The Music Business: Build a Creative Career and Navigate the Industry

Everything you need to know about the music business ?" and the creative mindset to use it.

In The Music Business, Paul Wiltshire, founder and CEO of Songtradr and owner of Bandcamp, offers an unflinching, practical guide to building a sustainable career in today's music industry. Drawing on decades of experience as a record producer, songwriter, and tech entrepreneur, Wiltshire traces how the best careers are built from the inside out: starting with creative discipline and ending with full command of the business systems most artists never fully understand.

Structured around two parallel paths, the book moves from the interior life of the working artist ?" tracing the creative arc from first spark through the tensions between artistic integrity and commercial ambition ?" to the external mechanics of the industry and how to navigate them on your own terms.

Readers will find:

• A candid, career-spanning account of what it actually takes to develop and sustain a creative practice, and why obsession, not talent alone, drives long-term success
• Practical guidance on music rights, royalties, music publishing, and streaming economics, including why billions in unpaid royalties never reach the artists who earned them
• The Artist CEO framework for evaluating record deals, artist management, and publishing partnerships ?" and how to recognize the structures that limit your growth
• Strategies for direct-to-fan revenue, live performance, and music merchandise that help independent artists build durable income streams
• An honest account of how AI and technology are reshaping the music industry, grounded in the author's firsthand experience building global music platforms

Perfect for independent artists, songwriters, aspiring music entrepreneurs, and anyone navigating the modern music landscape, The Music Business delivers the practical knowledge and the frank perspective to help you protect your work, understand your rights, and build a career that is genuinely your own.