Sonic Boom
Napster, P2P and the Battle for the Future of Music
Published on 13. September 2001
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-84115-512-8 (ISBN)
Description
The first book to tell the inside story of the MP3 revolution and Napster, which has made headlines around the world, as the record labels, musicians, Internet entrepreneurs and fans battle for control over the future of music. John Alderman has been part of the online revolution since the launch of HotWired, the world*s first commercial Website. As the culture editor for Wired News, Alderman began covering the explosion of online music just as the MP3 phenomenon gathered steam. He has written for Wired, i-D, Details and Salon, and is a frequent speaker on the subject of new media. "Sonic Boom" is a narrative of the phenomenon that's affecting musicians, such as the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy, who are reaching fans without record company support; entrepreneurs, who are distributing MP3 files without licensing agreements; and record industry executives, who are fighting for their business at every turn. Peopled with a sensational cast of characters that includes musicians, moguls, teenagers, and Internet entrepreneurs, "Sonic Boom" both exposes the recording industry's plight and also highlights the issues that all industries face in the information age.
Reviews / Votes
The fate of music download operation Napster is in the balance, having faced a legal avalanche from the record industry giants. This, then, is a timely book on the battle for control of the music industry, explaining the development of the MP3 music format, its future and the various intellectual property issues. One of the problems of tracking such a fast-moving target is topicality, and so Alderman is still working on his manuscript. But on the basis of some sample chapters, he has a sure grasp of the issues and an accessible writing style. The battles between the cigar-chomping record company bigwigs and the t-shirted slacker software developers such as MP3.com's Michael Robertson are all covered in detail, with most of Alderman's sympathy being bestowed on the latter, mainly because of the potential for empowerment that the technology holds. He understands the giant companies' need to protect their revenues, but is deeply sceptical of their claims to be looking after the rights of their recording artists, pointing to the punitive nature of most recording contracts and the majors' dismal history of continuing to develop artists over a long career. Potentially a very thought-provoking book.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 159 mm
Weight
443 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84115-512-8 (9781841155128)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John Alderman has been part of the online revolution since the launch of HotWired, the world's first commercial Website. As the culture editor for Wired News, Alderman began covering the explosion of online music just as the MP3 phenomenon gathered steam. He has written for Wired, i-D, Details and Salon.