Have you seen the new Maroon 5 music video yet? It’s classic Maroon 5 with their sexy lead singer Adam Levine crooning about love gone awry. Poor guy, does he really have it that bad when it comes to relationships? Or has he astutely recognized that broken hearts are where the money is? Who hasn’t got a song that sends them back in time to those torturous years of break-ups and heartache?

Maroon 5 burst onto the scene just a few years ago, a seeming overnight sensation. When you think about though, there’s no such thing as an overnight sensation in the music world. Behind every band is a tale of years of hard work, music lessons, garage bands, gigs in one-horse towns, waiting tables to make ends meet.

The glue that holds it all together is an undying passion for creating music. The magic ingredients for worldwide dominance? Giving the fans what they want, being wherever the fans are, delivering a consistent message. That signature sound, the  bad-boy image, tweets, flickr photo galleries, videos on YouTube, a summer tour. It’s all in one place (the website) which is updated minute by minute with fan tweets and interactions. Very savvy.

Maroon 5 and bands like them are applying every lesson modern marketing has to offer. I learned this and more when I read Brand Like A Rock Star – Lessons from Rock ‘n’ Roll to Make Your Business Rich and Famous By Steve Jones (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2012).  This book looks at marketing from a totally different perspective, filled with fascinating case studies and insights from the music world. From the Grateful Dead to The Beatles, Guns n Roses and Nirvana. Rock heroes that have stood the test of time.

Put this book on your summer reading list. It’s perfectly suited to the being read while lying poolside! You’ll enjoy it and definitely learn a thing of two that you can make work in your business.

What books are you reading this summer? Share with us below in the comments!