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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
In which a man who works in a CD factory brings down the CD industry. The music industry comes out of this very badly.
How Music Got Free is a compelling story that traces the development of the MP3 to it's utilization by a number of underground early-internet-adopter audiophiles who created music-piracy groups and ultimately caused the adaption of the music industry to the post-cd era. Despite a scope that largely fails to investigate the impact on actual music artists nor the advent of streaming, the story Witt tells is pretty remarkable. Dell Glover, the antihero of the story, is a fascinating, if somewhat tragic, character, who defies and ultimately is brought to heel by the multibillion dollar recording industry.
However, within this fascinating story, Witt smuggles in several ideas/themes that i just can't agree with. The first is his uncritical analysis and overt defense of the efficacy of IP Law. Secondly is his general omission of actual musicians experiences with music piracy or the changing dynamics of the recording industry in the 2000's. To this point, Witt fails to address the deep inequities created by the recording industry and their cynical weaponization of public resources to stamp out competition. Thirdly, Witt continuously speaks about the drastic economic losses caused by piracy but fails to address the question of "to whom".
With those critiques in mind, I would still recommend How Music Got Free due to the compelling nature of the overall story and Witt's dedication to approaching this phenomenon from the perspectives of (almost) all the major players.
However, within this fascinating story, Witt smuggles in several ideas/themes that i just can't agree with. The first is his uncritical analysis and overt defense of the efficacy of IP Law. Secondly is his general omission of actual musicians experiences with music piracy or the changing dynamics of the recording industry in the 2000's. To this point, Witt fails to address the deep inequities created by the recording industry and their cynical weaponization of public resources to stamp out competition. Thirdly, Witt continuously speaks about the drastic economic losses caused by piracy but fails to address the question of "to whom".
With those critiques in mind, I would still recommend How Music Got Free due to the compelling nature of the overall story and Witt's dedication to approaching this phenomenon from the perspectives of (almost) all the major players.
informative
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
People today consume music in a vastly different way compared to just two decades ago. Pretty much any song you can to name can be heard for free on the internet, and sales of CDs are way down (but live music seems to still be going strong). Stephen Witt’s How Music Got Free explores how this shift happened. Witt chooses to alternate from chapter to chapter between three phenomenon that started gaining speed in the mid-1990s: 1) the development of the MP3 format at the Fraunhofer research institute in Germany, 2) Doug Morris’ stint as CEO of Universal Music during a time of incredible expansion and then contraction, until he ultimately saved the day by linking music to advertisement revenue, and 3) the Rabid Neurosis group of filesharers, who managed to leak many new releases with the help of members working at a North Carolina CD pressing plant.
I found this a very informative book. I started filesharing in 2000 during the days of Napster, and I thought I had got in early, but Witt reveals that an internet filesharing scene had already existed for years at that point, just under the radar. The focus on North Carolina leaker Dell Glover and music mogul Doug Morris give us two protagonists with challenges to overcome, so that the book almost reads like a suspenseful novel.
However, How Music Got Free also reads like a magazine article expanded to a full book instead of the more detailed study that many readers might have appreciated. Furthermore, as I was reading the book, I was constantly thinking how this isn't the whole story, this is just Witt's focus on just a small slice of what was going on. The book lacks an international perspective, though interesting things have always been happening with regard to filesharing outside the United States. Most of Witt's examples of how filesharing changed music are almost entirely drawn from hip-hop, and while the author having his own favourite genre is fine, one does wish for some mention of filesharing’s impact on other kinds of music.
I found this a very informative book. I started filesharing in 2000 during the days of Napster, and I thought I had got in early, but Witt reveals that an internet filesharing scene had already existed for years at that point, just under the radar. The focus on North Carolina leaker Dell Glover and music mogul Doug Morris give us two protagonists with challenges to overcome, so that the book almost reads like a suspenseful novel.
However, How Music Got Free also reads like a magazine article expanded to a full book instead of the more detailed study that many readers might have appreciated. Furthermore, as I was reading the book, I was constantly thinking how this isn't the whole story, this is just Witt's focus on just a small slice of what was going on. The book lacks an international perspective, though interesting things have always been happening with regard to filesharing outside the United States. Most of Witt's examples of how filesharing changed music are almost entirely drawn from hip-hop, and while the author having his own favourite genre is fine, one does wish for some mention of filesharing’s impact on other kinds of music.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A fascinating look at the beginnings of digital piracy and the end of several old ways of copyright. I grew up in the time piracy was still coming of age, and it was strangely nostalgic to read about sites such as napster or programs such as limewire now.
informative
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced