BowieNet
BowieNet was an Internet service provider launched by singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1998 and active until 2012.
History
Bowie was an early user of the Internet, reportedly using email as early as the late 1980s,[1] and in 1996 he released the song "Telling Lies" as an Internet download, the first downloadable single by a major artist.[2][3]
In 1997 and 1998, Bowie worked with Robert Goodale and Ron Roy to understand the potential of the Internet as a resource for music distribution and fan outreach.[4] BowieNet launched in September 1998,[5] and offered dial-up service access to the Internet for $19.95 per month or £10.00 in the UK.[6] Users with another ISP could pay $5.95 to access www.davidbowie.com.[7] For the service, Bowie partnered with the network services companies UltraStar and Concentric Network Corp (now XO Communications).[7] At its peak, BowieNet had about 100,000 customers.[6]
BowieNet ceased operating in 2006.[8]
Exclusive content
Members received an @davidbowie.com-ending email address and had exclusive access to audio recordings, music videos and chat rooms, which Bowie participated in himself. Bowie went by the moniker "Sailor" in chat. He would appear unannounced and talk, with a special guest sometimes joining in,[5] and on the site he would upload personal photos as well as images of his paintings and some of his journals.[5] "Sailor" is an anagram of "Isolar", after which Bowie named his 1976 and 1978 world tours.[9]
Song contest
In 1999, Bowie ran a contest through his website to help him co-write a song. Over 80,000 people submitted lyrics. The lyrics chosen were written by a 20-year-old American about the concept of a virtual existence on the internet. The recording of the song was live-streamed via a 360-degree interactive webcast, a groundbreaking technology at the time. The song titled, "What's Really Happening?", was later released on the album Hours.[5] Hours was released exclusively through BowieNet on 21 September 1999 before its physical CD release on 4 October. The release made Bowie the first major artist to release a complete album for download through the Internet.[10][11][12]
LiveAndWell.com
In 1997, during Bowie's Earthling Tour, live tracks were recorded for a live album release, but the release was cancelled by Virgin, Bowie's label.[13] Following that cancellation, Bowie assembled and released a different live album, made up of tracks recorded across several of Bowie's mid- to late-1990's tours, exclusively to BowieNet subscribers as LiveAndWell.com (1999). Re-released in 2000, again exclusively to BowieNet subscribers but with a bonus CD of remixes, LiveAndWell.com remained unavailable to non-subscribers until its public (re-)release in 2021, which did not include the bonus CD.[13]
BowieWorld
The site offered access to BowieWorld, a 3D environment that allowed users to control an avatar that could walk through a three-dimensional city, decorated with images Bowie chose including pictures of himself and posters, and communicate with other users.[5]
See also
- Celebrity bond
- The Nomad Soul
- Cyberpunk, an album by Billy Idol which set several precedents in music promotion including the use of the Internet, multimedia software, and virtual communities
References
- ^ Barnes, Laura (14 January 2016). "Why David Bowie's death marks a loss for the tech industry". PCR (PCR.online.biz). Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Bowie's new single debuts on Net only", The Herald: 7B, 13 September 1996
- ^ Rambarran, Shara (2021). Virtual Music Sound, Music, and Image in the Digital Era. New York: Bloomsbury Academic & Professional. ISBN 978-1-5013-3362-0. OCLC 1236265553. Archived from the original on 2023-04-22. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
- ^ "BowieNet: how David Bowie's ISP foresaw the future of the internet". the Guardian. January 11, 2016. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "David Bowie: The internet pioneer". BBC News. January 11, 2016. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ a b Brodkin, Jon (January 13, 2016). "David Bowie's ISP, as remembered by the guy who helped create "BowieNet"". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ a b Newman, Lily Hay (January 11, 2016). "Remember When David Bowie Launched His Own Internet Service Provider?". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ "RIP David Bowie, Internet Pioneer". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
- ^ Pegg 2004, p. 566.
- ^ Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. pp. 433–437. ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.
