I originally wrote The Music Industry Self Help Guide because it seems that regardless of genre or region, every musician goes through identical stages of development and needs access to the same tools and information to get ahead in this industry. Over the last three decades I have continued to see a reoccurring disparity with different musicians that don't know where to look-and don't know what to look for-which keeps them isolated with no real hope of success. I've encountered this not only in local developing music scenes but also while formally mentoring aspiring artists at music conferences across the country. In writing the original manuscript, my experience and accumulated knowledge base placed me in a unique position to provide you with information from the point of view of an artist, a manager, and also from that of a record label. It was important in the creation of this book that all of these perspectives were taken into consideration, as they vary so greatly in how they interpret what is actually required to succeed in today's market. I also would like to stress the fact that the views in this book are not merely comprised of one person's observations of the music industry, but includes tried and true methods of success that have been implemented by bands that have maintained relevance for more than three decades. This resulted in a well-rounded, all-encompassing guide to creating momentum and visibility for emerging artists that covered all of the developmental elements that they would need to lay a solid foundation for themselves in the independent market. Although multiple books and publications have been written on some of the various subjects contained herein that have a cold encyclopedic reference style of providing information, what I did in writing The Music Industry Self Help Guide was approach as many of these topics as possible, link them all together, and present them on more of a personal and direct level. What resulted was a brutally honest and thought-provoking guidebook written in a conversational manner that can give your career a serious head start and help you move forward if you choose to implement its information. The first edition provided a very solid framework for this expanded edition which has additional chapters, resources, lists, and a step by step guide on how to fill out an online copyright form. This entire book was also re-tooled from the 1st Edition to provide quick and easy reference points for easy navigation. What you now have in your hands is a book that was designed with your success in mind and has been refined into a better product for your added benefit. Although this book encompasses the entire spectrum of the music industry from the earliest stages of a developing artist's career to the corporate wranglings of the music industry giants, I chose to focus primarily on the independent market, because this is the place that you must pass through while earning your stripes and paying your dues in this industry. As the title implies, this is a self help guide, so what this book also does to prepare you for success is look at one of the largest hurdles that aspiring musicians face as they try to move forward in their career: themselves. No other key component in this book will surpass the importance of one's ability to master oneself, and this book will callously press you to take an unflinching look inside yourself to understand who you really are and attempt to identify what is holding you back. How far you get beyond the independent market will not only rely on the quality of the music you release, but will also hinge largely on how you utilize the things that you read in this book.