Product Description

The Digital Songstream is the first practical guide to getting up and running in the new digital world of music. Cutting through myths, it offers a step-by-step introduction to what's possible for performers, composers, and listeners-addressing legal and ethical issues as well as the nuts and bolts of what equipment to buy and what services are available.
Written in a friendly, easy-to-understand way by a master musician and computer expert, The Digital Songstream will be the first-and only-reference needed for anyone wishing to enter the world of computer music.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2117675 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

From Booklist
Even in the world of the post-Napster Internet, it has never been easier--thanks to the MP3 format and peer-to-peer file-sharing networks--for music fans to hear their favorite artists and discover new music: anyone with a computer and a high-speed connection can have access to a seemingly endless catalog of material from around the globe. This guide offers an excellent starting point for those new to the world of MP3s: it provides thorough overviews of a number of the services available online, rates the desktop players available for download, and demystifies the vast selection of Internet radio stations. Taking a neutral stance, Hill surveys the present legal gray areas of digital music trading--RIAA and record-company lawsuits, adware and spyware, and the ethics of peer-to-peer file sharing. Unfortunately, it's possible that the information here, however current at the moment, could be outdated within a year. Even so, this is an essential reference for anyone eager to take advantage of the digital-music revolution. Carlos Orellana
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
This guide offers an excellent starting point for those new to the world of MP3s: it provides thorough overviews of a number of the services available online, rates the desktop players available for download, and demystifies the vast selection of Internet radio stations. Taking a neutral stance, Hill surveys the present legal gray areas of digital music trading. This is an essential reference for anyone eager to take advantage of the digital-music revolution. -- Booklist
Hill's book, written for Windows novices and power uses, chronicles the whole scene, focusing not only on file-sharing but also on new standards of portability, replicability, programmability and accessability. And if you're clueless, The Digital Songstream will teach newbies how to search and find the music files you want, and how to play them. -- The Columbus Dispatch,
The book's layout encourages skimming, with plenty of bulleted excerpts and bits of bite-sized advice. In short, if you know your stuff aboutonline music, it still has something to tell you, but it won't bog you down if you're a beginner. -- Computer User
...does an admirable job of wrapping up a lot of information, along with taking on some of the thorny issues in the topic [of digital music]. It offers handy tips on such topics as making CDs, finding good streaming audio, choosing a music-subscription service, and setting up a music system to best suit you. -- Computer User
...avoids much of the tech jargon that can bog down readers, particularly newcomers. -- St. Petersburg Times
A comprehensive, understandable guide to downloading and surfing for your favorite tunes...you'll travel A to Z in creating your own home library of music, moving temporarily past ethical issues hot in today's press, into a practical guide to listening to what you want to hear. This book is a fabulous how-to companion. -- Global Rhythm

This guide offers an excellent starting point for those new to the world of MP3s: it provides thorough overviews of a number of the services available online, rates the desktop players available for download, and demystifies the vast selection of Internet radio stations. Taking a neutral stance, Hill surveys the present legal gray areas of digital music trading. This is an essential reference for anyone eager to take advantage of the digital-music revolution. -- Booklist
Hills book, written for Windows novices and power uses, chronicles the whole scene, focusing not only on file-sharing but also on new standards of portability, replicability, programmability and accessability. And if youre clueless, The Digital Songstream will teach newbies how to search and find the music files you want, and how to play them. -- The Columbus Dispatch,
The books layout encourages skimming, with plenty of bulleted excerpts and bits of bite-sized advice. In short, if you know your stuff about online music, it still has something to tell you, but it wont bog you down if youre a beginner. -- Computer User
...does an admirable job of wrapping up a lot of information, along with taking on some of the thorny issues in the topic [of digital music]. It offers handy tips on such topics as making CDs, finding good streaming audio, choosing a music-subscription service, and setting up a music system to best suit you. -- Computer User
...avoids much of the tech jargon that can bog down readers, particularly newcomers. -- St. Petersburg Times
A comprehensive, understandable guide to downloading and surfing for your favorite tunes...youll travel A to Z in creating your own home library of music, moving temporarily past ethical issues hot in todays press, into a practical guide to listening to what you want to hear. This book is a fabulous how-to companion. -- Global Rhythm

About the Author
Brad Hill is a master musician and computer expert. He has worked in the online field since 1992, and is regarded as a preeminent advocate of the online experience. As a bestselling author of several books and columns, Hill reaches a global audience of consumers who rely on his writings to help determine their Internet destination and home technology choices.