Jonathan Taplin Bücher

Now in paperback: a "candid, insightful memoir . . . of a time that forever changed music and film" (Don Henley) "The Magic Years reads like a Magical Mystery Tour of music, loss, beauty, family, justice, and social upheaval. It contains true magic, and true inspiration, as do the years, the people, and the story Taplin tells."--Rosanne Cash Jonathan Taplin's extraordinary journey has put him at the crest of every major cultural wave in the past half century: he was tour manager for Bob Dylan and the Band in the '60s, producer of major films in the 70s, creator of the Internet's first video-on-demand service in the 90s, and a cultural critic and author writing about technology in the new millennium. His is a lifetime marked not only by good timing but by impeccable instincts--from the folk scene to Woodstock, Hollywood's rebellious film movement, and beyond. With cameos by Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Martin Scorsese, and countless other icons, The Magic Years is both a rock memoir and a work of cultural criticism from a key player who watched a nation turn from idealism to nihilism. Taplin offers a clear-eyed roadmap of how we got here and makes a convincing case for art's power to deliver us from "passionless detachment" and rekindle our humanism.

"This memoir traces Taplin's life and its intersection with several significant cultural moments, from his early days tour managing The Band, through his producing Mean Streets and several other films, all the way up to his present-day work advocating for a healthier cultural and digital commons"--

This polemic critiques the monopolization of the Internet by Google, Facebook, and Amazon, proposing a new future for creative professionals in the digital age. The title reflects a term from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, highlighting the reckless hacker culture that has contributed to the dominance of these platforms. The author illustrates how these giants exploited the music, news, and film industries to grow their businesses, ultimately sidelining them and the millions who depend on them. This has led to a news industry beholden to social media traffic, a struggling music industry for "middle class" musicians, and a book industry threatened by a single retailer's market share. As broadband access expands, the film and television sectors are poised to be the next casualties. The narrative draws on the author's extensive experience as a music and film producer, tracing the rise of libertarian entrepreneurs in the 1990s who reshaped the Internet into monopolistic entities that dictate the financial futures of cultural products in the U.S. The author critiques these firms for tolerating piracy while promoting opaque practices that compromise user privacy, creating a culture dominated by surveillance marketing. By cutting through Silicon Valley jargon, the author assesses the economic impact of this digital shift and offers a forward-thinking perspective on how artists can reclaim their audiences through collaboration and awarene

At a time when multiple crises are compounding to create epic inequality, four billionaires are hyping schemes that are designed to divert our attention away from issues that really matter. Each scheme - from the metaverse to cryptocurrency, space travel and transhumanism - is an existential threat in moral, political, and economic terms. Taplin shines a light on the enormous cultural power of Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreessen