The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low: A Curious Life in Independent Music

By Rob Miller

The hard-won pleasures of putting heart over brains, conviction over caution, and madness over market share"The music business is not a meritocracy: it is a crapshoot taking place in a septic tank balanced on the prow of the Titanic, a venal snake pit where innovation, creativity, and honest business practices are actively discouraged." Rob Miller arrived in Chicago wanting to escape the music industry. In short order, he co-founded a trailblazing record label revered for its artist-first approach and punk take on country, roots, and so much else. Miller's gonzo memoir follows a music fan's odyssey through a singular account of Bloodshot Records, the Chicago scene, and thirty years as part of a community sustaining independent artists and businesses. Hilarious and hundred-proof, The Hours Are Long, But the Pay Is Low delivers a warm-hearted yet clear-eyed account of loving and living music on the edge, in the trenches, and without apologies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252088964
• ISBN13: 9780252088964
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: 3 Fields Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.