Book/Site Review

"Ruthless Self-Promotion In The Music Industry"

Jeffery Fisher

The Jeffery Fisher salesman’s tip primer is given to us in a kind of outline style. My guess is that Mr. Fisher has a basic sales/promo book and he has inserted music industry references where applicable. Many of the examples given in the book don't just translate to other industries, they are about other industries. Don't get me wrong, this book is filled with plenty of good promotional advice and Fisher articles can be found throughout the music info community. The trick is to not use all of it at one time. We all know what we think of "good" salesmen, they can be a pain.

There are the usual strategies: post cards, letterhead, business cards, etc. But, Fisher also has plenty of other ideas you don't usually think of like magnets and stickers. The chapter on publicity gives plenty of ideas on ways to get your music entity viewed by the local media, some may be a little hokey, but, they are probably effective.

Fisher gives examples throughout the book on how you can partner up with other music entities to enhance promo for all parties. Each chapter gives advice on how to research your promo campaign and what to look for in your local market and ends with a real life example of the promotion techniques used. Fisher’s site has more of his stuff to sell, but, he does give away a tip each week and offers plenty more advice.

Overall the book is filled with lots of great ideas for musicians, venues, and a lot of other music related businesses. Fisher gave me a lot of good examples, some of which The Dude even plans to put to work. Although a little pricey, I gladly recommend this book.
--The Dude

From Amazon
This book is pretty good. Maybe a little too expensive, but not bad. I think the section on the internet was lacking, but you can buy a cheap little guide like BUZZ YOUR MP3 (available here at Amazon) to cover the internet side of promoting music. The author could have come up with some more examples, but all in all, this is a good start for someone who is new to promoting!

Same Concepts Over and Over, January 9, 2002
Reviewer: jammin_dave from Akron, OH USA
You need a plan, and its going to take work. No Kidding? You need an image. REALLY? When you submit items, you may get turned down - NO?!?! This book is ok if it's your first on the subject, but if you have ANY kind of marketing knowledge, skip it. I came across one idea that I thought, HEY Never thought of that. I had to force myself to finish it. Not enough examples of a press release's or other items (but you have tp PLAN, AND SPELL CHECK - WOW!). He has a chapter on the internet, that again is for the beginner, and almost a beginners guide to html. How about where to promote on the Internet? One positive is the author availability. He publishes all sorts of ways to contact him. It was easily read (although I was frustrated by the end as it wasn't giving me what I wanted). He explains how you can take a press release, reword it, and re-release it. I got the feeling he did that with each chapter. (Sorry Jeff).

This book is Ruthless, June 11, 2001
Reviewer: Allison Prior from Newfoundland, Canada
Awesome book, I feel that I have improved my promotion abilities 100 per cent since reading this book, I'm so happy with it I tell everyone about, I even have some of his tips on my Guest Book, and I am setting up a link for people to be able to purchase, that's how much I believe in this book. I feel that the information is worth a lot more than the small price of purchasing. -- Thank you Allison Prior

Great writer! Good at motivating you to take action, September 20, 2000
Reviewer: musictech from Seattle, WA USA
This is the second book from Jeffrey Fisher that I have read. It is definitely on my list of Required Reading for music business success. The first book of his that I read was his book on jingles and soundtracks. There is some overlap between the two books, but this book is newer and the content is geared towards musicians and bands. There are many other books that give you the foundation about how the music business operates, but this book does a great job of covering the area that most independent bands/artists are lacking in the most, self-promotion! Plenty of great ideas to get you going with successfully promoting yourself in the music biz. Jeffrey writes in a very easy to read and friendly style that keeps you engrossed. Not only is he a great writer, but he gives his personal contact information in the book and encourages readers to contact him directly! How many authors do you know that would do that?