Cowboys and Indies

May 12, 2014
In his first book, freelance writer and record producer Murphy captures the ever-changing nature of the record industry as it ebbs and flows with trends, technology, and time. Beginning with the invention of the phonautograph in 1857 and tracking the evolution of recorded sound from the LPs to CDs and now MP3s, Murphy covers the most important music recordings of the past 150 years and the many companies that brought those records to the public. He lets the record execs, producers, and talent scouts tell their own stories, giving this work a personal feel and providing music lovers with firsthand accounts of how many great artists were discovered, what it is like when labels fight over bands, and the perilous nature of being a record label that is either too big or too small. Still, for every Walter Yetnikoff and David Geffen, there are countless others whose stories are less about sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, and more about units sold. That’s why Murphy is smart to balance out the business of marketing and selling music with colorful, behind-the-scenes stories about artists like Dylan, Jim Morrison, and Michael Jackson, who not only made great music but whose actions and personas are just as entertaining as their tunes. Through setting out to document the lineage of the record industry, which he’s done, Murphy has as well created a history of popular music told from the inside out to give music fans and historians a new and dynamic perspective of this oft-covered topic.