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 ]
Dunkin' Donuts wants to create cool musical buzz with millennials this summer to push its iced coffee products. So it's playing with enough social-media platforms to outfit a marketing septet: Spotify, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Vine, Facebook and Periscope. The initiative, called... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Subversive Science Fi... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Citing a major uptick in Internet piracy, the Authors Guild has urged Congress to require ISPs to monitor and filter the Internet for pirated works. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On the same day as Apple Inc.'s release of its much-anticipated Apple Music streaming service, a federal court upheld a ruling Tuesday that states the company illegally conspired with book publishers to drive up prices for ebooks to compete against Amazon.com Inc., USA TODAY reported. The... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon.com’s ebook distribution deals are coming under close scrutiny from the European Commission, which has begun a formal antitrust investigation into the company’s contracts with publishers.The probe will focus on clauses in Amazon’s contracts that require publishers to tell the company... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2015-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The UK's biggest broadband providers will shortly start blocking seven of the most popular websites used by eBook pirates. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a major victory for book publishers, the UK's High Court has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block several sites offering pirated ebooks. The decision means that BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and EE now have 10 days to comply and e... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Music critic Jessica Hopper’s work has been anthologised in a new book – still a rare accolade in the macho world of rock writingThe first essay reprinted in Jessica Hopper’s new book, The First Collection Of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic, sees her in 2002, imagining “what a REAL... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It’s bitchy, fun and avoids the worst of the publishing industry’s most recent clichesWe are at what seems like a low point in the history of book titles. Good titles are hard to find, but they make all the difference. Take Timothy Caulfield’s new book Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Have you scratched your head wondering why Apple would put audiobooks in iOS' music player, rather than... y'know, a book app? So has Apple. Besides a redesigned music app, the early iOS 8.4 beta also moves audiobooks into iBooks, where they arguably... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The danger of a herd mentality in tech hack circles is real, including missing out on mainstream products, but a nose for interesting news goes beyond analyticsTechnology journalism – and US technology journalism in particular – is getting a roasting every bit as stinging as Justin Bieber’s... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-03-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Elena Ramirez, editorial director of Seix Barral and director of international fiction for Planeta, Spain’s largest publisher, observes that the Spanish book industry has adjusted to a new normal after the country’s financial crisis. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While anti-piracy efforts are gaining some traction in a few countries, freedom of speech is under mounting pressure in a number of countries, including China and Russia, speakers at the IPA Congress reported. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The interactive portion of the South by Southwest festival in Austin may be over, but that doesn't mean that digital media brands have packed up their bags. Several digital-facing companies and publishers have decided to activate outside the traditional period reserved for their wares, further... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2015-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robots haven't completely replaced media salespeople, but they've forced the role to evolve. In the latest in our Confessions series, an anonymous publishing exec says that while it's hard to get print reps with digital skills, too many digital salespeople don't even bother to read the company's... Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-03-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A collection of stories from Stephen King and the autobiography of footballer Didier Drogba will be among the new releases from Hodder & Stoughton this year. The Hachette UK division last night (12th March) held its annual showcase event, unveiling its highlights for the year ahead, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French culture minister Fleur Pellerin has said that Kindle Unlimited and other similar book subscription services contravene the French fixed price Lang Law and have three months to come into line. Reacting to a report by the book mediator Laurence Engel, Pellerin said in an interview with the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Late last week, the United States Copyright Office released a report recommending sweeping reforms to the existing music licensing system, which is a labyrinthine mess of outdated regulations (because most of them were established before the Internet age).Titled “Copyright and the Music... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2015-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Octopus Publishing Group’s Cassell Illustrated has commissioned a book on the rebel heroes of popular music by Fun Lovin’ Criminals frontman and DJ Huey Morgan. Commissioning editor Hannah Knowles acquired worldwide rights from Sam Gregory at Wise Buddah Group. In Huey Morgan’s Rebel Heroes,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online readers expressed concern that an interview with a victim of sexual exploitation did not adequately seek to verify her claimsPersonal testimony is a powerful tool in any struggle to increase public awareness and to fight injustice. When that testimony is as searing as the one given by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-01-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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