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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Transworld is to publish a memoir from physicist Professor Stephen Hawking. The book, My Brief... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The son of T Rex frontman, Marc Bolan, is suing a UK music publisher for $2m, alleging the company has violated copyright laws. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2013-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Russian ebook market more than doubled in 2012, to 250 million rubles (USD $8 million), but remains just 1% of market. Some 95% of ebooks downloaded are pirate editions. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Read Legally public awareness campaign was launched to discourage Russians from downloading pirated ebooks, equating it with stealing from authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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During the annual meeting of the bookstore company, CEO Heather Reisman said 'the new Indigo will be a global company.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite his early support for ebooks, Stephen King latest novel, Joyland will be published in print only, with no digital version anticipated. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-05-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King said his new novel, 'Joyland,' will be released in paper format only. 'Let people ... go to an actual bookstore,' said King. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-05-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a move to bump up physical book sales, Stephen King will not release an ebook version of his new novel, "Joyland," the Wall Street Journal reports.In a move to bump up physical book sales, Stephen King will not release an ebook version of his new novel, "Joyland," the Wall Street Journal reports. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Headline Publishing has acquired The Wrong Knickers: A Decade of Chaos by journalist Bryony... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Patterns of book piracy can tell you a lot about the aspirations of a culture and what people really want to read. And it might direct you toward the next bestseller. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-03-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran Canadian publisher Scott McIntyre described the dismantling of D&M Publishers, the iconic Canadian independent publishing house he cofounded 40 years ago, as the result of an unfortunate confluence of circumstances. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-03-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder & Stoughton has put an interactive version of the cover of Stephen King's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hearst Magazines UK has appointed Microsoft ad executive Stephen Edwards to the new role of group digital sales director. Continue reading at Media Week
[ Media Week | 2013-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aptly titled new Tumblr "Lousy Book Covers" collects the delightfully dubious achievements in jacket design. The book Spending Christmas With a Yeti is already at a marketplace disadvantage, what with that title, but then there’s the book cover. Oh boy, where to start. The real-life... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2013-01-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A ruling on John Wiley & Sons Inc. v. Kirtsaeng – a case expected to come before the Supreme Court early next year – could make it illegal for non-profits and businesses to resell copyrighted works produced abroad. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2012-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Lena Dunham, creator of HBO’s Girls, signed a $3.7 million book deal with Random House. Rob Spillman says it is emblematic of all that is wrong with corporate publishing today. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2012-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Association of American Publishers A Pennsylvania District Court judge seems to be fed up with copyright holders wasting the courts’ time and resources, ordering an adult movie studio and five anonymous alleged copyright infringers to present their respective cases to court in a bellwether... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2012-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If you’re a Slovenian fan of J.K. Rowling, and you’re eager to get your hands on the first available copy of her forthcoming novel, The Casual Vacancy, you’re probably going to have to read the book in English. This will also be the case in Italy, Finland, and several other countries. And the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Faber and Faber has added to their growing music list by acquiring the rights for the memoirs of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The satirical TV host's faux children's book, inspired by Maurice Sendak, inspires and turns out be remarkably patriotic."I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)" (Grand Central: $15.99), Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert's bestselling satirical jab at the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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