Donald Passman Talks New Edition of ‘All You Need to Know About the Music Business,’ and What’s Next

Variety - Donald S. Passman - Author - All You Need To Know About the Music Business

Variety

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On November 14, veteran music attorney Donald Passman will receive the Cedars Sinai Board of Governors 2019 Visionary Award. The award is a fitting one, not just for the work the lawyer/author has done on behalf of the hospital, but for his groundbreaking 1991 book “All You Need to Know About the Music Business,” the 10th edition of which is out this week on Simon & Schuster. Passman estimates the book has sold a half million copies in its various iterations over that time. Needless to say, there has been a mind-boggling array of changes in the music business over the past 28 years. When the book first came out, the big issues of the day were the 25% packaging deduction for the newly emerging CD format, as well as discussions about the now lost-in-the-dustbins-of-history DAT (Digital Audio Tape), DCC (Digital Compact Cassette) and CDV (Compact Disc Video).