Music Business Tactics

Music Business Tactics is not so much about the music business, but about the business of being a musician. Trumpet player and author Chase Sanborn draws on a lifetime of professional experience to provide advice and suggestions on how to market your talents and succeed in the highly competitive world of the music business. 

 

Music Business Tactics outlines the qualities that make a successful musician, provides strategies for managing your time, money and business relationships, and presents an 8-point plan for artistic and financial success. The topics discussed here are every bit as important as your musical ability when it comes to making a living in this business. You need this information!

 

In the introduction Chase says: “It won’t take you long to read this book, but it took me more than thirty years to write it.”  Good things come in small packages.

 

IS IT AVAILABLE IN PDF?

This question is asked often, especially by international customers for whom shipping represents a substantial cost.

From an author's viewpoint, eliminating the printing, stocking and shipping would save a lot of time and money while reducing costs for readers. Still, I have resisted publishing digitally, and here's why:

 

One-time reads, e.g., a novel,  magazine or newspaper, are very effective in digital format. I feel that reference books that may be used repeatedly for years are more effective in print form, that you'll reach for a printed copy of a book on your shelf more often than you will a digital file hidden on your hard drive, and that you're better able to grasp the overall expanse of a book by thumbing through it and opening to individual pages. I feel like I can make a connection with a reader better with a printed book (signed and shipped by the author, just sayin'...) than with a digital file transmitted anonymously.

 

For perspective: The price of a book, even with international shipping, is less than the cost of a one-hour private lesson. Perhaps making the investment to get the book into your hands will incline you to make full use of it. More use = greater value.

 

Finally, there are quite a few videos on YouTube which are of course free for everyone. Purchasing a book can be seen as a way to support the channel.

 

Not everyone will agree with my reasoning, but now you have it. 

If you are a young person contemplating a career as a musician, or even if you’ve been in the game a long time and are trying to cope with an ever-changing musical landscape, Music Business Tactics is an essential read. Chase Sanborn offers useful information and helpful hints on how to survive–perhaps even thrive–in today’s music business.

Brian Barlow (President, Toronto Musicians Association)

 

Music Business Tactics is well written, throughly researched, and often quite funny. This book should be required reading for young musicians–and old ones too. It will make them think seriously about what they are doing.

Jack Long (Long & McQuade Music)

 

What a fabulous resource for anyone who wants to make a living as a musician! This will be a required text for my students.

Dennis Najoom (Milwaukee Symphony)

 

Music Business Tactics is wonderful! It’s an enjoyable read that provides sound, practical advice for the aspiring musician. Chase Sanborn’s books are making a very positive impact on the musical community.

Dean McNeill (University of Saskatchewan)

 

Music Business Tactics is an informative dissemination of a nuts-and-bolts approach to our business, delivered with directness and humor. This is a must-read for every musician, regardless of instrument or previous experience. I intend to make it a required course item in our studio at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ronald Romm (Canadian Brass; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

 

Music Business Tactics offers invaluable lessons for aspiring musicians and timely reminders for established ones. Chase Sanborn combines clear and thoughtful commentary with a generous dose of Sanbornian fun. This is a must-read for music students!

Dave Neill (Toronto, ON)

 

Many aspiring musicians are ill equipped to deal with the reality of earning a living. They shy away from doing the very things they need to do to succeed. Music Business Tactics deals with the real world of the professional musician.

Alex Kundakcioglu (National Sales Manager, Jupiter Music Canada)

 

It’s seldom that something so practical and useful comes along. Music Business Tactics ought to be on every college required reading list.

Mick Hesse (Farmington, NM)

 

Music Business Tactics is honest, funny, to-the-point and highly practical. This will be a required text for my music business class.

Steve Sherman (Red Deer College)

 

Music Business Tactics encapsulates a lifetime of experiential advice. It is witty and realistic. I love it!

Colleen Allen (Toronto, ON)

 

Chase Sanborn’s Music Business Tactics is like a chat with the cool uncle you never had. It reads so easily you can probably finish it in one opera performance (if you’re in the pit) or two (if you’re in the audience). This book will pay for itself from what you’ll save on Tylenol.

Colin Murray (Mr. Equipment)

 

Music Business Tactics will help you succeed in music and in life. As usual, Chase Sanborn gets right to the heart of what you need to know. Read it, learn, and laugh!

Cathy Leach (President, International Trumpet Guild)

 

Music Business Tactics contains all the information an aspiring musician should know and utilize. Reading the book on a cross-country flight, I found myself nodding in agreement many times. (The people sitting beside me probably thought I had a nervous twitch.) I’ve already passed it on to my son.

Corey Taylor (Yamaha Canada)

 

Whether you are young or old, experienced or newbie, you need this information! You can learn it the hard way, through years of trial and error, or by reading Music Business Tactics. Be smart: read this book and take Chase Sanborn’s advice to heart!

Kim Stephens (Bloomington, IN)

 

Music Business Tactics is full of common sense advice that most people just overlook. It’s always good to be reminded!

Cathy Sheridan (Greenwich, NY)

 

Music Business Tactics is chock full of wit, wisdom and good old-fashioned common sense (which is anything but common these days). Chase Sanborn has done it again!

Chris Kemp (Big Smoke Big Band)

 

This is the first book about the music business that I can truly identify with. Others deal primarily with indie rock bands trying to get a record deal or are written in a language more suited for lawyers. Thanks to Chase Sanborn’s perspective, experience and humorous writing style, I really got a lot out of this, and likely will for some time!

Jon McCaslin (Toronto, ON)

 

As I read your new book, I am struck by how much we have in common in our philosophy of work and life. I find it hard to believe all you have observed about me over the years. I think perhaps you are generous in your tribute; perhaps some of my faults have faded over time. I so admire all you have done with your music and your life, and I am thrilled to share in your accomplishments. Any father would be proud to have you as a son.

Howie Sanborn (Dad)