On June 1, 1999, a university student named Shawn Fanning sent a message to his friends telling them about a new program he’d written called Napster. It offered music fans a way to connect and trade digital music files quickly and efficiently using a new type of compressed file called …

As we get closer to the one-quarter mark of the 21st century, it may seem that things are changing faster than ever before, especially in the areas of culture and media. I deal with music for a living and even I can’t keep up with everything that’s going on. But …

I know exactly how many single compact discs I bought this year: Zero. None. The only new CDs to enter my collection came as part of big box sets that feature rarities from The Who, The Tragically Hip, Pink Floyd, and a few others. When I wanted to hear any …

If you’re of a certain vintage, you’ll remember how inflexibly tribal music fans used to be. If you were, say, an alternative kid, you wouldn’t dream of listening to anything the rock kids were. It just wasn’t done. Admitting you liked the odd Black Sabbath or Van Halen song risked …

With American Thanksgiving, the retail carnage of Black Friday just a few days away (anyone got the over/under on how many people will be injured?), and the appearance of Santa Claus parades, it’s officially Christmas season. That means for the next five weeks, holiday music will be blasting at every …

While I was doing some research on an Ongoing History of New Music program on the endless battle between tech and music, I rooted around in the backgrounds of some popular instruments like guitars, drums, and synthesizers. As often happens with the internet, I was dragged down a series of …

In this space back in August, I wondered how much Taylor Swift mania the world could take. People were talking about selling kidneys in exchange for tickets to the Eras tour. The New York Times was projecting that this one road trip would end up contributing nearly US$5 billion to …

In early 1969, Ken and Dub, two music fans from Los Angeles, found themselves in possession of some unreleased Bob Dylan songs recorded in 1967 that had been sent as demos to his music publisher. Copies of the acetate recording spilled out among people working in the recorded music industry. …

Fall is the best time of the year for book lovers. Publishers schedule the release of their most serious-minded fare for when we’re indoors and have time to read. So put away that phone and tablet. There will be plenty of time for doomscrolling in the New Year when get back …

If you were part the minuscule audience who watched the MTV Music Video Awards last week (according to Nielsen overnights, only 865,000 people tuned in to a show that featured Taylor Swift, Shakira, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj, and a reunited NSYNC), you would have seen a new teaser for One …

For almost two years, COVID-19 saw to it that there was no live music. Tours stopped, roadies lost their gigs, venues suffered, and support staff were laid off. But once COVID restrictions were lifted, the industry came back to life, albeit with a non-insignificant degree of difficulty. For example, Sum …

It happened again at the gym. In the middle of my workout, some godawful song started playing: another wretchedly over-Auto Tuned melody-less mid-tempo mumble rap thing with zero energy. It just meandered aimlessly for about four minutes before segueing into something else. My reaction was both emotional and physical. How …