When the Music Hits

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.

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.