Book excerpt: Making a record used to be simple: you'd start a band, tour for 400 years, and if you were lucky a record company would spot you and pay for some studio time. Now you can make your own records on a budget of almost zero, and it's possible to record a song in the morning and sell it in the afternoon. you're planning to burn a few CDs to sell at gigs or making a triple vinyl concept album about electric elves that frolic in the magic forest. It covers the basics (what to record, where to record it, how to pay for it) and looks at everything from home CD burning to commercial pressing plants. You'll find out how to get your record reviewed or played on the radio, how to get it into the shops, and how to make sure you won't end up with a million unsold CDs underneath your bed. The book is also packed with advice from industry insiders - managers, artists and record labels - who have successfully released everything from dance, blues and rock records to compilation CDs.