Containing 6,000 music industry contacts (including this humble organ) across a bumper 640 pages, "The Unsigned Guide Greater London 2005" (or its' equivalent North-Western version) is about as close to a comprehensive music industry bible as you'll lay your hands on.
Published by Mcr: Music (part of the Manchester City Music Network), it features listings that include just about every small to mid-size live venue worth its' salt in the UK (with Northern Ireland), through to every rehearsal studio and recording complex in London and contacts for just about every UK Record label you could imagine. Mostly, the individual listings also feature a detailed paragraph of text relating to what each company or organisation has to offer to emerging bands and musicians.
And there's more: The Unsigned Guide even goes so far as to include detailed media listings (including local papers and student media network), an exhaustive vehicle hire section, contacts for professional photographers, merchandise specialists, independent promoters, management companies and even the best UK and Northern Irish road map you're liable to encounter this side of the Ordnance Survey. Eureka!
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So, basically, if you still feel the best way ahead is to get together with like-minded people, make a heavenly racket and rant down a microphone then this is the place to come to get the business end sorted. After all, however great your art may be, you've still got to come into contact with 'the biz' if you wanna be heard on a wider scale and anything that helps you make sense of the industry maze has got to be worthwhile, right?
That's a rhetorical question, of course, but in "The Unsigned Guide 2005" you have a valuable ally in finding a way forward. Presented with sensible advice in a way even the layman can understand, this book is a meticulously researched portable reference library and a factual treasure trove. It's the one industry-related publication you could actually describe as 'indispensible.'
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