So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star
by Jacob Slichter · first published 2004
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2HN commenters
2016–2024first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
A hilarious inside look at the real business of popular music by the drummer of Semisonic that does for rock and roll what Jim Bouton's Ball Four did for baseball.After years of working day jobs and making music in his basement, Jacob Slichter wondered if his dreams of rock stardom were a vain illusion. Then he was recruited by two of his successful musician friends to form a band that became Semisonic. Who could forget the smash single "Closing Time," a runaway hit in 1998 that thrust Jake and his bandmates into the international spotlight and helped them sell over two million albums worldw
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The most detailed accounting I've come across of the economic realities of the record biz (including the myriad ways an artist can be screwed by his or her label) is the book "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star" by Jacob Slichter (drummer for Semisonic). It's a really fantastic read I recommend to anyone who wants to be a professional musician or just wants to understand the industry. If you want
on “How McCartney and Lennon Lost Ownership of the Beatles Catalogue” ↗In 2005 the drummer for Semisonic wrote the book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star. In it the band received a record plaque and asked the record company rep if it was their music. The response was no, it was probably some left over Sinatra LP that had been painted.
on “Beastie Boys dismantled their gold record plaque” ↗