The Recording Industry presents a brief but comprehensive examination of how records are made, marketed, and sold. The book opens with an overview of popular music and its place in American society, along with descriptions of key players in the recording industry. In the book's second part, the making of a recording is traced from production through marketing and retail sales. Finally, in Part III, legal issues, including copyright and problems of piracy, are addressed.
The new edition takes into account the massive changes in the recording industry occurring today due to the revolution of music on the web. This new reality informs all parts of the second edition, from issues of production and distribution to legal issues.