Subjects

From blues to jazz, from soul to funky, from R&B to rap, the history of Afro-American music and song described through the social and political aspects that have influenced its extraordinary adventure.

In the history of Black music, blues and gospel represent the origin of everything, they emerged as a way to process the existence of the individual but also as a collective reaction to the drama of slavery. Over time, these music genres have evolved into others and others more. But what were the social situations that determined their origin and diffusion? What is the common trait that describes the journey towards awareness of Afro-Americans and their rebellion?

This book intends to investigate among the folds of these historical moments and explore the ethical, social and religious reasons that gave rise to all the kinds of music that developed from seminal blues and gospel to reach, through jazz, soul, funky, reggae and rap, and trap music, the most recent important form of musical expression invented by the Black community.

This is the first book, in Italy, to address Black music from a historical, musical and socio-political viewpoint, without neglecting society.

The richest, most updated and comprehensive guide to discover (or rediscover) a legendary period in the history of music, art and culture: the fabulous 1960s.

On 5 October 1962, the first single by the Beatles (Love Me Do) and the first James Bond movie (Dr. No) were simultaneously released. Since that day, global pop culture has never been the same: it was the day on which the “fabulous 1960s” began, the most creative and stimulating decade of the 20th century.

Drawing on that coincidence, this book (enriched by captivating graphics in the style of the period and by historical pictures) retraces the legend of a season that entirely shook up the world of music, cinema, arts, fashion and society. Not by chance, in those days Diana Vreeland, editor-in-chief of Vogue, called London “Swinging”, i.e. trendy, or better: “the most swinging city in the world”.

From the primordial soup of the 1950s until the “end of the dream” in 1970, the book focuses on a journey where music was the catalyst that inspired and received inspiration from other forms of artistic expression, thus creating a revolutionary movement and a counterculture that was able to take over the world.

This is a first-of-its-kind Italian handbook on the music industry that clearly lays out business models, metrics and strategies as well as stories, personalities, innovations and case studies.

Entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer Giampiero Di Carlo presents the music business with the descriptive accuracy of an insider – but adding a pop slant fitting for a subject that is appealing to an increasingly broader audience of professionals and aspiring professionals.

The book thoroughly investigates the industry’s supply chain, offering glimpses into the future that factors such as blockchain technology, NFTs and the metaverse will bring to artists, labels and publishers.

The author’s ground-breaking approach to the subject narrows the gap between theory and practice, making the book equally useful to managers and entrepreneurs in the industry as it is to artists, students and startuppers aiming to make it in the music business.