Now that we’re officially in 2013, it’s time to make a few changes, starting with the website. Welcome, one and all, to the new look for gregsimonmusic.com! The content is the same – you’ll find score samples, audio, and upcoming events, just like the old site – but I’ve added more stuff and a few easier-to-navigate menus. 

And as part of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2013 I’m getting back to blogging! For now, every Sunday and Wednesday this space will feature some new stuff to get your day started. Feel free to comment, look around the site, and get in touch using the Contact tab any time. Welcome to the new site!

Before I was became a highbrow, elitist composer, I was a wayward teenager of the late nineties. My clothes were baggier, my hair was highlighted, and my musical tastes were much, much worse. More importantly, I was one of the first teens to get his gawky hands on Napster, the icon of turn-of-the-century music sharing. For those of you who may need a refresher, Napster (as well as its fellows Limewire, Morpheus, Kazaa, etc.) were ways to anonymously and quickly download music files from other Napster users, while sharing your ever-growing collection with them. In the wake of the DMCA, and due largely to a well-funded smear campaign by the RIAA and many independent labels, these file-sharing giants dropped left and right, and most people, save for a dedicated contingent of online subversives, forgot about sharing music illegally.

People didn’t stop being people, though, and the market for software that makes music available free (legally or not) hasn’t gone away. (more…)