Sonic Boom: Napster, MP3, and the New Pioneers of Music - Hardcover

Alderman, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738204056 ISBN 13: 9780738204055

Publisher: Basic Books, 2001

Synopsis

Digital compression technologies such as MP3 and Napster are having an explosive impact on the way music is distributed. Every day, hundreds of thousands of music files are searched for, shared, recorded, and listened to by computer and Web users-all free of charge. It's a boon for consumers and a disaster for record companies, and the end result can be nothing less than a cultural and economic transformation. Sonic Boom is a fascinating narrative of the controversy that's sending shock waves through the music industry. It's the story of musicians such as the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy, who are reaching fans without record company support; entrepreneurs who are distributing MP3 files without licensing agreements; and record-industry executives who are fighting for their business at every turn. It reveals how, even as the star-maker machinery of record companies remains in the hands of the old guard, innovators are finding ways to outsmart it. Peopled with a sensational cast of characters that includes rock stars, music moguls, teenagers, and Internet entrepreneurs, Sonic Boom exposes the recording industry's plight as a fascinating microcosm of the vast cultural, ethical, and legal issues that all industries face in the information age.

About this title

About the Author

John Alderman has worked in the trenches of the online revolution since the launch of HotWired, the world's first commercial website. As the culture editor for Wired News, Alderman began covering the explosion of online music just as the MP3 phenomenon gathered steam. He has written for Wired, Details, Salon, I.D., and Mondo 2000 and is a frequent speaker on the subject of new media.

Reviews

A compelling blend of cultural criticism and business writing (… la Tracy Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine), and the first full-length look at the revolution in listening to and trading music online, Alderman's detailed, unflaggingly entertaining book sets a dizzying standard. Notably well-versed in Internet history, Alderman tracks the music industry power struggles precipitated by the proliferation of MP3 technology and the infamous Napster. Alderman, a journalist with Wired and Mondo 2000 on his r‚sum‚, ably explains the controversy, from the encoding algorithms used by early online music pioneers, the legal battle between the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Napster ("Being essentially a legal group, RIAA's concentration was on litigating and lawmaking, rather than research or development that might create new models") to the appeal and impact of online music ("The scale and enthusiasm of Napster use trumped all predictions that the online market was exaggerated"). Though Alderman clearly advocates Web trading "The bottom line is that musicians need listeners, and the Web is shaping up to be the best thing yet at connecting, organizing, and sometimes marketing to like-minded people" he challenges the music industry to "craft a solution that pays artists fairly, is not overly restrictive of fair use, and leaves the market open for broad tastes." More important, Alderman places the Napster phenomenon squarely within larger Internet history, observing that "[a]side from... e-mail, MP3 trading was the first large-scale benefit of using computers to connect everyone." This is required reading for anyone interested in the connection between culture and the Internet. (Sept.)Forecast: More Napster-style sites and lawsuits throughout 2001 will give this timely book a shot at sustained shelf life.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Alderman considers digital-compression technologies, such as Napster and MP3, and their effect on the music biz. Whereas radio fed the sixties counterculture's view of rock as progressive, recent technological advances let music-makers reach fans directly; the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy are only two of the most visible examples of those who do. The personal control this relationship between musicians and fans allows feeds the sense of intimacy between player and listener and frees musicians from constraints that concerned parties, such as parents and WalMart, might place on their output. Enthusiastic and bursting with detail on Napster's legal contretemps, Sonic Boom is timely and vital, especially for the technologically oriented. Mike Tribby
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Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738204056
• ISBN 13: 9780738204055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224