• Author : Chris Juergensen
• Publisher : Lulu
• Cost : $14.99 (Paperback) – $7.99 (Downloadable PDF)
• Buy Book : Lulu
• Pages : 133
• Star Rating : 9 out of 10

Chris Jurgensen is a name familiar to many Indie Launchpad readers. I reviewed his last album “Big Bad Sun”, back in September of 2006. His latest album, “Strange Phenomena” is currently towards the top of my review stack, but that will have to wait a little longer, as out of the blue came an email from Chris, letting me know I’d been mentioned in his latest book. Lo and behold, not only is Chris a crack musician, he’s also an author. His previous book “Infinite Guitar” comprises of the guitar lessons previously published on his web site. His latest book “The Empowered Musician” has the sub title “Finding financial Freedom in Music”, and goes into fine detail of what to expect when you enter the music business, from the pound of flesh you can usually expected to part with with your first recording contract, to doing it all yourself.

Before going any further, I think it’s important to say I read this book, from beginning to end. I am not a musician, just someone who’s passionate about music. I’ve been told many times, I should be a singer, but unfortunately the only thing that cures me of stage fright is vast amounts of alcohol and then as you can imagine, that’s not really conducive to a charismatic stage presence. Anyway I originally only intended on skimming this book and writing a quick paragraph or two, but with Chris’ great writing style, I found it pretty effortless to digest the whole thing. Admittedly this isn’t a large book, at 133 pages, but this is also reflected in the cost. That being said, what you are paying for here, is quality rather than quantity and there is just a ton of information here, for anyone looking to make a living from their music.

The book is broken down into 12 chapters :

1. Introduction
2. How the Professional Thinks
3. Education
4. Understanding the Music Business
5. Empower Yourself
6. Your Website and Marketing
7. Internet Radio and Podcasts
8. Press Kits and Where They Go
9. A Word of Caution
10. Making a Living
11. Finances and the Keys to Success
12. Questions and Answers

As you can see all the areas are covered, with the emphasis of actually making some money from your hard work. There were a few times, I felt that some of the chapters could benefit with being expanded a bit, but I’m sure most of that was due to me enjoying Chris’ writing style.

Conclusion : If you are in a band or recording solo and are looking to persue music as your career, this will certainly get you up to speed, let you know what to expect and even point out some of the many pitfalls. Even if you aren’t a musician and just curious about the music business, this books serves as an interesting insight.