Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory

A history of how music is made

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   The Song Machine▲105

   There's a reason hit songs offer guilty pleasure

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Ableton: Making Music▲124

   A book of creative strategies for electronic music producers

   2015 · makingmusic.ableton.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Makers: The New Industrial Revolution▲72

   The front lines of a new industrial revolution

   2015 · amazon.co.uk · its alternatives →

4. 4
   #MusicTech▲69

   Data science, music discovery, and lots of fun use-cases!

   2015 · leanpub.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   How Music Works by David Byrne▲61

   The joy, physics and business of making music

   2015 · its alternatives →

6. 6
   How We Listen Now▲63

   Essays and conversations about music and technology

   2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   This Business of Music▲62

   The music business Bible

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation▲62

   A story about the life & work of brilliant engineers!

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   The Second Machine Age▲66

   Work, progress, and prosperity in a time of brilliant techno

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Idea Makers▲58

    Insights into some of our greatest thinkers + makers

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    How Music Got Free▲67

    The end of an industry and the patient zero of piracy

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Hit Makers▲96

    The science of popularity in an age of distraction

    2017 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    The Idea Machine▲56

    Now ideas can be produced industrially

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    This Is Your Brain on Music▲63

    Exploring the connection between music and the human brain

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Workers▲65

    Archaeology of the Industrial Age

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Sapiens▲185

    A brief history of humankind

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Lucky: Professor Green ▲59

    A rare insight into one of the most exciting musicians

    2015 · amazon.co.uk · its alternatives →

18. 18
    The Gene: An Intimate History▲74

    A magnificent history of the gene

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Platform▲106

    A desk for musicians

    2017 · output.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk▲67

    The backstory of the rise of Punk Music

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    The Storybook Factory▲78

    Bringing the children's storybook into the modern era

    2017 · its alternatives →

22. 22
    MTME▲102

    A new way to discover music

    2017 · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Inventology▲72

    How we dream up things that change the world

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    How Music Works▲6

    Updated with a new section on digital curation

    2017 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →