yes, I have the 2003 version and would be glad to give a review.
It is basically broken down into categories.. clubs, radio stations, festivals, national & regional press, major & indie labels, artist managers, tour managers, booking agents, publishers, studios, websites, disc replication, record retailers, distributors, producers, publicists, promotion companies, creative services, gear, and more. Basically everything a touring or active group needs. Every category is broken up into region of the US alphabetically.. for example.. Alabama- Auburn area- blah blah blah.. Birmingham..
This makes it easy to find stuff. Say you want to book some shows in new york city.. just go to clubs, new york, and there you will have a list in front of you of every recognized club in the city, the exact address, contact numbers, website, when to call, how much time in advance to allow for booking, what genres of music they play, max capacity of the club, whether they have a pa and sound engineer, and other very useful information.
It focuses mainly on the 'major' clubs that are recognized by the media, such as radio. So you won't usually find that little hole-in-the-wall bar you played at in texas..it sticks mostly to the 'big, important, recognized' clubs, but there are some exceptions.
The only downside would be that I think it covers the US only... but it's got a list of EVERYTHING.. every radio station.. mainstream or college in the country... every producer, most clubs, labels..and everything you would ever need provided you have some money. Like I said it's broken into the above mentioned categories, and each category is broken down into area by state, alphabetically, and has names and numbers and who to contact and all the good stuff you need to know.
So basically you're paying the 30 bucks or whatever, for 360 pages of names, contact numbers, emails, websites, etc. All packaged neat and easy and ready to be utilized. It gives you an edge over the next band, provided you use it wisely.
For an honorable mention:
The A&R Registry - List of the major A&R reps across the country
The Indie Bible - same style, contact numbers for the indie musician..only this one lists: where to get music reviewed, your songs played, and your cd sold.
But the Muscians Atlas is a valuable tool for any independent musician.. trying to book an efficient tour without it? good luck. I bought this book last year and then I let our "manager" borrow it, thinking he would put it to use. No, he just let it sit. So I took it back from him and I feel like an idiot for not having this book the past year...I could have been doing so much.... Lesson learned... do not let a personal friend or something like that be the band manager, unless they really have the drive AND experience to support your band and will work their ass off like the band should be doing. Managers need to know the ins-and-outs of the music business and be able to swindle club owners and all the other tricky stuff that bands usually get fucked on. Hire a good manager. Or do it yourself.
Here's an example from the clubs section:
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