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University of Death
By Sean McManus
A thrilling satire of the music industry
Download Excerpt: uod_sampler_free_chapters.pdf
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Description
Music and technology journalist Sean McManus has published his third book with the novel ‘University of Death’, which satirises the music industry and reviews its potential meltdown.
The book is named after the band at the centre of the action. It takes a slice through the music industry: from the boardroom to the stage; from the studio to the record fair. It explores how fans relate to their favourite bands, how businesses use technology to manipulate consumers, and what would happen if the music industry disappeared overnight.
Although the novel includes fictionalised cameos from some well-known pop stars, the story focuses on those who are at the bottom of the industry and trying to claw their way up. “The band at the centre of the action, University of Death, was big in the 80s, but is stuck on the nostalgia circuit today, with shrinking audiences,” said Sean McManus. “Two of their fans who play an important role in the story are in an amateur band called Goblin. They’re desperate for someone to listen to them and to get a record deal. There's so much written about fame already that it was more interesting to look at talented people who aren't famous yet or any more: the z-list.”
‘University of Death’ has been self-published. Sean McManus said: “Artists like Prince and Radiohead have shown that self-publishing is a credible way to reach an audience, and the internet enables most authors to reach readers much more quickly than they can through conventional publishers. Each book ordered through www.universityofdeath.co.uk is printed on demand, so the project is environmentally friendly too: only those copies which the market demands will ever be printed.”
Mike Edwards, best known as the singer, songwriter and guitarist in Jesus Jones, whose Top 40 hits include 'Real Real Real' and 'International Bright Young Thing', said: “University of Death is the most enjoyable, imaginative and perceptive insight into the plight and possible future of the music industry, a novel that illuminates as well as entertains. The portrayal of the industry is both accurate and funny - it's hard not to identify with many of the characters in there.”
