AOTV!’s Top 8 Books of 2020 for Musicians
By: Andrew Lowe, Andrew
Tags: Readinglist, Production, Book Recommendations, Musicians, Books

Photo by Alfons Morales on Unsplash

Every year, I try to match the “CEO” reading schedule of at least one book a week. This year I fell a little bit short with only about 30, although I’m right in the middle of some really gargantuan books like Tim Ferriss’s The Tools of Titans and Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor.

For every book I include in this list, I will add a bit of explanation on why I loved it and why it is helpful for musicians. Most of these aren’t really music books, but the 8 I am listing here are 100% relevant! Whether you’re an artist, a beatmaker, or on the business end, this list should help you out with finding a read that will help you in your career!

Drumroll please… Listed in no particular order, here are my top 8!

1. Joe Hyams: Zen in the Martial Arts

This short autobiography of a lifelong martial artist is a powerful source of perspective on the power of discipline and growth. Joe Hyams was a close friend and student of Bruce Lee and shows behind the scenes of the physical and spiritual aspects of martial arts without the Hollywood dramatization. This is a great primer in mastery and physical discipline for any musician!

2. Derek Sivers: Anything You Want

Another short but powerful book, this will reach the core of any music producer, entrepreneur, or enterprising musician. Sivers is the bootstrap founder of CD Baby who later sold the company for over $20 million and devoted his life to charity. This book will leave you with a lasting sense of the importance of value and purpose in your art and business.

3. Russell Brunson: Traffic Secrets

You can thank Russell Brunson that this blog post is even here today. This book was truly an impetus and catalyst for me to start Producer Cast, take my social media seriously, and do a billion other awesome things. This book and the entire Secret Trilogy are the most powerful and deep business framework I’ve ever encountered. If you’re serious about business invest in the trilogy.

4. Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler: The Future is Faster Than You Think

The future is fast, so you need to think fast. This is an insightful and very helpful book for many reasons. One, it is an easy to digest survey of the most cutting edge technology. Two, it expounds upon the theory of convergence in a way that is applicable in everything from investing and business to creativity and productivity. Three, it’s pretty freaking cool reading about flying cars, skyscraper gardens, lab-based meat cloning, federal judges mistaking virtual reality for reality, and a million other things that are far ahead of what I (and most people) would have initially thought.

5. Patrick Lencioni: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

This book is somewhat of an anomaly among business books. Split into two parts, this book focuses on Lencioni’s now famous model of dysfunction. The first part is a novel which reads like a day working a corporate job (yeah I know), while the second part dives deeper into the actual model. While I opted for the entrepreneur and artist lifestyle to avoid the rigid corporate environment, this book has shown me a valuable framework for thriving in team environments with a critical focus on what is required for results.

6. Dave Asprey: The Bulletproof Diet

In the past couple years, I’ve lost nearly 80 pounds, reached my highest levels of strength yet, and crushed nearly every benchmark I’ve set. Still, since a young age my diet has haunted me. I could run 10 miles a day but still struggled to get abs or actually feel vitalized. While I don’t follow this diet exactly, I can confirm Bulletproof Coffee is a magic drink. Bulletproof Coffee (a blend of coffee, butter, and MCT oil) gives me crazy levels of energy with a slower burn than regular coffee (which means I end up drinking less coffee too!) Since I’ve started using Bulletproof Coffee, I’ve had greater levels of energy and am able to shed even the deepest layers of fat with greater ease.

7. Napoleon Hill: Think and Grow Rich

This book is an enigma. One of the most famous books ever written, it borders practicality and religion. At it’s best, however, it covers powerful elements of the mindset of the hyper successful. Everyone will take away something different but there is a fundamental underlying principle that will benefit everyone who reads this book.

8. John Maxwell: Leadershift

John Maxwell’s book Leadershift is an insightful book from a man who who has spent his whole life teaching leaders. This book doesn’t pull punches or state the obvious. It shows leadership traits that might be good, but can be traded up for a better alternative. This is very valuable for honing your principles and enhancing how you lead and operate as a human.