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The Sell-in
Author	Craig Mathieson
Language	English
Subject	Australia alternative music
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Allen & Unwin
Publication date	1 November 2000
Publication place	Australia
Pages	280 pp
ISBN	978-1-86508-412-1
OCLC	48435459
Dewey Decimal	781.66/0994 21
LC Class	ML3534 .M432 2000

The Sell-in: How the Music Business Seduced Alternative Rock is a book by Australian music journalist, Craig Mathieson.^[1] It documents the rise of the Australia's alternative music scene and how that success attracted the interest of the music industry's major labels. Gideon Haigh of Australian Book Review discussed it in December 2000.^[2]

Reception

The Sell-in: How the Music Business Seduced Alternative Rock was reviewed by The Age's Patrick Donovan, who generally praised Mathieson's writing as "punchy chronological narrative that never dwells on a subject for too long."^[3] Donovan disputes Mathieson's claim that the music industry's seduction of indie rock began in 1990 – he argues for a diffuse beginning some years earlier.^[3] The Sell-in's other faults included "[it] may push its thesis at times, be Sydney-centric, contain spelling mistakes and give some players credit at the expense of others."^[3] Nevertheless "it is essential and entertaining reading."^[3]

Phil Tripp of In Music & Media observed "[it] is well researched, grippingly written and quite accurate in its portrayals of the events of the past ten years that shaped the indie industry as well as shot many of its artists."^[4] Tripp avers that Australian artists of that era had considerable talent, whereas "we have a dearth of managerial talent" with too many clowns "in positions of power at the record companies and publishers who exploit the talent."^[4]

References

Australian music books

^ Mathieson, Craig (2000), The Sell-in : How the Music Business Seduced Alternative Rock, Allen & Unwin (published 1 November 2000), ISBN 978-1-86508-412-1, Summary: 'Featuring a who's who of contemporary Australian rock, The Sell-in charts the artistic and commercial struggle behind the breakthrough of Ratcat, The Cruel Sea, Silverchair, Powderfinger, The Living End and their contemporaries, an era when getting gigs to pay the rent was replaced by the need to have hit singles, sell hundreds of thousands of albums and break the lucrative American market.' – back cover.
^ Haigh, Gideon (December 2000). "Mathieson, Craig, The Sell-In: How the Music Business Seduced Alternative Rock, Allen & Unwin". Australian Book Review. No. 227. p. 31. ISSN 0155-2864.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Donovan, Patrick (26 February 2001). "Inside the Seduction of Australia's Indie Rock". The Age. ISSN 0312-6307. Archived from the original on 10 March 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b Tripp, Phil (2000). "Loose Cannon: Sell In Seduction Shows the Way Australian Music Is Failing". In Music & Media. Archived from the original on 10 November 2000. Retrieved 6 November 2022 – via National Library of Australia.