‘How I travel the world and make a living from music’

Published by the United Nations, the book has taken three years to write and is aimed at anyone who is interested in making a living from music. It covers subjects such as the importance of copyright, recording, music publishing, touring, placing music in films, TV productions, video games and advertising, building a fanbase, artist management, sponsorship and branding,digital marketing and using social media.

Whilst relevant to anyone living in the Western world, ‘How To Make A Living From Music’ is primarily aimed at providing information for those living in developing countries.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has engaged Mr Stopps, better known here in Aylesbury for his Friars music club, to present workshops around the world. Mr Stopps will be presenting workshops in Ecuador, Malaysia and Greece in the coming months and has recently presented ‘How To Make A Living From Music’ workshops in Jamaica, Barbados, Bulgaria, Canada, Belgium, New Zealand, South Africa, The Netherlands, Kenya, Brazil, Thailand, Antigua, Mozambique, Tunisia, Namibia, The Philippines, Cote D’Ivoire and Indonesia.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Stopps said: “Most of the second edition of the book was written in the Aylesbury Study Centre in the Buckinghamshire County Council’s building in Walton Street. The rest was written in the Sala Borsa in Bologna and the State Library of Western Australia in Perth Australia.

“The Aylesbury Study Centre is a wonderful facility for the people of Buckinghamshire. The staff there are always helpful and friendly. It provides the perfect environment for writing. Other books have also been written there. Bill Drummond who managed Echo and The Bunnymen and who was a key member of KLF wrote his book ‘45’ in the Aylesbury Study Centre. (KLF are considered to be one of the most important bands of the late 80s/early 90s. They famously burnt £1 million in cash in front of 100 reporters as an ‘artistic statement’).

“It was a great honour to be able to present my book to the Leader of the Buckinghamshire County Council Martin Tett and to Zoe Loake and the staff at the Aylesbury Study Centre.”