The Music Business · Wiley
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Book facts
- Title
- The Music Business
- Subtitle
- Build a Creative Career and Navigate the Industry
- Author
- Paul Lancaster Wiltshire
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons
- Publication date
- 15 December 2026
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 272
- ISBN-13 (hardcover)
- 9781394364619
- ISBN-10
- 139436461X
- ISBN (ePub)
- 9781394364626
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781394364633
Read a Sample Chapter
Chapter 4: Tension
An extraordinary offer. A decision to walk away. And the competing ambitions inside every creative career.
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Author bios
Short bio · One sentence
Paul Lancaster Wiltshire is a multi-platinum songwriter and producer, and the founder and CEO of Songtradr, the music technology group that owns Bandcamp.
Medium bio · One paragraph
Paul Lancaster Wiltshire is a music and technology entrepreneur, songwriter and record producer. Over two decades he wrote and produced for artists including the Backstreet Boys, Human Nature, Delta Goodrem, Vanessa Amorosi and Guy Sebastian, contributing to 12 number-one albums and singles and more than 20 gold and platinum awards. In 2014 he founded Songtradr, now a global music company spanning rights, licensing, data and direct-to-fan commerce, which acquired Bandcamp in 2023. He splits his time between London and Los Angeles.
Long bio · Full length
Paul Lancaster Wiltshire is a music and technology entrepreneur, songwriter, record producer, and the founder and CEO of Songtradr, one of the world’s leading music companies. Through Songtradr, he has built a global company spanning music rights, licensing, data, technology, creative services, and direct-to-fan commerce. Songtradr also owns Bandcamp, the world’s leading independent music platform for artists to sell music products directly to their fans.
Before founding Songtradr, Paul spent more than two decades as a songwriter, producer, and mixer, working with artists such as the Backstreet Boys, Human Nature, Delta Goodrem, Vanessa Amorosi, Marcia Hines, Guy Sebastian, and Engelbert Humperdinck. His work has contributed to 12 number-one albums and singles, 28 Top 20 albums and singles, and more than 20 multi-platinum, platinum, and gold awards.
After years working inside the traditional music industry, Paul founded Songtradr in 2014 to make music licensing simpler, more transparent, and more efficient. Since then, he has led the company through international expansion, multiple capital raises, and a series of acquisitions.
In his book The Music Business, Paul draws on his experience as both a creator and entrepreneur to offer artists, songwriters, and music professionals a practical guide to building sustainable creative careers in a rapidly changing industry.
Interview topics
AI and the Future of Human Creativity
When anyone can generate a polished song, what makes an artist matter? As a songwriter, producer and music technology founder, Paul explores how AI is changing music—and why he believes lived experience, intention and a genuine connection with an audience will become more valuable as the supply of music grows.
Can You Make a Living in Music Without Being Famous?
A viral moment, a million streams and a sustainable career are very different things. Drawing on his experience with Bandcamp and the wider industry, Paul explores how artists can turn listeners into lasting supporters, why a smaller committed audience can be more valuable than a large passive one, and what success can look like beyond fame.
The Music Money That Never Reaches the Artist
A song can be heard around the world while some of the money it earns never reaches its creator. Paul explains the hidden gaps between releasing music and getting paid, how missing ownership information leaves royalties unclaimed, and why fixing the industry’s payment systems matters as much as debating what a stream is worth.
The Artist CEO: Who Really Controls Your Career?
Getting signed has long been treated as the moment an artist has made it. Paul challenges that assumption and explores what changes when artists approach their careers as owners: protecting their rights, choosing partners, understanding the price of an advance, and building a business that supports their creative freedom over decades.
Making a Living Without Losing Your Love of Music
What happens when the work you love becomes the business you depend on? Through stories from his years writing and producing records, Paul explores the tension between the Creative and the Entrepreneur within us: commercial pressure, self-doubt, burnout, and how to protect the conditions that made the work meaningful in the first place.
Losing Everything and Starting Again
After chart success came financial collapse and five years of rebuilding, followed by the creation of Songtradr. Years later, the Los Angeles fires destroyed Paul’s family home and lifetime collection of instruments and recordings. He reflects on ambition, loss and reinvention—and what those experiences taught him about success, identity and what we carry into the next chapter.
Praise for The Music Business
“In providing a detailed explanation of how the industry works, informed by current lived experience, Paul Wiltshire's The Music Business is an invaluable resource for anyone hoping to make a living out of music. Before you sign a contract, read this book!”
Contact
For booking, interviews and all media enquiries, email Paul directly.
paul@themusicbusiness.com