Summary of John Seabrook's The Song Machine

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of John Seabrook's The Song Machine in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book.Original book introduction: There's a reason today's ubiquitous pop hits are so hard to ignore-they're designed that way. The Song Machine goes behind the scenes to offer an insider's look at the global hit factories manufacturing the songs that have everyone hooked. Full of vivid, unexpected characters-alongside industry heavy-hitters like Katy Perry, Rihanna, Max Martin, and Ester Dean-this fascinating journey into the strange world of pop music reveals how a new approach to crafting smash hits is transforming marketing, technology, and even listeners' brains. You'll never think about music the same way again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Feb 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638153511

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Summary

of

John Seabrook’s

The Song Machine

Inside the Hit Factory

Table of Contents

Overview

Key Insights

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Key Insight 9

Important People

Author’s Style

Author’s Perspective

Overview

The Song Machine (2015) recounts the last 20 years of music industry history, describing how changes in taste, technology, and industry practice have shaped the hit songs that currently dominate radio and streaming services. Despite some early predictions that technologies like the music-sharing service Napster would make hit songs obsolete, hits are just as important to the music industry now as ever before. But the way the music industry makes them has changed in ways that make artists a less significant part of the process than they were a generation ago.

Today’s hit-making methods originated in Sweden. In the 1990s, a small group of Swedish producers at the production company Cheiron Studios, led by the producer DennizPoP, began using electronic drum machines and pre-recorded instrument samples to make beats and melodies. Along with his protege, Max Martin, and other producers, DennizPoP combined these tracks with vocal tracks of simple English lyrics, creating a genre of pop music wherein live