Sonic Boom: Inside The Raging Battle For The Soul Of MusicDigital 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. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
album artists audience band Beastie Beastie Boys Bertelsmann Boies Bringman building Clarke Cohen consumers copy court David Boies deal Despite developing distribution Eminem Emusic entertainment files format Frankel Freenet Geffen Gene Kan Glaser Gnutella going Grateful Dead hard Hatch Hertz Hilary Rosen hoping Ice-T idea infringement intellectual property interest Internet IUMA Jim Griffin Kearby Ken Hertz Lars Ulrich launched lawsuit lawyer Liquid Audio listen Lord major labels Metallica Michael Robertson Middelhoff million MP3.com music industry musicians Napster Nullsoft offered online music piracy play player popular radio record companies record industry record labels release RIAA Rogers seemed sell servers share Shawn Fanning songs Sony tape tech there's things tion trademark trading Ulrich Universal wanted Warner Weekly Winamp