The Business

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.

The Business describes the evolution of the music industry from 1713—the year parliament granted writers ownership over what they wrote—to today, when a global, £100 billion 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 Jewish immigrants and black jazz musicians dancing cheek-to-cheek created a template for all popular music that followed; and how rock tours became the biggest, quickest, sleaziest, and most profitable ventures the music industry has ever seen.

Through it all, Napier-Bell 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.

The only history of pop music you'll ever have to read. - Huffington Post