Overview
Cómo dejarnos de pagar por la música documents, for the first time, one of the key phenomena of contemporary culture: the debacle of the music industry as we know it, and the emergence of digital culture, piracy, and audio files as vehicles for new media consumption. After years of research, Stephen Witt builds a fascinating story that explores three moments in history when the world changed in relation to the consumption of recorded music.Reviews
"[How Music Got Free] has the clear writing and brisk reportorial acumen of a Michael Lewis book."—Dwight Garner, The New York Times, on the English-language edition
"Taut, cleareyed. . . . Witt, a first-time author, comes from the world of finance, and his old-fashioned, connect-the-dots reporting presents a nuanced depiction of an issue usually reduced to emotional absolutes. . . . [A] complex, groundbreaking story."—The New York Times Book Review, on the English-language edition
"[W]hip-smart, superbly reported and indispensable."—The Washington Post, on the English-language edition
"An enthralling account of how technology has turned the music business upside down . . . This is a terrific, timely, informative book." —Nick Hornby, The Sunday Times (UK), on the English-language edition
"A lucid, mordantly funny account of the rise of digital music piracy, starting with the story of a worker in a North Carolina CD-pressing plant who personally leaked more than 2,000 albums over eight years." —Time magazine, on the English-language edition
"Witt's book is more than just a simple history — or defense — of file sharing, a development most people associate with Napster, but which, according to Witt, involved a much more wide-ranging—and fascinating—story." —The Seattle Times, on the English-language edition
"A must-read on the rise of privacy. . . . Suspenseful, entertaining. . . . Essential reading for all students of the music business."—Billboard, on the English-language edition
"Incredible, possibly canonical. . . . A story that's too bizarre to make up, but needed to be told. . . . Even if you're not a music geek, How Music Got Free is one of the most gripping investigative books of the year." —Vice, on the English-language editionAuthor Biography
Stephen Witt received a degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago and worked as a specialist on the U.S. stock market. He also received a degree in journalism from Colombia University and his writings have appeared in The New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.