Shad O' Shea's books on the music business are perhaps some of the most useful to the Tape Op community because he writes them as a veteran studio owner/producer/engineer and songwriter. O'Shea was born Howard Lovdal in 1931. After a stint in Korea in the Air Force, he started a career as a DJ using the moniker Shad O'Shea. He worked for many years at lots of stations, including WNOE in New Orleans. In fact, while in New Orleans, O'Shea was present at Cosimo Matassa's two-track studio when "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," an early rock & roll / rhythm & blues classic, was recorded. (Matassa is interviewed in Tape Op #40.) Allan Toussaint played piano on that song. O'Shea eventually settled in Cincinnati, Ohio where he built and operated Counterpart Creative Studios. Over the next 25 years, he produced over 5,000 sessions and facilitated hundreds of record deals for clients (and himself as a songwriter). His books are about his experiences navigating the rough waters of the music business. They are hard hitting and worth buying just for the laughs you'll get at his unique writing style.
Just for the Record, written in 1986, was O'Shea's first book. This 699-page work has what all other good books on the music business have, namely info on and forms for: copyrighting, publishing contracts, and performing rights societies. The rest of the book contains totally hilarious stories that all aim to teach valuable lessons on how to actually stand a chance of having a career (making money) as a songwriter and studio owner. His studio horror stories more than justify the price to the neophyte or even experienced studio owner or engineer. There are about 45 chapters, one of which is titled "The engineer or how to lose money at a 12-week recording school." This should give you a good feel for O'Shea's overriding theme, which is to cut all the crap and learn about the real way this business works.
Common Sense and the Music Business...Somehow the Two Just Don't Mix was written in 1992, and it continues in the same vein as Just for the Record. The basic premise of this book is that common sense is severely lacking in most musicians, and if you gain some common sense, your chances of success, while still infinitesimally small, will be increased. You see, Shad tells it to you straight. He doesn't sugarcoat anything and say that if you have written a great song, then you deserve success. On hiring a lawyer when approached by a record label for the first time, Shad writes, "I can go on record and say that I don't know of any major or independent label that, when they offer you a deal and you say 'you'll have to talk to my lawyer,' won't tell you to forget it." Has anybody actually ever given you this very practical advice? It's true too. You are simply not in the driver's seat with any record label unless you are a proven commodity, and talking about lawyers and such will just make you look like a difficult person. On sending out unsolicited demos, he writes that his book "was dictated on a tape I had received in the mail along with about 15 other unsolicited tapes." On the mixdown process: "The mixdown session is for the principles only. The principals being the engineer, producer and leader of the group. Everybody else stay the hell away!" On promo kits for neophyte artists (most of us): "The big thing we call ego is not going to get the job done. Nobody gives a damn about your promo kit or what you have to say about yourself. The only thing that counts is the music." The book goes on to expound on master preparation, studio etiquette, loyalty, drugs and a ton of other topics. There are over 30 chapters in this book.
O'Shea's books are great to have around. You don't necessarily have to read from beginning to end. You can reference them over and over, and you will crack up reading them. If you're smart, you will also learn many things that will save you time, sanity, and most important, money.