- ^ Cooper, Tim (22 September 1999). "Ahead of his time, as ever: Bowie album is first on Net". Evening Standard. p. 3. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2021 – via Newspapers.com (subscription required).
- ^ Trynka, Paul (2011). David Bowie – Starman: The Definitive Biography. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 450–456. ISBN 978-0-31603-225-4.
- ^ a b Pegg, Nicholas (2004). The Complete David Bowie. Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-73-0.
External links
- BowieNet at the Wayback Machine (archived December 6, 1998)
- v
- t
- e
- David Bowie (1967)
- David Bowie (1969)
- The Man Who Sold the World
- Hunky Dory
- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- Aladdin Sane
- Pin Ups
- Diamond Dogs
- Young Americans
- Station to Station
- Low
- "Heroes"
- Lodger
- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
- Let's Dance
- Tonight
- Never Let Me Down
- Black Tie White Noise
- The Buddha of Suburbia
- Outside
- Earthling
- Hours
- Heathen
- Reality
- The Next Day
- Blackstar
- Toy
With Tin Machine |
|
---|
- David Live
- Stage
- Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture
- Santa Monica '72
- LiveAndWell.com
- Glass Spider
- Live Santa Monica '72
- VH1 Storytellers
- Bowie at the Beeb
- A Reality Tour
- Live Nassau Coliseum '76
- Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)
- Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)
- Serious Moonlight (Live '83)
- Glastonbury 2000
- ChangesNowBowie
- Ouvrez le Chien (Live Dallas 95)
- Something in the Air (Live Paris 99)
- I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
- No Trendy Réchauffé (Live Birmingham 95)
- Look at the Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)
- David Bowie at the Kit Kat Klub (Live New York 99)
With Tin Machine |
|
---|
- Christiane F.
- Love You till Tuesday
- Labyrinth
- Lazarus
- Moonage Daydream
- Baal
- BBC Sessions 1969–1972
- Earthling in the City
- Live EP (Live at Fashion Rocks)
- Space Oddity
- The Next Day Extra
- No Plan
- Is It Any Wonder?
- The World of David Bowie
- Images 1966–1967
- Changesonebowie
- The Best of Bowie
- Changestwobowie
- Rare
- Golden Years
- Fame and Fashion
- Changesbowie
- Early On (1964–1966)
- The Singles Collection
- Rarestonebowie
- The Deram Anthology 1966–1968
- The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974
- The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979
- Bowie at the Beeb
- All Saints
- Best of Bowie
- Club Bowie
- The Collection
- The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
- iSelect
- Nothing Has Changed
- Legacy
- Sound + Vision
- The Platinum Collection
- David Bowie
- Five Years (1969–1973)
- Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)
- A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982)
- Loving the Alien (1983–1988)
- Spying Through a Keyhole
- Clareville Grove Demos
- The 'Mercury' Demos
- Conversation Piece
- Brilliant Live Adventures
- Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)
- The 1980 Floor Show
- Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
- Serious Moonlight
- Glass Spider
- Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby
- VH1 Storytellers
- Reality: Tour Ed.
- A Reality Tour
- Glastonbury 2000
- Love You till Tuesday
- Video EP
- Jazzin' for Blue Jean
- Day-In Day-Out
- Tin Machine
- Bowie – The Video Collection
- Black Tie White Noise
- Jump: Interactive CD-ROM
- Best of Bowie
- Reality
- The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987
- The Next Day Extra
- Cracked Actor
- Ricochet
- Black Tie White Noise
- Sound and Vision
- Moonage Daydream
With Tin Machine |
---|
- Major Tom
- The Thin White Duke
- Ziggy Stardust
culture
- "Bowie"
- David Bowie Is
- Jareth
- Phillip Jeffries
- Statue of David Bowie
- Lazarus
- Stardust
- Symphony No. 1 "Low"
- Symphony No. 4 "Heroes"
- Symphony No. 12 "Lodger"
- The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions
- We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie
- Category