The two-part documentary ‘How Music Got Free’ will be hitting screens this June
Iconic rapper Eminem and legendary basketball player LeBron James are teaming up to produce a new documentary on how piracy shaped the music industry in the 2000s.
‘How Music Got Free’, which initially premiered at SXSW earlier this year, is a two-part series that “details the fascinating, and often funny, inside story of the technology-driven disruption that changed music during the late-’90s and early-2000s,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Directed by Alex Stapleton, the documentary is based on the 2015 book by Stephen Witt (who is also co-producing the doco) and takes a look at how the invention of MP3 allowed millions of people all around the world to download and share music for free.
The documentary will feature a lineup of names like Eminem, 50 Cent, Timbaland, Jimmy Iovine, Rocsi Diaz, Rhymefest, Steve Stoute, and is narrated by Method Man.
This is personal for Eminem though, as Stapleton revealed to Rolling Stone that “Eminem was one of the most pirated artists during this time period.”
“He was so vocal about how much he hated these kids that were screwing up this album releases. But they just kept doing it.”
Whilst this collaboration might seem a little out of left field, Eminem and LeBron are known to be long time friends, with LeBron revealing in a press release that he dedicates an entire day to the rapper (what he calls ‘white boy wednesday’).
Check out the official description below:
“From New York City, to Los Angeles, to the small factory town of Shelby, North Carolina, the two-part series features the quirky genius of the heretofore-unknown “pirates,” the drama of the FBI investigations and convictions, and the frontline accounts of music’s biggest artists and executives. An unbelievable story of cunning, illegality, celebrity, and innovation, these are the events that changed the music industry forever. Narrated by Method Man, the series features interviews with Eminem, 50 Cent, Timbaland, Jimmy Iovine, Rocsi Diaz, Rhymefest, Steve Stoute and more.”
How Music Got Free will debut on Paramount+ on June 12th in Aus.
Words By Annalise Lordess
