The Man Who Broke the Music Business

I can't say for certain but I am 99% positive that I've had this New Yorker article open in a tab "to read" for over a year. I finally got to it this week and it was absolutely worth the wait.

"The Man Who Broke the Music Business" ($) is the story Bennie Lydell Glover - an employee of a CD manufacturing plant in the mid-90's that leaked over five hundred albums through the mp3scene group Rabid Neurosis (RNS). The piece tells the tale of how he did it, what the leaker scene was like at the time and, ultimately, how it all fell apart. For someone that grew up in the age of mp3's emergence, it is a fascinating read. It's also compelling to think about the lineage of nfo files and how they relate to ANSI crews and hacker groups from even earlier in the decade. A delightful cycle.

Once you're done with the article, treat yourself to a browse through the mp3 scene archives. Any names you recognize from the Napster days?