Peter Ames Carlin

I really enjoyed this one. I was blissfully unaware of Warner's spot in music history. Sure, when I was younger, I knew I owned a disproportionate number of albums on the Elektra/Asylum and Sire rosters, but I never really put it all together until this book.

Mo Ostin was obviously a freaking pioneer in any industry. As I read how he guided the company, all I could think is, this is the polar opposite of how every single corporate entity runs. This isn't just a cool book about some cool music makers and how one company elevated them, it's also an important instruction manual on how to run a business.

Hire people for their talent. Give them some space to both learn and make mistakes. Then, trust them to do what they do best. Don't restrict them, empower them.

I loved this book for the stories. I loved it for the personalities. I loved it for the musicians. But I loved it most for the message.… (más)

This book feels more like Warner Bros. Records: A Celebration rather than a critical, but balanced, retrospective analysis of the company, which I would have appreciated more. For example, the author notes in passing that the atmosphere at the record company could be dismissive and unsupportive of women--but his modern day writing about these women is also superficial, often commenting only on their physical appearance. This book would have been more interesting if he had dug deeper and shared the perspectives of these women (in the acknowledgements he mentions that he did interview some of them).

The other glaring omission here is about the contractual relationships between WB and its artists. While the author details how much money the record company executives made (and spent) in WB's golden years, he hardly mentions how the business relationships benefited (or exploited) the artists who created the music.… (más)