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 ]

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Stephen King, Carolyn Reidy to Be Honored at PEN Gala

PEN America will award Stephen King with the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award and celebrate S&S president and CEO Carolyn Reidy as its Publisher Honoree at its annual Literary Gala on May 22 in New York. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook just signed another music licensing deal–this time with Sony/ATV

It’s a trend–or, at least, it’s almost a trend. Sony/ATV is following in the footsteps of Universal Music Group and signing a deal with Facebook to let users soundtrack their videos on Facebook, Instagram, and Oculus with songs from the publisher’s catalog. That means songwriters will get... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2018-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook signs deal with Universal to give users access to licensed music

Under ‘unprecedented’ partnership, users will be able to upload videos containing licensed music on Facebook, Instagram and OculusUniversal Music Group is to become the first major music company to license its recorded music and publishing catalogues for use on Facebook, Instagram and virtual... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #multi-year agreement #recorded music #upload videos #licensed music


'Witty and musical' Muldoon wins Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry

Irish writer Paul Muldoon will receive Her Majesty's Gold Medal for Poetry next year for the “restless, playful brilliance” of his work. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Collectors' corner: book and music libraries – in pictures

With sales of vinyl and print on the up, British artist Mark Vessey celebrates the joy of personal, physical collections• Read an interview with Mark Vessey here Continue reading... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shannon hits back at fans unembarrassed by piracy

The Bone Season author Samantha Shannon has expressed her frustration with the attitude of those who pirate her work, with some fans openly committing piracy and saying authors "should be grateful [they] even have readers". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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10 Essential Music Books

Hanif Abdurraqib, author of "They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us," shares 10 essential music books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fletcher reveals musical edition of The Christmasaurus

McFly band member turned children's author Tom Fletcher has claimed a "world first" with a musical edition of his highly successful middle-grade novel The Christmasaurus. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-11-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brexit Viewpoint: Stephen Lotinga, UK Publishers Association

'We have to be realistic about the European market,' says the Publishers Association's Stephen Lotinga. 'It's been declining over the last five years.' The post Brexit Viewpoint: Stephen Lotinga, UK Publishers Association appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Seven Stephen King facts for his 70th birthday

Stephen King celebrates his 70th birthday on 21st September, a day his UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton is marking with a campaign called King for a Day. King for a Day includes screenings of adaptations of King's books at the BFI and the very first author-based Twitter emoji - a typewriter... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook offers millions to music industry to avert copyright crisis

Facebook is said to be offering hundreds of millions of dollars to music publishers and record labels to avoid having to take down user-generated videos that feature copyrighted music. Bloomberg cites "people familiar with the matter" as saying Facebook's payments will allow for the legal use of... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2017-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #people familiar #record labels #music publishers #music industry


In Video Play, Facebook Offers Hundreds of Millions for Music Rights

Facebook is offering major record labels and music publishers hundreds of millions of dollars so the users of its social network can legally include songs in videos they upload, according to people familiar with the matter.The posting and viewing of video on Facebook has exploded in recent... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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William Collins launches music list with Dylan study

William Collins is set to launch its music list with a book by Harvard classics professor Richard F Thomas on why Bob Dylan matters. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russian Government Figures Put Book Piracy at 25 to 30 Percent

Russia's book piracy problem seems to be getting worse: in a new survey, two out of three respondents say they believe downloading pirated content is legal. The post Russian Government Figures Put Book Piracy at 25 to 30 Percent appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I’m Not With the Band by Sylvia Patterson review – musical memoir

A career in music journalism is described with verve mixed with nostalgiaSylvia Patterson used to plaster her bedroom walls with pages from NME and Sounds, then at the zenith of taking themselves deadly seriously, and absorbed the ethos of music as revolution (as well as fun and frenzy). What a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 19th Century Moral Panic Over … Paper Technology

In the history of information technologies, Gutenberg and his printing press are (understandably) treated with the kind of reverence even the most celebrated of modern tech tycoons could only imagine. So perhaps it will come as a surprise that Europe’s literacy rates remained fairly stagnant for... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Does Watermarking Actually Cut Down on E-book Piracy?

A discussion on how watermarking ebooks plays into publishers' overall DRM strategies, and its effectiveness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Open Book: Talking Books at the World's Biggest Music Festival

PW's Louisa Ermelino reports on the robust book culture scene in and around the Glastonbury festival. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors warned not to sign 'morality' clauses

Contract clauses giving publishers the right to drop authors who act "immorally" are becoming more common, The Bookseller has been told. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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