Even the least observant follower of the music industry will have noticed that the last decade has been a difficult one for many in the business. The unintended message of this book, which offers advice to marketing executives across a broader range of industries, is that if only more in the music world had paid attention to the ideas of iconoclastic 1960s hipsters the Grateful Dead, the industry would have found the last few years a lot easier.

From the band's focus on live concerts as their key product—and source of income—to a tendency to give stuff away for free and allow audiences to tape shows, they set a template that has been embraced by many successful businesses today.

Written by a self-confessed pair of "Deadheads", this is a decent attempt to codify the band's vision for marketers. The unanswered question is whether the lessons and the approach seem so pertinent merely because of the influence of Silicon Valley, where the fingerprints and followers of Jerry Garcia and crew are to be found everywhere.