About the Author

Steve Knopper is a contributing editor to Rolling Stone and veteran music reporter who has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Traveler, Wired, Details, and many other publications. His book, Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age, was prominently featured on NPR's Fresh Air and dozens of other prominent radio and TV shows; Tom Hanks called it "amazing." He has been a featured expert source on NBC Nightly News, CNBC, NPR's Marketplace, among others. He lives in Denver with his wife, Melissa, and daughter Rose.

Reviews

..".Laced with anecdote, buttressed by detailed accounts of the most flagrant record-industry transgressions, Appetite (its title nicked from that of the Guns N' Roses debut disc) is an enthralling read, equal parts anger and regret. Knopper's writing is sharp, his approach sharper..." -- The Boston Globe

"[A] stark accounting of the mistakes major record labels have made since the end of the LP era and the arrival of digital music.... A wide-angled, morally complicated view of the current state of the music business.... [Knopper] suggests that with even a little foresight, record companies could have adapted to the Internet's brutish and quizzical new realities and thrived.... He paints a devastating picture of the industry's fumbling, corruption, greed and bad faith over the decades." -- The New York Times

"[Knopper has a] nose for the story's human element.... The best parts of the book, such as Knopper's analysis of the late-'90s teen-pop bubble (and how it ultimately burst), move with the style and drama of a great legal thriller -- think Michael Clayton with headphones....This is gripping stuff. Crank it up." -- Time Out New York

"Knopper, a Rolling Stone music business writer, thoughtfully reports on the record racket's slow, painful march into financial ruin and irrelevance, starting with the near-catastrophic sales slump that began in 1979 after the demise of disco. Though the labels persevered, they finally lost control of their product when they chose to ignore the possibilities of the Internet.... Knopper piles on examples of incompetence, making a convincing case that the industry's collapse is a drawn-out suicide." -- Los Angeles Times

"The music industry is toast, my friends. And congrats to Rolling Stone vet Steve Knopper, whose fantastic new book Appetite for Self-Destruction explains why" -- The Village Voice

..".Laced with anecdote, buttressed by detailed accounts of the most flagrant record-industry transgressions, Appetite (its title nicked from that of the Guns N' Roses debut disc) is an enthralling read, equal parts anger and regret. Knopper's writing is sharp, his approach sharper..." -- The Boston Globe
"[A] stark accounting of the mistakes major record labels have made since the end of the LP era and the arrival of digital music.... A wide-angled, morally complicated view of the current state of the music business.... [Knopper] suggests that with even a little foresight, record companies could have adapted to the Internet's brutish and quizzical new realities and thrived.... He paints a devastating picture of the industry's fumbling, corruption, greed and bad faith over the decades." -- The New York Times
"[Knopper has a] nose for the story's human element.... The best parts of the book, such as Knopper's analysis of the late-'90s teen-pop bubble (and how it ultimately burst), move with the style and drama of a great legal thriller -- think Michael Clayton with headphones....This is gripping stuff. Crank it up." -- Time Out New York
"Knopper, a Rolling Stone music business writer, thoughtfully reports on the record racket's slow, painful march into financial ruin and irrelevance, starting with the near-catastrophic sales slump that began in 1979 after the demise of disco. Though the labels persevered, they finally lost control of their product when they chose to ignore the possibilities of the Internet.... Knopper piles on examples of incompetence, making a convincing case that the industry's collapse is a drawn-out suicide." -- Los Angeles Times
"The music industry is toast, my friends. And congrats to Rolling Stone vet Steve Knopper, whose fantastic new book Appetite for Self-Destruction explains why" -- The Village Voice