A book that plays music?

It’s simple really
Scanning a printed QR Code triggers a link to a website
Recently such codes have become familiar to people for health and for marketing purposes
But why don’t we use QR Codes for something interesting, entertaining, and enjoyable?
For instance – to trigger your music playlists on Spotify and YouTube
We can place the QR Codes in books, so the printed page can actually play your music
And books can also have your content to accompany and enhance the music
In fact, they can also include exclusive music videos that your fans can only access through this book
This way you can better monetise your work
And unlike with vinyl, tape and disc, the book does not actually contain your music – it merely links to it

What’s better about playing music from a book?

For the LISTENER

A new way to enjoy your best music that informs as it entertains, offering a more immersive experience than other formats whilst costing a great deal less than them.

STREAMING MUSIC WORKS WELL BECAUSE

• It’s easy to access because it plays on a mobile phone (unlike other media that need a dedicated player)
• People can listen on-the-go
• It’s available as video as well
• It’s available as original recordings or alternative versions, covers or live performances
• There’s just so much of it freely available
None of the above is the case for vinyl, tape or disc

A BOOK THAT STREAMS MUSIC WORKS BETTER BECAUSE

It can bring your music to life in a different way
• A book can have colourful images and informative text, and this book can link to special video you might have about the creation process, other versions and so on

Your books are focused on an album (from your back catalogue or a new one not yet released) or your entire career

For yourself as an ARTIST

A fresh revenue stream for your back catalogue, and also a new format for new albums that can better engage with and excite fans.

MOST ARTISTS DON’T EARN WELL FROM DIGITAL
• Most earn only a pittance from their share of digital royalties, but they still need to release music this way
• Only a very small number of artists earn well from this source

A BOOK HELPS YOU EARN BETTER FROM DIGITAL
• Revenue from the sale of a book that activates the streams gives you an additional monetisation over and above your streams
• And every stream from the book can still add to your stats and revenue – not the case with vinyl, tape or disc

OPENING UP A NEW REVENUE STREAM FOR A STRONG BACK-CATALOGUE
• Acts with a strong back catalogue can provide this for the same cost as a single album
• An entirely new revenue stream from fans that cannot afford £hundreds for a multi-album box-set

EARNING MORE FROM NEW ALBUMS
• Each new album can be released in vinyl, tape, disc, digital and now book format as well
• The paper album can include interesting text and illustrations of background on each track, and the playlist for each song can include some outtakes and variations that the artists is planning to release digitally anyway.
• Manufactured for the same production cost as vinyl
• Still with all the convenience of streaming.

INDEPENDENCE
Streaming has opened the gates for new artists to circulate their music
These books let you package and monetise these streams

Tronsteen’s publications

The DECADES series
A set of six to eight paperbacks, one for each decade from the 1960s (possibly the 1950s) through to the 2010s (possibly the 2020s). Each features the 20 biggest songs of the 50 biggest artists of the decade, on Spotify or YouTube. That’s like having a box-set of 50 Greatest Hits albums in one 100-page book

Tap picture to look inside

The ICONIC ALBUMS series
A set of paperbacks, one for each selected artist. Each features their 16 biggest albums in their complete form, on Spotify or YouTube. That’s like having a box-set of their 16 key albums in one 40-page book. I have 50 in mind, but am happy to consider including an edition for your music, if appropriate

Tap picture to look inside

The COLLECTIONS series
A set of paperbacks, one for each selected theme. Each focuses on a topic, like Christmas songs, Latin, Dance, Soul, Musicals, Festivals etc. on Spotify or YouTube. That’s like having a box-set of tens of albums in one 40-page book

No illustrations yet

Artist’s publications

The ANTHOLOGY
A retelling of an artist’s career focusing on the musical highlights, possibly as illustrated by key alums, singles and performances. The book would be created by the artists in a style that matches their brand, and would comprise text and illustrations, audio and video. Bands with an extensive back-catalogue could find that their anthology stretches over two or even three volumes.
In a sense this can be viewed as the artists own version of an Iconic Albums book I could have produced on their behalf, and as such it is likely that I would not publish an Iconic Albums edition for that artist, as this would compete to some degree with their anthology.
We need a commitment to a certain number of copies, from the artist, their label, or a retailer, to produce this and publish it. There may also be a fee required if the artist wishes to host the supporting webpages, with training or support from us.

The ARTIST CUT series
For artists with a strong back catalogue this is their opportunity to reissue their main albums one book at a time. So, for instance, a Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” album could be released as a paperback, where the pages in the book refer to each song on the album, with a great deal of new text and illustrations in the book, and rehearsals, outtakes, live versions and possibly good covers from Spotify and YouTube.
This extends to new albums that an artist is working on now or soon and plans to release in the coming months and years, for people who just like to consume music in this focused, guided, rich, portable way.