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Confessions of a Record Producer
Moses Avalon
Confessions of a Record Producer is the music industry's most notorious insider exposé—a blunt, funny, deeply cynical guide to how money actually moves (and disappears) in the record business. Moses Avalon, a working producer and engineer turned artists'-rights advocate, first published it in 1998 and has updated it repeatedly since. His premise is unsentimental: this is not how the business should work but how it does, and he walks the reader through real deal structures to show what artists truly earn from a “hit” and how producers, labels, managers, and even lawyers take their cut. Along the way he demystifies publishing, royalties, ASCAP and BMI, and the math of a record contract. It's opinionated and occasionally conspiratorial, but grounded in genuine expertise. For musicians, students of the industry, or anyone who has wondered why the artist so rarely gets rich, it's an eye-opening—and useful—read.
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The author
Moses Avalon is an American record producer and engineer who became one of the best-known writers and educators on the business side of music, and a vocal advocate for artists' rights. He writes as an insider settling scores with an industry he knows intimately.
The book
First published in 1998 and revised through multiple editions, Confessions of a Record Producer dissects actual major- and indie-label deals to reveal each party's real role, pay, and agenda—engineers, managers, producers, labels, and lawyers each taking a turn "in the hot seat." Later editions extend the analysis to streaming and the internet economy.
How it has aged
The specifics evolve—CDs give way to Spotify—but the book's core anatomy of who gets paid, and how, has kept it in print and in classrooms for over two decades. Read the most recent edition for current numbers.
For more context
Pairs with Donald Passman's All You Need to Know About the Music Business for a more sober, comprehensive treatment.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Moses Avalon
- Publisher
- Backbeat Books
- Place of publication
- San Francisco
- ISBN
- None
- Format
- Paperback
- Shelf
- Music
- Location
- Maine