Music Technology Panic Narratives Beyond Piracy

“Big Music never lets a serious crisis go to waste. This compelling history of corporate storytelling guides us through four decades of recorded music’s moral panics. With characteristic iconoclasm, and an analytic scalpel that cuts through industry myth, Arditi reveals how fears are weaponized to manage transformation.” —Toby Bennett, Senior Lecturer in Media, Culture and Organization, School of Media and Communications, University of Westminster, UK; Author of Corporate Life in the Digital Music Industry: Remaking the Major Record Label from the Inside Out. “In this book, David Arditi thoroughly excoriates the panic narratives emanating from the major music companies. In doing so, he reveals how these loud voices use their power to distract music fans from what is really going on, and what is really happening is that musicians continue to be grossly underpaid for their musical labour. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of music.” —Dr. Sally Anne Gross, University of Westminster, Harrow Campus, UK. “This book expertly traces the recent history of perceived threats to the recorded music industry, from home taping in the 1980s to the recent debates around AI. It challenges embedded narratives on copyright and ownership, while also encouraging discussion of the legal terminology employed in public discourse.” —James Hannam, Course Leader, BA (Hons) Music Business, Southampton Solent University, UK.