Entertainment Business

For 20 years, Merge Records has remained true to their belief that you can sign bands because you love their music and respect what they're trying to do. As giant corporate labels struggle for survival, Merge has garnered a secure and growing fan base while releasing some of the best music of our time. Our Noise is the history of the much loved label as seen by those who were there. It features interviews with and profiles of now releases some of indie rock's biggest names.

To continue doing business in Germany, Hollywood studios agreed not to make films attacking Nazis or condemning persecution of Jews. Ben Urwand reveals this collaboration and the cast of characters it drew in, ranging from Goebbels to Louis B. Mayer. At the center was Hitler himself - obsessed with movies and their power to shape public opinion.

As a teenager visiting the Andy Warhol Museum, Beth Pickens realized the importance of making art. As an adult, she has worked as a consultant empowering artists. Intimate yet practical, Your Art Will Save Your Life helps artists build a sustainable practice while navigating the world of MFAs, residencies, and institutional funding.

Jake Stark. Hit songwriter for Nashville music publisher MegaMusic. Until he's not. When MegaMusic decides to not renew his contract over a lack of hit songs, Jake is at a loss. His creative energy is down, and the bills are piling up. Enter Sir Daniel Smith-Daniels, the young, enigmatic owner of the hottest music publisher in Nashville, The Row. During a compelling initial meeting, Sir Daniel introduces Jake to his unique approach to work and life, The Method.

Get an inside perspective on the entertainment distribution revolution from an executive who lived it with Netflix, Redbox, and MoviePass, and who continues to consult, speak, and share his unique understanding of how to disrupt the status quo and adapt to what the customer wants. Mitch Lowe will tell the inside story of the dramatic evolution of the entertainment business, from the days of early cable television, Beta, and VHS to a world where consumers have infinite choice and control of the movies they see.

Dorothy Carvello knows all about the music biz. She was the first female A&R executive at Atlantic Records and one of the few in the room at RCA and Columbia. Featuring never-before-heard stories about artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Steven Tyler, Bon Jovi, INXS, Marc Anthony, Phil Collins, and many more, this audiobook is a must-hear for anyone who has ever wondered what it's really like to be a woman in a male-dominated industry.

Much more than a showbiz memoir, Hot Pants in Hollywood tells of a baby boomer's life on steroids. Susan Silver was one of the first female TV comedy writers with credits like the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, Bob Newhart, among others. From Milwaukee, Susan went on to fame and fortune in Hollywood, had a successful career as one of the first women in TV sitcoms, and reinvented herself in different prominent arenas in New York. Though her story is unique, her life is relatable to all women looking for advice in work or love.

Almost everything you know about Mickey Mouse is wrong: He wasn’t Disney’s first star; Steamboat Willie wasn’t his first movie; Mickey wasn’t a nice guy - and Walt Disney didn’t invent him. In 1928, two very different best friends invented Mickey Mouse. And the success tore them apart. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks’ friendship is a story of betrayal, love, war, money, power, tragedy, intrigue, humor, despair, and hope. You’ll love them both - when you don’t want to drop anvils on their heads.

Seymour Stein is America's greatest living record man. Not only has he signed and nurtured more important artists than anyone alive, now 60 years in the game, he's still the hippest label head, traveling the globe in search of the next big thing. Since the late '50s, he's been wherever it's happening, and along that winding path, he discovered and broke out a skyline full of stars, including Madonna, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Madonna, The Smiths, The Cure, Ice-T, Lou Reed, Seal, and many others.

American Dreamer brims with anecdotes that cover Tommy's years as a club kid and scrappy entrepreneur in 1970s New York as well as unique insights into the exclusive A-list personalities with whom he's collaborated and interacted, from Mick Jagger and David Bowie to Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. But this is more than just a fashion icon's memoir - it's a road map for building a brand, both professionally and personally.

The fourth volume of the Solo Acoustic Musician series expands on subjects only touched upon in earlier volumes. Michael Nichols chooses in this book to focus on a unique musical environment and subculture — the “open mic” event, at which performers sign up to play. Some are amateurs, some are professionals, and many are Solo Acoustic Musicians. Michael once again strives to give you a truthful and transparent look into a Solo Acoustic Musician's lifestyle by sharing his experiences at various types of open mics, as a performer, as a host, and as a member of the audience.

Damian Keyes has written the ultimate guide for musicians to enhance and take control of their music careers! This audiobook is packed full of ideas, tips and stories, alongside a defining 30 Day Challenge, to help you reach your full potential. Stop Selling Music: Career Changing Lessons For Musicians shows you how to build a career you are proud of with foundations that will last a lifetime, whether your goals are to make a living from session playing, songwriting, touring the world or selling out stadiums!

During the 1970s and '80s the music business was dominated by a few major labels and artists such as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand and James Taylor. They were all under contract to CBS Records, making it the most successful label of the era. And, as the company's president, Walter Yetnikoff was the ruling monarch. He was also the most flamboyant, volatile, and controversial personality to emerge from an industry and era defined by sex, drugs, and debauchery.

Mark Twain's lifetime spans America's era of greatest economic growth. And Twain was an active, even giddy, participant in all the great booms and busts of his time, launching himself into one harebrained get-rich-quick scheme after another. But far from striking it rich, the man who coined the term "Gilded Age" failed with comical regularity to join the ranks of plutocrats who made this period in America notorious for its wealth and excess.

The definitive biography of movie executive and philanthropist Sherry Lansing traces her groundbreaking journey to become the first female head of a major motion picture studio, shares behind-the-scenes tales from movie sets and Hollywood boardrooms, and explains what inspired her to walk away from it all to start the Sherry Lansing Foundation.

Chris Greenwood is the man behind Manafest: the globally successful rock and rap musician who’s sold millions of singles and albums world-wide. With over 20 years experience in the industry, both as a signed artist and an independent musician, Chris shares his incredible experience as a song writer and hit-maker in this audiobook.

Women have been instrumental in the success of American cinema since its very beginning. One of the first people to ever pick up a motion picture camera was a woman, as was the first screenwriter to win two Academy Awards, the inventor of the boom microphone, and the first person to be credited with the title film editor. Throughout the entire history of Hollywood women have been revolutionizing, innovating, and shaping how we make movies. Yet their stories are rarely shared. This is what film reporter Alicia Malone wants to change. Backwards and in Heels tells the history of women in film in a different way.

Barry Avrich - a self-made, Montreal-born film producer-director, flamboyant advertising executive, and legendary biographer and connector of moguls and stars. For over three decades, he has relentlessly produced films on some of the most notorious show-business titans and also found the time to market and promote feature films, concerts, and the biggest shows on Broadway.

Michael E. Uslan, executive producer of the Batman movie franchise, offers an insider’s look at Hollywood and the process of how movies and television shows go from the drawing board to your screens. Continuing the delightful tale of his adventures begun in The Boy Who Loved Batman, Uslan draws on both his successful and less successful attempts to bring ideas to the screen, offering a helpful, honest, and breezily told guide to producing films.

In this audiobook, Kala discusses many of the ancient mystery school topics, which are designed to stir the soul, awaken the mind, and reveal long-forgotten memories of past lives, as well as inspire you to explore the magnificence of who you really are.