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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
informative
Wow was this a fun read. Great writing, and a fascinating story about something those of us who were in college in the 90s or later take for granted: music is easy to find online. From the RIAA's reaction to the creation of the mp3 to Napster and everything that came after, this is a well written book that is sure to keep you thinking about how fast our world of music enjoyment has changed. Additional note: if you liked the Big Payback, this would make a nice companion piece.
informative
slow-paced
Wow. I came to this book with few expectations, drawn in only by the intriguing premise. What I quickly discovered was one of the most compelling reads I've had in a long time. Witt is a fantastic journalist. He tells the stories of business executives, tech inventors, music pirates, and law enforcement officers with equal grace, depth, and quick-witted humor. Moving chronologically through the timeline of the music industry and piracy, he picks up threads of many stories - Steve Jobs, Lil Wayne, and Jimmy Iovine all find their place in the puzzle, however peripheral. More important, he tells the stories of individuals who have NOT been covered in mainstream media yet have been instrumental in making music what it is today. I highly recommend this book to anyone. It's informative, compelling, well-researched, and fun to read. Definitely a welcome new discovery.
Have you ever wondered where all that pirated music on the internet came from? Or why the music industry changed from being CD-based to being about streaming? Some of the answers to those questions are contained in the book 'How Music Got Free' by journalist Steven Witt.
Witt tells three separate but connected stories. The first actor is Karlheinz Brandenburg, a researcher responsible for the invention the MP3. The second story is that of Doug Morris, a Manhattan based music executive. Through his business savvy and formidable partnership with Jimmy Iovine, a record producer, Morris rises to the upper echelons of management, signing some of the most (now) well known hip hop acts. The third story (and most intriguing) is that of Dell Glover, a worker at a CD factory in North Carolina. Glover became the greatest music pirate of all time— leaking nearly 2,000 albums from the plant.
These three stories are the core of the book, but the author also weaves in the tales of Napster, BitTorrent, the Pirate Bay, Oink and occasionally the ever looming presence of iTunes and good ol' Mr Jobs.
A thrilling read that picked up significantly after the first few pages. Worthwhile for anyone interested in music, intellectual property or just exciting reading.
Witt tells three separate but connected stories. The first actor is Karlheinz Brandenburg, a researcher responsible for the invention the MP3. The second story is that of Doug Morris, a Manhattan based music executive. Through his business savvy and formidable partnership with Jimmy Iovine, a record producer, Morris rises to the upper echelons of management, signing some of the most (now) well known hip hop acts. The third story (and most intriguing) is that of Dell Glover, a worker at a CD factory in North Carolina. Glover became the greatest music pirate of all time— leaking nearly 2,000 albums from the plant.
These three stories are the core of the book, but the author also weaves in the tales of Napster, BitTorrent, the Pirate Bay, Oink and occasionally the ever looming presence of iTunes and good ol' Mr Jobs.
A thrilling read that picked up significantly after the first few pages. Worthwhile for anyone interested in music, intellectual property or just exciting reading.
An interesting book for sure, looking in depth at groups behind music piracy and its impact on the music industry. But it doesn't live up to the hyperbolic title and subtitle, focused as it is on a narrow group of players & their outsized impact on the industry. The writing continues this trend of larger-than-life claims, with needlessly overwritten descriptions of every person discussed, sometimes reducing them to mere charicatures. Good audio narration, though. I only recommend if you're very interested in the subject matter, particularly the technical side.
As a generation Z individual I never ever asked myself when or why internet piracy started. It feels like it was here always. The book tells us about people who contributed to digital revolution and I found myself unable to put it down. Sometimes writing style annoyed me, and even author himself made fun of it at the end of the book. While reading, it's impossible not to notice the amount of research that was made and after finishing the book I think it was absolutely worth my time. Definitely recommend.
informative
medium-paced
You can tell that the author loves rap music.
Personally, I didn’t find the lists of rappers and their albums, or the long sections about the people running the music companies, very interesting.
I really wanted to learn about the people who did created the mp3s, and the people who downloaded them. The book did succeed on that front.
Personally, I didn’t find the lists of rappers and their albums, or the long sections about the people running the music companies, very interesting.
I really wanted to learn about the people who did created the mp3s, and the people who downloaded them. The book did succeed on that front.
En fantastisk redogörelse över hur den tekniska revolutionen har förändrat musikindustrin. Mycket välskriven och väl underbyggd med fakta, jag känner igen mycket av det som skrivs och Witt lyckas på ett bra sätt beskriva hur "scenen" fungerar. Han alternerar kapitlen mellan teknologi som utvecklandet av mp3 och bittorrent, pirater (inom scenen och mer publika ställen som OiNK) och Doug Morris som var högsta hönset på Universal Music Group under den här tiden. Rekommenderas varmt till alla som är lite nyfikna på historien från CD-skivan till Spotify och Apple Music.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced