Stephen Witt: ‘Music piracy is illegal – but morally, is it wrong?’

Kitty Empire talks to Stephen Witt about his eagerly awaited book charting the rise of the MP3 file, the online pirates who exploited it and the record industry that ignored its cultural impact until it was far too lateExtract: Going for a song: the hidden history of music piracy How Music Got Free is in essence the gripping tale of three men: Karlheinz Brandenburg, the German scientist whose lab cobbled together the MP3; Doug Morris, the old-school record company executive who presided over the rap boom and began the fight-back against piracy; and Bennie Lydell “Dell” Glover, the North Carolina CD pressing plant worker, whose light fingers and computer skills singlehandedly led to a haemorrhage of A-list rock and hip-hop releases – Eminem, Kanye West, Queens of the Stone Age, Björk – being freely available on the internet two weeks before release.The three men never met, but Witt reveals how their lives overlapped and irrevocably changed those of anyone who listens to music. Brandenburg’s genius lay in shrinking sound files down so that they could easily be sent over the internet, back when most files were huge and modems still dialled up. Owing to the bitter internecine rivalries within acoustic engineering, no one recognised the scope of Brandenburg’s technology; the inferior MP2 kept winning industry accolades and commercial applications. Universal executive Morris presided over an industry rich from the obscene profits generated by CD sales, until the secretive... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #cd sales #balance sheets

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Soon you may pay Apple by the month for video, music, and news

Such a service could go toe-to-toe against Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify. Apple has been thinking about bundling together its growing menu of digital content and selling it in a single bundle for a competitive price. The subscription package, according to a new report from the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #include music #digital content #magazine articles #unnamed sources


Morality clauses: are publishers right to police writers?

Offensive opinions. Bullying. Sexual misconduct. As the literary world is rocked by scandal US publishers are asking authors to sign contracts with ‘morality clauses’. Are they really the answer?When the American Libraries Association awards its Andrew Carnegie medals in New Orleans later this... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #abusive behaviour #deeply saddened #single mom


Stephen King Library Debuts for Smart Speakers

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant users in the United States and Canada will be able to download a free “Stephen King Library” onto their smart speaker platforms beginning today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #smart speakers #amazon alexa


Lionel Shriver is wrong. Penguin’s push for diversity will translate into better books

Penguin Random House’s vow to make its output ‘reflect British society’ has been met with predictable howls of outrageLionel Shriver has directed another broadside at the publishing world, this time taking aim in The Spectator at a Penguin Random House directive that by 2025 its hiring and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #staggering number #wider society


Investigation reveals illegal workers making Kindles in China

An investigation has reported that thousands of agency workers who make Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and Kindles in China have been hired and paid illegally. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors facing increasing pressure on 'morality'

The Royal Society of Literature’s president Marina Warner has lamented the increasing pressure on authors to “win gold stars for conduct”. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #royal society #increasing pressure


Facebook Users Will Be Able to Add Licensed Music to Their Videos

Sing along with Facebook? The social network announced Tuesday that it is testing the ability for people to include music in the personal videos they create, and it introduced a new feature, Lip Sync Live. Facebook now has licenses through millions of songs through deals with music publishers... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #facebook users #include music


BookCon 2018: Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel: You Can Judge a Book By Its Musical

The creators of the six-time Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen have collaborated with a novelist to turn their story into a book. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Music sets up publishing division as it chases down Spotify

Apple Music has been on its way to overtake Spotify in terms of subscriber base for a while now. The service got a new boss, Oliver Schusser, this past April, as well. Now, Schusser's first major initiative appears to be the launch of Apple's own mus... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2018-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple music #publishing division #subscriber base #past april


Apple Music steps closer to becoming a record label–and why not?

Apple’s services business is proving that the company has a built-in audience–a sort of affinity group–that’s ready to buy everything from apps to books to accessories. Apple Music is reportedly launching a publishing division. This would make it easier for Apple to license music, and it could... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple music #publishing division #record label #reportedly launching #license music


iBooks Bestsellers: Stephen King's 'Outsider' Crowns the List

Stephen King, a man who is no stranger to the top of any bestseller list, saw 'The Outsider,' his latest, take the #1 spot in Apple's iBooks store last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestseller list #ibooks bestsellers #stephen king ##1 spot #ibooks store


When 'hipster fascists' start appearing in the media, something has gone very wrong | Arwa Mahdawi

The Sunday Times profiled members of Generation Identity and made them look like members of a boyband. This dangerous trend of humanising extremists must stopFascism is all the rage these days. Hate is haute, white nationalism is the new black and neo-nazism never looked so good. So the Sunday... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sunday times #recently published #print version


Stephen Hawking's last book to be published in October

John Murray is publishing Stephen Hawking's Brief Answers to the Big Questions - the last book he was working on before he died. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #stephen hawking #john murray


Copyright and piracy explored at IPA Nigeria seminar

The threat to copyright, and thereby to African publishers, posed by "big tech" was raised by International Publishers Association President Michiel Kolman at the IPA’s first seminar on African publishing held in Lagos, Nigeria. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #african publishers #big tech


Nigerian Publishers and IPA Hold First International Seminar in Lagos: Progress and Piracy

Nigeria's first collaborative seminar with the International Publishers Association will focus on issues including a fierce battle African publishers are waging with book piracy. The post Nigerian Publishers and IPA Hold First International Seminar in Lagos: Progress and Piracy appeared first on... Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book piracy #piracy appeared


'Significant' piracy problem explored at New York's BISG

There was a core of optimism at the Book Industry Study Group’s annual meeting in New York, despite sluggish trade sales and challenges facing the business – from old problems roaring back, like returns and piracy, to that new mystery, blockchain technology. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-05-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #annual meeting #challenges facing #blockchain technology


In the #MeToo Moment, Publishers Turn to Morality Clauses

Once an anomaly in author contracts, morality clauses are becoming a standard tool for publishers looking to protect themselves against misbehaving authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishers turn #morality clauses #author contracts


Apple Music for journalism? Apple plans paid subscription service for news

Apple plans to integrate recently acquired magazine app Texture into Apple News and debut its own premium subscription offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is part of a broader push by the iPhone maker to generate more revenue from online content and services.The... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2018-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online content #company agreed #subscription offering #magazine publishers


Kendrick Lamar wins Pulitzer Prize for music for 'Damn.'

Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for music for his album “Damn,” providing perhaps the biggest surprise as the awards for journalism, arts and letters were announced Monday in New York. Lamar becomes the first hip-hop artist to win the Pulitzer’s music category, which... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2018-04-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #biggest surprise #announced monday


Apple promotes new head of Apple Music as it gains ground on Spotify

Apple on Wednesday promoted a company veteran to oversee Apple Music and said the service had hit 48 million subscribers. Oliver Schusser is now vice president of Apple Music and international content. A 14-year Apple employee, Schusser previously led launches of Apple services like the iTunes... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2018-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple services #joined apple #wednesday promoted #vice president #itunes store #app store #international markets #music labels