Product Description

In an engaging, fast-paced, up-close-and-personal narrative, Appetite for Self-Destruction recounts the music industry's wild 30-year ride through the digital age. Based on interviews with over 200 music industry sources-from Warner Music chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. to renegade Napster creator Shawn Fanning-as well as assiduous research in legal documents, unpublished memoirs, Billboard reports, and so on, Steve Knopper, a regular contributor to Rolling Stone, offers a contemporary history of big music that is more comprehensive and entertaining than any other book out there. From the birth of the compact disk, through the explosion of CD sales in the 80s and 90s, the emergence of Napster, and the secret talks that led to ITunes, to the current collapse of the industry as CD sales plummet, Knopper takes us inside the board rooms, recording studios, private estates, garage computer labs, company jets, corporate infighting, and secret deals of the big names and behind-the-scenes players who made it all happen.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5656 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 301 pages

About the Author
Steve Knopper is a writer and journalist who is currently Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone. He has also written for publications such as Wired, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, Chicago, New York, the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Details, Spin and Continental and has written or edited four books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Band and Moon Colorado. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

First rate music biz history lesson
For anyone who has worked in the music industry this is an essential read. All of those figures we've grown up with named and in some cases shamed. Since reading this I've bought it for several friends in the industry all of whom agree it's a great read.

The music industry exposed
For anyone with an interest in music or the music business this is essential reading. It gives insights to how the business was structured and why it's in so much trouble today.

With chapters focusing on key points in the life of the music industry it provides amazing revelations on what has happened - Napster, Michael Jackson and other events - and finishes by looking at where the business is heading.

Uninsightful, mediocre book saved by interesting subject matter
It's a short book that reads like five or six magazine articles sellotaped together. It's not well written and it's out of date as it only goes up to mid 2008 (as far as it's concerned EMI are the only major label to sell DRM free music on iTunes).

I personally find the subject matter to be fascinating so as long as it was readable I was guaranteed to like it. If you find the subject matter to be a bit dull then just skip it as you won't learn anything that an hour on Google won't teach you.

It's not a bad book so if the subject matter seriously floats your boat then you should enjoy reading it.