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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Vijay Seshadri, our poetry editor, introduces the latest book from Paris Review Editions: ‘Poets at Work.’ Continue reading at The Paris Review
[ The Paris Review | 2021-04-02 13:00:16 UTC ]
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In “Laundry Love,” cleaning guru Patric Richardson shares his passion — and tips — for cleaning clothes properly. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-26 13:00:00 UTC ]
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A survey conducted by The Bookseller reveals that 12 months after lockdown began, many feel low and isolated, with views on a return to ‘normal’ life decidedly split. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-19 15:22:20 UTC ]
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In “To Raise a Boy,” Emma Brown explores the many influences that shape boys and why we need to rethink them. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-03-16 07:00:04 UTC ]
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Bonnier Books UK has appointed Melissa Bond as senior editor of its soon-to-be-unveiled music imprint led by publishing director Pete Selby. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-15 21:08:51 UTC ]
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Jojo Moyes’ Night Music (Hodder & Stoughton) has orchestrated a rise into the Bookstat e-book number one spot, for the week ending 27th February. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-03-05 00:55:29 UTC ]
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Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro explores the effects of technology on humans through the eyes of an ever-sunny, ever-likable cyborg. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-03-01 14:06:50 UTC ]
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Another of King’s special powers? Slipping into the persona of a teenager with total authenticity. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-28 07:14:30 UTC ]
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Some welcome news for those of you with little ones running and/or crawling around your ankles right now: Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o’s bestselling 2019 children’s book Sulwe is getting a small screen musical adaptation. Netflix announced earlier today that Sulwe will join a roster of upcoming... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-18 18:28:11 UTC ]
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Jazz-bluegrass musician Victor L. Wooten offers insights in an action-adventure fable. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-02-12 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Stephen King is publishing a new thriller with Hodder in August 2021, Billy Summers. The book–about a unique hitman, "a good guy in a bad job”–has been billed as “part war story, part love letter to small town America and the people who live there”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-31 23:25:01 UTC ]
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Culture A still image from the film White Tiger (Netflix, 2021). After watching White Tiger, a writer contemplates the film alongside revolution in Egypt, Black Lives Matter protests, the film Parasite, and literary “complicated works of... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-01-27 20:33:27 UTC ]
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The story collection arrives on the heels of Barry’s superb 2019 novel, “Night Boat to Tangier.” Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-01-17 06:54:27 UTC ]
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At the end of 2020, sorting through my papers was a welcome reminder of the joys of a literary life Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-12-30 13:00:00 UTC ]
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With a new Black editor in chief and ambitious promises to do better, a little corner of the Conde Nast universe is taking racial and cultural injustice one recipe at a time Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2020-12-24 18:32:00 UTC ]
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We used to love these books, but he told me he doesn't want me to support J.K. Rowling now in any way. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-12-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Deal covers 600 songs including Blowin’ in the Wind and Knockin’ on Heaven’s DoorUniversal Music has struck a deal to buy the rights to Bob Dylan’s entire catalogue of 600 songs, from Blowin’ in the Wind to Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, in the biggest music publishing deal in decades.Dylan, whose... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-12-07 12:40:36 UTC ]
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For me, the book of the year was David Graeber’s Debt: The First 5,000 Years. The post A Year in Reading: Stephen Dodson appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-12-01 12:00:24 UTC ]
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Centred around a Blues Party in London, the second film from the Small Axe anthology captured the excitement of setting up a party but missed things about sound system culture in the UK. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-11-30 15:04:41 UTC ]
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