1st Edition

Solid Gold Popular Record Industry

By R. Serge Denisoff Copyright 1975
    504 Pages
    by Routledge

    504 Pages
    by Routledge

    More than 90 record companies release over 9,000 pop records each year—a staggering total of 52,000 songs. Each one competes for the gold record, the recording industry's symbol of success that certifies $1 million worth of records have been sold. Solid Gold explains why, for each record that succeeds, countless others fail. This book follows the progress of a record through production, marketing, and distribution, and shows how a mistake made at any point can mean its doom. Denisoff suggests that a drastic shift in the demographic makeup of the pop music audience during the sixties has resulted in a broader listening public, including fans at every level of society.

    1 WHAT IS POPULAR MUSIC: A SILLY QUESTION? 2 IN THE GROOVES: THE PERFORMER 3 THE VINYL CRAP GAME: THE RECORD COMPANIES 4 THE COP OUT: INSIDE THE RECORD COMPANY 5 THE GATEKEEPERS OF RADIO 6 PROZINES AND FANZINES 7 THE STREET, JOHN SINCLAIR AND THE INDUSTRY 8 THE CENSORS: THE RADICAL RIGHT AND THE FCC 9 THE FOLKS OUT THERE

    Biography

    R. Serge Denisoff (1939-1994) founded and was editor of the Journal of Popular Music and Society. He is the author of many books, including Inside MTV, Sing a Song of Social Significance, and Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry.