Customer Reviews

Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Greg Kot is a good rock writer/reviewer, Chicago Tribune columnist, and is frequently published in Rolling Stone (as national magazines go), among other publications. His new book, "Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music", provides a good recap of the last ten years or so of the music industry, as concerns developments on the digital front. I found the book of particular interest, as I have worked in the music business in one capacity or another for almost 15 years and remember pretty much all of what's contained in the book. If you are not aware of, and want to learn about the music industry's recent digital developments, then this book is a very good way to get up to speed.

The chapters focus on key events/artists that were pivotal in the changing music business model over the last decade. Key events such as the rise of Napster (and the music industry's attempts to contain and destroy it, rather than embrace the technology and monetize it), Metallica's fight against Napster, the departure of established acts (Madonna, Radiohead, McCartney, Prince, NIN, et al.) from the major label system in favor of non-traditional music companies/doing it themselves, newer artists availing themselves of technology to reach their fans and `do it on their own' (such as Ani DiFranco, Bright Eyes, and others), the rise/domination of the Ipod and ITunes, and chapter bumpers of various interviewees' mindsets and insights into how they acquire music (eg. Some younger people either don't realize that they are violating a copyright/impacting someone's livelihood, with illegal downloading, or simply don't care). Some chapters are more interesting than others (which might depend on how familiar you are with the artists that Kot covers), though the book doesn't ever get bogged down in boring narrative, and it explains more-recent industry-specific concepts in easy to understand terms for the layman (though a prior understanding, on the reader's part, of the basics of the music industry's workings helps, but is not required).

Kot hits pretty much all the key events that we've seen in the last ten years or so, that have impacted the music industry business model. I'm not convinced there are any answers in this book as to where we're going to be in ten years, which is not necessarily Kot's fault (as he's fairly objective in reporting the circumstances), as the `new model' of the music business is still being created and the kinks of the `new order' are still being worked out. But what's going to happen in the next ten years or so, if older acts come off the road for good, and new acts don't develop? We'll likely hear endless complaints about how new music sucks and no major artists are developing (which is kinda what we're hearing now and have been for a while). I'd like to have seen more speculation on where we're headed. I've also spent a long time waiting for some writer, somewhere, to point out the disingenuous stance of a band like 2008's-independent-Radiohead, for example, that rails against major labels and gives little credit for the help they received along the way, while the 1993-baby-band version of Radiohead was probably only too happy to have a record deal, able to pursue their dream with a label supporting them at the beginning with marketing efforts, so that they could eventually get to the level they're at today (and be in a position to dictate their own future, as well as bad-mouth the system). That's more or less on p. 237, finally, though that point probably needed to be made a bit sooner in the book because it seems to be a key factor present in basically ALL superstar-level career arcs, particularly as they depart labels for DIY deals. Take the labels' money when young and hungry, get into `the machine', attain huge success, get jaded, then bad-mouth the company as having somehow hindered you every step of the way. My take away from what I read was that most of the acts who were nurtured and given two or three albums to develop and became long-term successes, today would probably be done if their first album didn't hit, and looking at barista careers. Unfortunately, the economics of the business might very well not allow for 3 chances these days. Are labels still necessary? Yes, probably, if an artist wants to reach a massive audience, because that's what major labels are geared toward, and because it's hard to get traction (not to mention visibility on traditional outlets, like late-nite shows) when EVERY band out there trying to do it on their own has a myspace page, sans higher-level marketing know-how and connections. It's a double-edged sword: the technology that empowers any/every band to promote itself and possibly actually earn a living doing what they love, is the same technology that overwhelms and inundates users with almost TOO MUCH unfiltered information. Was the industry wrong in not embracing Napster and nipping the problem in the bud, and monetizing it? Probably, but we're way past that at this point, as Kot points out (and I agree with). Now that the toothpaste is out of the tube, and the economics of the business have been turned upside down, who's going to make that marketing-intensive investment, if labels aren't around? It's hard to imagine that a band, doing it on their own via a website and without a label's muscle, will be able to reach the equivalent of being a 5-million seller, but that's probably NOT the object anymore, if they're netting more per download and able to sustain a touring career and fanbase, and make a living. The model is definitely changing, toward empowering the artist, as Kot illustrates effectively over and over in the book.

Greg Kot makes his point early and often: over the past decade, greedy executives perched at the summits of rapidly-consolidating media conglomerates lost billions of dollars in a clueless and futile campaign to keep music flowing through traditional pipelines. They delayed, dithered, or flat-out refused to adapt their business models to the paradigm-shifts of digital music and peer-to-peer file sharing, and other players rushed in to fill the vacuum.

Inherently unimaginative and terminally resistant to change, the music industry has typically released dull, homogenized product, together with a few blockbusters, to generate revenue. Independent companies occupied tiny niches, while the major labels relied on a lucrative pay-to-play distribution system. They put effort into developing performers who showed profit potential and dropped any artist that didn't show a quick return.

Then came the revolution. The majors got their keisters kicked by angry musicians and bored consumers who used new technology to make their lives and their culture more interesting. CD prices dropped to nearly half of what they were ten years ago. Even giants like Paul McCartney, Madonna, U2, and the Eagles finally jumped ship from their labels.

Not just record companies got hurt: so did artists, producers, publishers, concert promoters, radio stations, and CD stores that refused to adjust to the new reality. No longer do people learn about music from radio, MTV, Tower (which went belly-up in 2006), or conventional, established taste-makers. Now YouTube, MySpace, iTunes, Amazon, blogs, zines, and independent media outlets are conduits for cultural buzz and the wealth it produces.

As befits the multi-headed hydra that is music nowadays, Kot has written an unusual, non-chronological hybrid of entertainment and economics reportage. He moves briskly and authoritatively, alternating between discussing the aesthetics of the music and examining the nitty-gritty of the industry. While at times waxing eloquent in his analysis of the creative process and the stories of individual bands, most of his coverage is very concrete, a product of interviews with the artists and businesspeople in the trenches.

Kot offers quotes from musicians, insiders, and fans about how the industry has changed, how it works today, and how it's likely to evolve in the future. He contrasts forward-thinking acts like Tom Petty, David Byrne, The Beastie Boys, OK Go, R.E.M., Sinéad O'Connor, Lily Allen, Ani DiFranco, Björk, and Apple founder Steve Jobs with stodgy dinosaurs like Clear Channel, the RIAA, and Metallica, who made the mistake of suing Napster and their own best customers.

Entire chapters are devoted to specific performers and their stories: Arcade Fire, Conor Oberst, Death Cab for Cutie, Girl Talk, Prince, Wilco (about whom Kot wrote a whole book), and especially Radiohead each get in-depth profiles.

For those interested in the subject of music -- and that includes most young people -- this book is a fine introduction. Those not fascinated by popular music may choose to skip a few chapters that focus on groups they don't care for, but they'll have their eyes opened as to how entertainers are making money these days and how technology is changing the world of business and the world at large.

Greg Kot is an interesting writer and tells many good stories. I sped through this book.

But what he offers here is less than what it should be. He digresses into band vignettes that, yes, I enjoyed reading but sometimes did not lead to a larger point (even though he tried).

He ignores the influence of satellite radio, eMusic, and the opinions of any listener older than those of Generation X (unless they are in the music business).

His focus is essentially the college rock world (for lack of a better term), and what those listeners are into. Meaning: hip-hop is discussed in reference to Kanye West, rap mix tapes are ignored, and forget what someone who listens to reggaeton, dancehall, metal etc might have to say about digital technology. Even though vinyl sales are a very small percentage overall, he fails to mention how they increased almost 100% (I believe) in 2007 or 2008. He doesn't delve into the fate of independent record stores, and how some of those still standing are doing pretty well (including my local favorite, Redscroll Records in Wallingford CT). He mentions some independent labels, such as Merge, but doesn't get into what keeps them running - how exactly are they doing it?

This will be very enjoyable for a certain type of music listener, but unfortunately does not have the larger-scale reporting and research I was hoping for.

