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.
Table of Contents:
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
About the Author :
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.
Review :
-Denisoff . . . has produced in this book the first serious study of the business of the contemporary record industry. A valuable addition to libraries.-
--Choice
-R. Serge Denisoff, who in my opinion is the heavy weight champion of rock trivia, extracts the inner core of the popular record industry and shows how the rock and roll apple is sliced. . . . Denisoff has cranked out his own special artifact: Solid Gold is a robust, self-styled classic that is useful to the rock connoisseur and the sociologist of music and popular culture alike. . . . [Keep] a copy of Solid Gold handy. It goes well with paradigms and/or stereo headphones.-
--Joseph Damrell, Contemporary Sociology
-Since its publication . . . Solid Gold has understandably become a staple in the popular culture literature. A richly detailed portrait of the popular record industry.-
--Edward R. Kealy, American Journal of Sociology
"Denisoff . . . has produced in this book the first serious study of the business of the contemporary record industry. A valuable addition to libraries."
--Choice
"R. Serge Denisoff, who in my opinion is the heavy weight champion of rock trivia, extracts the inner core of the popular record industry and shows how the rock and roll apple is sliced. . . . Denisoff has cranked out his own special artifact: Solid Gold is a robust, self-styled classic that is useful to the rock connoisseur and the sociologist of music and popular culture alike. . . . [Keep] a copy of Solid Gold handy. It goes well with paradigms and/or stereo headphones."
--Joseph Damrell, Contemporary Sociology
"Since its publication . . . Solid Gold has understandably become a staple in the popular culture literature. A richly detailed portrait of the popular record industry."
--Edward R. Kealy, American Journal of Sociology
"Denisoff . . . has produced in this book the first serious study of the business of the contemporary record industry. A valuable addition to libraries."
--Choice
"R. Serge Denisoff, who in my opinion is the heavy weight champion of rock trivia, extracts the inner core of the popular record industry and shows how the rock and roll apple is sliced. . . . Denisoff has cranked out his own special artifact: Solid Gold is a robust, self-styled classic that is useful to the rock connoisseur and the sociologist of music and popular culture alike. . . . [Keep] a copy of Solid Gold handy. It goes well with paradigms and/or stereo headphones."
--Joseph Damrell, Contemporary Sociology
"Since its publication . . . Solid Gold has understandably become a staple in the popular culture literature. A richly detailed portrait of the popular record industry."
--Edward R. Kealy, American Journal of Sociology
"R. Serge Denisoff . . . extracts the inner core of the popular record industry and shows how the rock and roll apple is sliced. . . . Solid Gold is a robust, self-styled classic that is useful to the rock connoisseur and the sociologist of music and popular culture alike."--Joseph Damrell, Contemporary Sociology
