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

by John Alderman

Book Overview

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,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0738204056
• ISBN13: 9780738204055
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

The Answer's Out There Somewhere

While slightly outdated (mid-2001), and displaying some typos as well as Alderman's slightly scatterbrained writing style, this short but effective book is a telling report on how the world of music distribution is experiencing a true upheaval. Unfortunately, nurtured by the free-for-all of the internet revolution, the expectation that all music should be free led to the free file sharing services. File sharing is certainly a great way to stick it to the big companies that have unapologetically ripped of musicians and consumers for decades. But the problem is that artists deserve to be compensated for their music, so free file sharing is not the answer. The rash of lawsuits by the big corporations proved that they only have their own profiteering at heart, and their insistence that they are fighting for artists' rights is a farce. The highlight of this book is an excellent quote from online music pioneer John Barlow to close chapter 1: "The greatest constraint on future liberties may not come from government but from corporate legal departments laboring to protect by force what can no longer be protected by practical efficiency or general social consent." That is the angle from which Alderman writes this book. The big labels, through lawsuits and intimidation, refuse to face the fact that they may be toppled by a revolution and have reacted like any fading strong-arm dictator. As soon as someone figures out how to properly compensate the artists, all fans and musicians, as well as culture in general, will benefit beyond comprehension. Alderman doesn't pretend to know the answer, and nobody does anyway, but this book proves aptly that something dramatic is happening in the world of music.

BUY da Boom (bada bing)...

I ordered this book when it was first released and it sat in a big pile of "future-reads" until months later. When I finally got around to picking it up I couldn't put it down. For someone who has closely followed the digital music revolution from the early days, it was more a trip down memory lane than anything but I definately learned some interesting tidbits along the way. Chronicling approximately a 4 year span of efforts from companies and characters from the pre-Napster days (Goodnoise and Liquid) to the post-Napster era (Gnutella and the peer-to-peer craze) and everything in between, this book is a quick and fun read. If you're into music and technology and have followed the bitter but inevitable marriage of the two, you'll enjoy this historical romp down memory lane.

A good primer on digital music distribution

As the business of music distribution and consumption goes through a radical change, this is a good book for understanding how and why we got to where we are in the process. A good overview on the players, the technology and the legal and business issues involved. No one really knows where we are going from here in the music distribution business but this book lays out the history and issues so you can follow the fascinating developments.

Examines the advent of Napster and the response of musicians

What happens when rock stars fight business over copyright issues and online downloads? Sonic Boom examines the advent of Napster, the response of musicians, and the fans who have come to view access to free music as a right. Blend in assessments of new technologies and key issues of artists' rights and you have an absorbing musical and cultural history.

Exellent book

great book, detailing the revolution of napster, and the evolution of music. not much more to say. but if your into this sort of thing, read it.