Introduction

Abstract

This chapter contextualises the book, which centres around a series of public interviews designed to capture the implications of a pivotal moment in the global recorded music business and record a wealth of professional knowledge and perspectives that extend from the late 1960s through to late 2012 when the interviews were held. It positions the author and interviewer in the flow of events, introduces the interviewees, and gives an overview of their contributions to the global music industry. It has long been argued and demonstrated that music is a “canary in the coal mine” of broader political economic changes. This chapter re-emphasises that perspective and backgrounds the political economic perspective informing the questions asked and answered in the book.