Such an interesting look into the music industry. Thank you to Hachette for the gifted ARC my honest review.

Depending on the type of music you listen to you may be familiar with Peter Shapiro a graduate of Northwestern University where he got his start early by putting together a couple of films following the Dead Heads around the country. Peter is a well-known club owner, concert promoter, filmmaker
and magazine publisher and of course an author. He first got noticed by presenting two films at the Sundance film festival. He leased the Wetlands in New York and brought many different musical acts and jam bands such as the likes of members of the Grateful dead and the band Phish along with many different artists. The Wetlands also got him involved in Environmental causes and started this at the age of 23. In the description the are many musicians and bands mention and that is what drew me to this book the main focus seems to be what are called jam bands. Not being a big fan of those bands, this book was not all i hoped it would be even though it is well written and the fact that everything this man seems to touch turns out well. So, if bands like the Grateful dead and phish are you bands you like this book is definitely for you. I would rate this book 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

3.5 Stars

Peter Shapiro is a NYC based music mogul who has logged in over 100,000 hours in his profession which centers on opening music venues, producing concert events and dealing with musicians. He was just in his twenties when he took over the Tribeca based music venue "Wetlands". He later went on to create the Brooklyn based business "Brooklyn Bowl" which provided the multimedia experience of giant video screens, live concert jams and...bowling! Then he assumed ownership of the Port Chester based "Capitol Theatre", a large, beautiful historic venue that he renovated and transformed. He also spearheaded an annual awards show called "Jammys". You see, Shapiro is a huge fan of jams, which is why he is also a major Grateful Dead fan. In fact, a very large portion of the book concerns his passion for the Grateful Dead and his longtime relationships with Dead bassist Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and other surviving band members. Shapiro booked them constantly at his various music venues. If you are a Grateful Dead fan, perhaps you might enjoy this book more than I did.

First let me tell you what I liked about the book. I was fascinated by all the business machinations and creativity required to be a successful music entrepreneur like Peter Shapiro. He doesn't even watch TV, his mind is so busy maintaining his business empire and strategizing future goals. My son is in the music business so I found his advice valuable, interesting and informative. Shapiro is generous in this book with explaining business aspects such as acquiring property, coming up with business capital, and avoiding bankruptcy. He talks about how much the musical artist is paid, how tickets are sold, what cut a venue can take from the sale of merchandise and much, much more. One of my favorite stories was about Robert Plant, the iconic lead singer of Led Zeppelin who was on a solo tour. He happened to be in NYC staying at a hotel directly across the street from one of Shapiro's music venues. Shapiro went to his bank and withdrew $50,000 in cash and put it in a paper bag, using it to make a deal with Plant to do a show before leaving town. It reminded me of when Led Zeppelin played Madison Square Garden in the 70s and their eccentric and overpowering manager Peter Brandt demanded they be paid in cash.

The parts I didn't like in the book were the focus on musical acts I didn't know at all, or knew next to nothing about. Shapiro definitely has a very different music palette from mine. Some of the acts that often played at his venues were John Popper, Questlove, The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Disco Biscuits, and most especially various iterations of the remaining Grateful Dead members or Grateful Dead tribute bands. By about the 70% mark in the book I resorted to skimming because I had lost interest in reading about these bands. Also, towards the end of the book he touched on politics just a little bit, so that gave me a reason to skim even more.

Overall, I think this would be an an excellent book for use in a college Music Business course. This book is almost 400 pages, and Shapiro has massive experience in the industry to impart, and does so skillfully. It was a pleasant and easy read, but this type of book lends itself to some skimming if you're not particularly interested in the bands discussed.

Thank you to the publisher Hachette Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you are from the NYC area, or love The Grateful Dead, you will love this book. I enjoyed reading about the author's work life, and how things came together. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it wasn't 75% Grateful Dead (and family) stories. I spent most of the 70s and 80s going to concerts in Los Angeles, and would love a book like this about the West Coast.

Well written, and flows nicely. Wish there were photos!

I'm typically not a fan of memoirs written by promoters, and this was no exception. Even though I'm a big fan of the music scenes described by the author, I didn't think the stories or anecdotes were all that interesting.

To compare rock impresario Peter Shapiro with the late Bill Graham would be appropriate, and he is doing for 21st century live music what Bill did for the 20th century. But first and foremost, Pete is a zealous, obsessed music fan. Especially a fan of live improvisational music. His (first) autobiography, written with partner Dean Budnick, overflows with his enthusiasm for the music, the performers, and his work promoting them. He clearly works from the viewpoint of the music fan, and all his decisions are based on the ethics of the jamband scene- kindness, inclusivity, and community.

Peter tells his own story of attending Northwestern, where he met many of his current inner circle, and opening Wetlands, a club dedicated to the jamband scene in lower Manhattan. From there, he describes orchestrating the surviving Grateful Dead members' final shows called Fare The Well, opening the Brooklyn Bowl franchise, the refurbished Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, the Lockn' Festival, and much much more.

As he proceeds, he offers advice and reflections to aspiring promoters . His "nos turn to yeses', knowing when to leave early versus being the last person standing in the room, deciding when to propose an idea to an artist or to their management, being able to astutely read a room and/or situation are all practical and solid ideas. The book abounds with them.

He often references sports ("The promotor's job is to deliver the assist. The artist scores") , his own personal asides (he is prone to allergic reactions, and if you are he advises you carry Benadryl), and using music terminology to describe decisions ("I called an audible and went to this show").

Many of his reflections seem like life lessons as well as business lessons ("Whenever you start something, all the calls are outgoing. But if you build it right, you get the incoming"). I found myself googling some of what, to me, were more of the obscure references ("they provided white label service for us on the back end") and became more knowledgeable about the music business in the process.

A delightful and informative read for music fans and industry insiders alike. Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.