Book excerpt: Record Label Marketing, Third Edition is the essential resource to help you understand how recorded music is professionally marketed. Fully updated to reflect current trends in the industry, this edition is designed to benefit marketing professionals, music business students, and independent artists alike. As with previous editions, the third edition is accessible for readers new to marketing or to the music business. The book addresses classic marketing concepts while providing examples that are grounded in industry practice. Armed with this book, you’ll master the jargon, concepts, and language to understand how music companies brand and market artists in the digital era. Features new to this edition include: Social media strategies including step-by-step tactics used by major and independent labels are presented in a new section contributed by Ariel Hyatt, owner of CYBER PR. An in-depth look at SoundScan and other big data matrices used as tools by all entities in the music business. An exploration of the varieties of branding with particular attention paid to the impact of branding to the artist and the music business in a new chapter contributed by Tammy Donham, former Vice President of the Country Music Association. The robust companion website, focalpress.com/cw/macy, features weblinks, exercises, and suggestions for further reading. Instructor resources include PowerPoint lecture outlines, a test bank, and suggested lesson plans.