For those who don't understand how the recorded music industry has gone down the tubes in the last five years, this book will answer their questions: downloading, the iPod, Myspace and free music online. Now, if you want music, you must download rather crappy mp3 files. The author explains how all this happened through the rise of Napster and file sharing technology. One problem ignored here, though, is the quality of sound reproduction that's been lost. These digital downloads, though now mainly at 256kb, same as cds, are still rather hard on the ears. Also, the hardware to play back mp3 files is not audiophile quality. No matter to people who follow music on websites like Pitchfork.com. They don't mind the loss of fidelity or the playback through inferior computer systems instead of high quality amps, preamps and stereo or 5.1 speaker systems. I don't think the story of music's evolution is over yet, so this book is a good waystation documenting where we are at in late 2009. I hope there's more to come on the positive side of sound quality. Caveat: Much of this book is about how a handful of bands have cut loose from record labels and found ways to distribute their music online. Record labels deserve scorn, but what we have now is a confused hodge-podge of delivery systems that satisfies only the youngest and dumbest consumers.

Greg Kot's "Ripped" provides a good overview on how digital technologies have transformed the music industry during the past decade. By the end of the 1990s, the domination of four major conglomorations and the exorbitant fees charged by independent promoters and radio stations(themselves consolidating under Clear Channel's banner) had driven most independent music to the margins. For Kot, the emblem of this overweening corporate control is the overpriced CD - $18.99 in 1999 dollars. With the advent of the internet, however, artists and increasingly consumers began taking back control over the production, distribution and consumption of music.

Kot rehearses many familiar features of the changing landscape: the short-sightness rearguard reaction by the record industry that, by suing people for downloading music, alienated their customer base; the rise in digital music artists whose sampling and 'mash-ups' have challenged the limits of copyright law; and how artists like Prince, Radiohead, and even Paul McCartney have pursued other outlets to reach customers rather than their the rapidly-crumbling appartus of the industry leaders. A music critic for the Chicago Tribune, Kot's book profits from his interactions with insiders in both the official and underground music scenes. He includes testimonies from a array of different sources and provides a real sense of having his finger on the pulse. Moreover, although he clearly endorses the burgeoning democraticization of music that the internet has produced, he does recognize pitfalls as well. While internet fanzines like [...] have been instrumental calls attention to new bands, he argues that they can also over-hype them and burn out popular interest in them even before their first records are released.

Nonetheless, Kot sees the overall trends in a positive light, arguing that the internet actually revitalized American music, eliminating the corporate middlemen and bringing artists and consumers together as co-consumers and co-creators. If you know this history already, "Ripped" provides a great summary account; for a non-expert like me, the book was an excellent introduction.

Is this story really new to anyone? Those who are heavily into downloading already know the story. Those, like me, who aren't heavily into downloading but are major music fans/collectors and/or have worked in the business know the story. Those in the business who aren't necessarily music folks -- they sure know the story. I guess the audience is people who really aren't that interested in technology or music at all? Seems like a rather small one.

There's basically nothing wrong with this book -- it's just that I didn't learn a single thing from it, and I can't imagine who would 1) be interested in it but 2) would learn something from it.

When I first saw this book, I expected that it would primarily chronicle the business/technological changes that have occurred to music in the past decade, and secondarily apply that to real life scenarios. In practice, however, this book is filled with artist vignettes that then reflect the technological changes. "Ripped" spends more time looking at how artists have adapted to the new technological mold, rather than how the technological mold has applied to artists.

The beginning of the book starts out a bit more describing the business aspect of things -- the typical record company "middleman" and how going forward the industry is to blame for its nearsightedness that the Internet would bring. The text, which is divided into 20 chapters, then delves into the Napster-era and the RIAA sharing lawsuits and litigation. Beginning around the fifth chapter, Kot begins to directly quote the artists and their experiences. And this is where I think the book begins to take a turn for the worse and spends too much time on the little intricacies of being a successful music artist -- and not enough time talking about the technological and business changes that were occurring in the industry. While topics such as "zines" and "blogs" are touched upon, the chronicles on the artists seem to take an overarching tone, despite being well researched and presented in a conversational manner to the reader.

In the last three or four chapters, Kot finally delves into iTunes and similar services that have begun to change the industry. But he doesn't spend nearly enough time, in my opinion, on how and why this is actually working -- but rather delves into the experiences of just a few artists. It's clear by the end of the book that we aren't ready to rid of the label system yet. More or less I'd have to say the author doesn't provide any great conclusions except that music was (and probably still is) a "high priced specialty business" in which "no one saw a reason to change." I'd have to agree that many of the major record labels still haven't seen a reason to change.

