I am no different than any musician who has picked up an instrument, practiced, crash-landed on stage, and fumbled his way through introductions, negotiations, verbal agreements, contracts, and industry grifters. It wasn’t until I sat across the table behind a microphone in front of record label chiefs, promo kings, radio personalities, concert photographers, music journalists, and entrepreneurs I was able to get a sense of what truly bonds us. First the music, then the business. It all starts with a childhood fantasy—a functional microphone, an entry level instrument, a floor-length mirror, a fascination with sound and an artfully packaged recorded document. Art and the business of art have historically occupied two seemingly incongruent planets. I’m expressing this as a “from the ground up” small business musician with no practical training in accounting or contract law other than performing for a fee and paid in cash or check! That’s the region most musicians dwell in. These adjacent worlds either collide, co-exist, or work in tempo with one another. It became apparent I had to divide Talk! Conversations in All Keys into two volumes – The Artists and The Music Business after the weight on one complete edition-would surpass the 1000-page mark. What most endears me about these conversations?

We are all music fans, lovers, experts, dreamers, opinionated, and eager to share. That personality behind the microphone owns the same slice of vinyl as the player. That record executive owns most every Ozzy and Mick side. That photographer documents, prints, and shares history. The music journalist records their impressions in real-time. Notes fall from the player’s hands and lips, then recycled through the passion and care of others. Talk! Vol.#2 The Business is history is our music history, from the boardroom to the stage! x