Digital Culture Industry: A History of Digital Distribution

Through detailed intricate histories of illicit Internet piracy networks, Digital Culture Industry goes beyond the Napster creation myth and illuminates the unseen individuals, conflict and code behind the turn to digital media distribution. By utilising the internet as an archive of digital documents, the author presents unique histories of sites such as MP3.com and The Pirate Bay, and illuminates the software, values and people behind networks such as GNUtella and BitTorrent. By examining topics such as hacker ideology, data rights management and the ownership of digital media, this book demonstrates how our relationship to media objects has been transformed by digital distribution. The book also examines the method behind the work and demonstrates how digital documents can be utilised for historical research. It argues for histories that account for detail, the unintended and the impact that code can have on the trajectory of social change.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Writing a Digital History with Digital Documents 2. MP3.com and Napster: The Entrepreneurs of Risk 3. GNUtella: Decentralising the Masses 4. FastTrack: The Business of Piracy 5. BitTorrent: Revolution in the Network 6. Hacking the Market 7. New Media Gatekeepers 8. A History of Digital Distribution

About the Author :
James Allen-Robertson is a doctoral alumni of the Department of Sociology at the University of York, UK. His previous research has been published in the international journal Mobilities and he continues his work in the fields of digital culture and social informatics.

Review :
'This book not only examines a crucial cultural and political issue, it is also a clear demonstration of some of the methodological and technical issues that we now face in undertaking contemporary historical analysis. This is a book that should appeal to those interested in modern history as well as those interested in the sociology of new media. It is a compelling and informative read.' Professor Roger Burrows, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK 'This book represents a pivotal moment in the study of digital culture. The weaving together of various types of eclectic resources reveals the underlying stories of digital distribution. As a result this book provides the much needed historical context upon which the study of new media should be built and acts as an antidote to more reactionary or sensational commentaries of digital culture. Its focus though is not upon the familiar or established stories but upon the people, the devices, the organizations and the moments of chance that come together to shape the form that contemporary media take.' Dr David Beer, University of York, UK