Greg Kot is acknowledged to be a great writer and knowledgeable about his field. I feel he missed an opportunity here to write a really important book.
I just finished reading "Ripped".

Everything below was sent to Greg Kot's website. All I have changed here is from "You" to "He", and one "your" to "his".

I am just a music fan, a listener. I am not in any way a professional. My interests are in Classical music, Jazz, '60's rock, and Public Radio. I have a weblog, "Whither Public radio and serious music" at http://richardmitnick.wordpress.com .

After a great beginning survey of the music industry, and what has happened over the past decade, he then narrowed the focus to specific rock and pop bands.

He barely mentioned thepiratebay.org which is to my understanding the single greatest thing for illegal music and video ever.

He never commented on the fact that Classical music and Jazz are going through horrendous upheavels as they try to squeeze their way through the shift to the new paradigm of the the .mp3/internet.

He never mentioned the great independent labels operating for their artists like John Zorn's Tzadik, or Manfred Eicher's ECM. There was no mention of organizations like Innova at the American Compesers' Forum which make a home for new composers and artists to get their work out on CD and .mp3.

He gave very little credit to Amazon for its .mp3 inventory. As a Classical and Jazz listener and collector, Amazon is for me nirvana. I have purchased some of the most arcane Classical composers (Partch, Nancarrow, Varese, Antheil) in .mp3 from their "long tail" offerings. I just bought not only Darcy James Argue's Secret Society new album "Infernal Machines" and Nadya Sirota's "First Things First", both on New Amsterdam, but also Miles Davis' "The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965" on Legacy Records, both in .mp3.

He said nothing about today's "radio", alive and well at http://shoutcast.com and http://www.live365.com .

He could have written a great book, going beyond the narrow field of popular music, and dealing more globally with the subjects at the beginning of his book.

Pop music is a hugh and worthwhile field of interest. But there is more to the music industry about which he could have said a great deal with a title like "Ripped".

Being a music lover and an MP3 downloading addict, I've seen firsthand the revolution in music distribution, and, frankly, I didn't think a book like this would have much to teach me. Happily, I was wrong. "Ripped" takes the reader from the payola-infected radio monoliths that would put the payola scandals of the '50s and '60s to shame, through the rise and fall of Napster and the other sites that took over where Napster left off, the cultural explosion that was (and is) iPod, to the artists who wrested control of their careers from the huge record companies and subsequently control their own distribution.

The record corporations were clueless concerning the new MP3 technology, using copyright law as an excuse to sue students and housewives instead of harnessing the MP3 revolution early on to their own advantage. In fact, free downloads can be used as a promotional tool to sell CDs or full-album downloads, especially for artists who are largely shut out from radio play. The success of Death Cab for Cutie, Conor Oberst, and others are attributable to the distribution innovations that come from the artists (and friends) themselves.

Also mentioned is how the hip-hop culture was dependent on sampling, which, when hip-hop reached the mainstream, again spurred record companies, the owners of the recordings which were sampled, to sue even for the most miniscule samples used. Do they think that hearing a small snippet would have a detrimental effect on the sales of the original records? It doesn't matter when corporations get so huge as to devalue actual logic.

The final straw is when established artists such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails offer their music for "Whatever you want to pay" or free in its most basic MP3 form with tiered pricing for more elaborate packaging. Coming out too late for inclusion was NIN's "The Slip" (although the instrumental "Ghosts" was covered) and Coldplay's free live download "LeftRightLeftRightLeft.

I found much helpful information here such as free (legal) download sites and websites that review independent releases that often get overlooked by the likes of "Rolling Stone" and "Spin." Anybody with an interest in modern music should immediately grab a copy of "Ripped."

I don't work in the music industry, but I am currently employed in another business that's facing a sea change due to electronic distribution of our product. That's why I originally picked up this book -- to see if I could learn anything from another struggling industry.

But as a music lover, I found myself totally swept up in Kot's meticulous reporting, amazing interviews, and grand scope. It's one of the most informative and enjoyable nonfiction books I've read in a long time. I'd read a chapter, and then grab for my iPod (full of mostly legally downloaded music, thankyouverymuch) wanting to listen firsthand to the bands he'd chronicled so carefully on the page.

If you love music or are enthralled by new technology, I highly recommend this book.