The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the New Music Industry, a newly published book, offers inspiration and high level advice to any musician or performer striving to successfully juggle the creative and business expertise necessary to thrive in today’s industry. Today, February 26, 2019, a free download of the book is available to Music Connection readers.
The eBook’s 70-plus articles provide a wealth of practical advice to the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) musician and is available exclusively on the Amazon Kindle eBook platform worldwide. It’s written by University of the Pacific Music Management Program Director, Keith Hatschek, who has spent four decades in the music business. The volume includes contributions from a dozen other industry experts, including eight of Hatschek’s former students who have gone on to successful music careers themselves. The easy-to-understand articles were originally published on the popular Discmakers music blog which is a trusted source of music industry insiders, being read daily by tens of thousands musicians. Hatschek divides the book’s contents into two sections: Creative Activities and Making a Living.
“Musicians today have to become adept at so much more than just performing,” Hatschek said, “so the topics range widely: how to manage a successful fan funding campaign, learning to maximize earnings from your original songs, recording tips, songwriting lessons, how to get more gigs and of critical importance, how to market and promote your music to a global audience in the Internet age. Today’s most successful artists have developed a keen sense of how the business operates and understand how to ride the trends to enhance their audience size and earnings. This book can fill in the gaps in artists’ industry knowledge to help them rise to the top,” Hatschek offered.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the New Music Industry normally retails for $2.99 in order to allow the greatest number of aspiring artists of all ages access to the wealth of information found inside. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from the eBook will be donated to Southern California-based Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Their mission is supplying musical instruments to under-funded school music programs across the U.S. to encourage more people to play and appreciate music.
Prior to becoming an educator, Hatschek worked in the music industry as a music producer and engineer, recording studio manager, marketing executive, performer, and founder of Keith Hatschek & Associates, a full service San Francisco music and entertainment industry marketing and public relations agency. He is a prolific author having penned more than 100 articles as well as three other music industry titles: How to Get a Job in the Music Industry, now in its third edition, The Golden Moment: Recording Secrets of the Pros, and The Historical Dictionary of the American Music Industry. In addition, he has regularly contributed articles to the Journal of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association (MEIEA). He serves on the editorial board of that Journal and is also Editor-in-Chief of Pacific’s student-led music business journal, Backstage Pass.
