When the Music Hits

When the Music Hits by Amber Oliver is the book I’ve needed for years! A young woman trying to work her way up in the music industry, in that sweet spot between musical creativity and the business side. That’s exactly what I wanted to do with my career. This sense of harmony made it easy for me to fall into When the Music Hits initially, but the engrossing storytelling is what kept me hooked until the end.

Billie has just graduated with her master’s degree in Music, and she’s determined to get a job in A&R at a record label. After doing her own thing for a while, she’s built up credibility and connections. She finally lands a position as an assistant at Lit, but she’s already trying to scope out artists the label can sign. Over the course of a year, Billie must determine where she fits, as a Black woman, at an overwhelmingly white label with a not so pristine reputation.

What I Liked:

• Illuminating the music business, specifically A&R. As someone who has a master’s degree in Music Business, I can affirm: It is hard to get into the music industry. Billie is actually aiming for the same career I initially wanted to do (A&R), and she’s a real go-getter. I admire her so much for her ambition and passion. It was also fun to read about so many of the inner-workings within the music industry, from masters rights to licensing to the horrors of a 360 deal.
• Love of music! Beyond the business, Billie also has a deep love for music and knowledge of not only what sounds good, but how to achieve that sound. Most music-related books I’ve read focus on the musicians making and performing music, though often not in very much depth. Here, however, we gets lots of the nitty gritty details, including some of the music creation. I also love how Billie constantly references specific artists and songs, from comparisons for new talent she’s scouting to simply setting the backdrop for her day-to-day life.
• Tackling racism in the music industry. Billie is a Black woman from the Bronx, and when she gets hired at Lit, she quickly finds she’s one of only three people of color there. She also learns of the extreme disparity in how signed talent are treated and paid, invariably based on race. While Billie sees the racism in her own company (and the industry at large), she’s aiming to bring positive change from within. She can be the one helping sign Black and brown artists and getting them better deals. But is she supporting a system that’s too rotten? And maybe a bigger takedown is needed, too?
• Is it selling out? A source of contention comes from Billie’s boyfriend, Lucas, an idealist who aims to make his own career without relying on anyone. He’s all about community and authenticity, and he questions Billie’s commitment to her job. Has she sold out? Is she betraying her Black community in working there? Or is she on the right path to change from within?
• Mentorship: women of color helping each other up. Billie soon finds an ally in Nina, an A&R rep at the company. It’s a problematic industry in so many ways, but I liked that Billie found someone she could learn from in her career. All in all, I loved seeing how Billie had a network of support, both in work and in her personal life.

Final Thoughts

When the Music Hits is a powerful debut for anyone who loves music and the music industry. It weaves in themes of career ambition, creativity, and tackling racism, while grounding the novel with Billie’s circle of family and friends. I enjoyed accompanying Billie as she takes the first steps into her dream job. This book may especially resonate with readers of color, but I believe white readers can glean many valuable lessons from it, too. Regardless, this is a must-read for music fans.

Special thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy When the Music Hits here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

When the Music Hits by Amber Oliver
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Fiction
Setting	New York
Number of Pages	288
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	June 17, 2025
Publisher	Ballantine Books

Official Summary

In this soulful debut novel set in the hypnotic music scene of New York City, a young Black woman lands her dream job at a major label—only to discover just how treacherous a place made to birth stars can be.

“A decibel-raising debut that compellingly and hauntingly amplifies the unending conflict between striving for more and not losing your soul in the process.”—Mateo Askaripour, New York Times bestselling author of Black Buck

Growing up in the Bronx, Billie Grand sought solace in music, finding herself in the pulsing beats, striking lyrics, and mesmerizing voices that saved her when money issues and familial strife proved deafening. When she finally lands a coveted A&R assistant role at Lit Music Productions, one of the largest music labels in the country, it initially seems like everything she’s dreamed of—sleek offices, exclusive parties, flashy dealmaking—and she can’t wait until it’s her turn to find the next breakout headliner.

But as she continues to work at Lit, she discovers a dark side to all the glamour. The hours are long, the demands are insane, the microaggressions from her mostly white colleagues increasingly rattle her, and Billie can’t shake the sense Lit’s higher-ups are hiding something about their dealings. Then Billie stumbles upon a raspy-voiced, melodic singer and rapper who has the kind of fire to ignite stardom, who represents everything Billie got into this business for—supporting real music, with none of that pretending to be the culture. On the precipice of signing her first artist, a shake-up threatens everything and endangers Billie’s already precarious place in the pecking order. The job has put her at odds with her boyfriend who questions her morality and her mother who relies on Billie to help with her bills, but Billie has her sights set on the stars. As a reckoning brews at the office and the costs of her dreams get ever higher, she will have to decide: Is finding success worth losing herself?

A riveting, poignant, and endlessly entertaining take on privilege and power, When the Music Hits is a moving anthem for making space where there was none before and introduces Amber Oliver as a blazing new talent to watch.