More than 90 record companies release over 9,000 pop records each year—a staggering total of 52,000 songs.

Each one competes for the gold record, the recording industry's symbol of success that certifies $1 million worth of records have been sold. Solid Gold explains why, for each record that succeeds, countless others fail. This book follows the progress of a record through production, marketing, and distribution, and shows how a mistake made at any point can mean its doom. Denisoff suggests that a drastic shift in the demographic makeup of the pop music audience during the sixties has resulted in a broader listening public, including fans at every level of society.