that
works its way up to a memorable finale."
Metal Hammer magazine
"Raising a number of surprisingly sophisticated issues, this book is enjoyably cynical about the seemingly cold-hearted and impenetrable nature of the record industry and peppered with a number of highly comical cameos from the cream of rock'n'roll, which ensures that it never feels like heavy going."
Record Collector Magazine
"The novel satirises the music industry and the clichéd types that populate it, the lead character an affable fellow who you can't help but like - his meditations at his monitor screen, desperately trying to sort ideas, will be familiar to most of us who create music either for a living or for love. Amusing and well written."
MusicTech Magazine
381 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 22, 2015
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Sean McManus
29 books6 followersSean McManus writes inspiring books about technology and business.
Many of his most popular books introduce children and adults to programming, including using Scratch, Python, and the Raspberry Pi. Sean's novel for adults, Earworm, goes undercover in the music industry, exploring what happens when music, AI, and business collide.
Visit Sean's website for free book chapters and details of Sean's copywriting services for tech companies.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 12, 2017
Simon and Fred are working hard to make it big with their band -they just need a way to get recognised by the music industry and make their name known.
However, music buying patterns have changed, and the small record labels have all been bought up by Bigg records. This means that the chances of Simon and Fred 'making it' are getting slimmer all of the time.
Earworm, (previously released as University of Death) is the debut novel from Sean McManus.
The book is really funny and quite surreal in its comedy throughout. However, that comedic layer only lightly papers over the serious points that McManus is trying to make about the current state of music production.
The book is rich in technological throw backs to the 1990's (computer games, Commodores et cetera) and the characters all serve their functions well, even if some of the characters are only 2 dimensional such as the classic villain Mr Bigg, owner of the record label.
This is an enjoyable and light-hearted read with some serious points.
Highly recommended.
However, music buying patterns have changed, and the small record labels have all been bought up by Bigg records. This means that the chances of Simon and Fred 'making it' are getting slimmer all of the time.
Earworm, (previously released as University of Death) is the debut novel from Sean McManus.
The book is really funny and quite surreal in its comedy throughout. However, that comedic layer only lightly papers over the serious points that McManus is trying to make about the current state of music production.
The book is rich in technological throw backs to the 1990's (computer games, Commodores et cetera) and the characters all serve their functions well, even if some of the characters are only 2 dimensional such as the classic villain Mr Bigg, owner of the record label.
This is an enjoyable and light-hearted read with some serious points.
Highly recommended.
February 12, 2017
Simon and Fred are working hard to make it big with their band -they just need a way to get recognised by the music industry and make their name known.
However, music buying patterns have changed, and the small record labels have all been bought up by Bigg records. This means that the chances of Simon and Fred 'making it' are getting slimmer all of the time.
Earworm, (previously released as University of Death) is the debut novel from Sean McManus.
The book is really funny and quite surreal in its comedy throughout. However, that comedic layer only lightly papers over the serious points that McManus is trying to make about the current state of music production.
The book is rich in technological throw backs to the 1990's (computer games, Commodores et cetera) and the characters all serve their functions well, even if some of the characters are only 2 dimensional such as the classic villain Mr Bigg, owner of the record label.
This is an enjoyable and light-hearted read with some serious points.
Highly recommended.
However, music buying patterns have changed, and the small record labels have all been bought up by Bigg records. This means that the chances of Simon and Fred 'making it' are getting slimmer all of the time.
Earworm, (previously released as University of Death) is the debut novel from Sean McManus.
The book is really funny and quite surreal in its comedy throughout. However, that comedic layer only lightly papers over the serious points that McManus is trying to make about the current state of music production.
The book is rich in technological throw backs to the 1990's (computer games, Commodores et cetera) and the characters all serve their functions well, even if some of the characters are only 2 dimensional such as the classic villain Mr Bigg, owner of the record label.
This is an enjoyable and light-hearted read with some serious points.
Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews