Cowboys and Indies

Why it’s on the list: A hundred and forty years of the record business, from Edison and the first talent scouts through the major-label consolidations to streaming. Murphy’s frame is the A&R man as the recurring figure of the business — the industry seen through the people who signed the acts.

Where I heard about it

• Replies to @WillManidis — named in the replies to his question “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?”, June 2025. The full list from that thread lives on what is the single best book… (tweet).

Connections

• what is the single best book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.