We’ve been sent through a copy of the new Mag Book “How to make it in Music” and we have to admit, it’s rather good! It has apparently been written by musicians for musicians and covers everything from dealing with venues and promoters to publishing to online distribution and promotion.

The design of the book is more magazine than text book (hence the Mag Book format), which not only makes it visually attractive but also easy to read in small chunks. The advice in it is mainly taken from industry professionals and generally speaking it’s thought out and helpful with some really good insights. There are some really good sections the contractual issues you might face along with the pitfalls to look out for when signing publishing and management contracts. These sections are based around industry professional’s experience and go into more practical detail than many other similar books that I’ve read but manage to do it in a way that is still easy to read and understand.

The main restriction of the Mag Book format is that some big subjects are over simplified because there is no time to go into the counter arguments or contrary opinions but if your willing to dig a bit deeper online then it’s a great starting point for having a better understanding of the issues.

To add some inspiration to the advice there are several interviews with independent musicians who have seen various measures of success playing on the live circuit or promoting their music through innovative projects. Each story has a different moment or event that lead to the moment of success, predictably though (despite the book’s title) there is no killer formula will lead you to ‘make it in music’ but it is encouraging to hear about great musicians breaking through and getting their music heard.

Overall I’d say it was well worth a look at if you happen to be looking for a solid general overview of the music industry and the various aspects of it you’ll have to deal with as an independent musician. It’s also affordable which is never a bad thing!

How to Make it in Music is available now from WH Smith, magbooks.com and amazon.co.uk for £7.99.