How a pressing plant worker killed physical media
In 1995 a major label music release cost 2.99 to manufacturer and 16.99 retail at Sam Goody. By 2010 the value of physical music had plummeted, Sam Goody and Camelot had closed their doors, and automobile manufacturers had all but discontinued the compact disc player as an option in new models. Much to the music industries dismay, physical media had taken a backseat to streaming and downloading. Out of the plethora of contributing factors accumulating in the down fall of compact discs as the music industries bread and butter, one man can lay claim to the implosion of its foundation; Dell Glover.
In the 1990s every black barbershop in America had a designated bootlegger. Precariously displayed on a folding table underneath the tv, would sit a mound of cds and dvds with Xeroxed artwork, and sharpie penned labels. 5 extra dollars to your barber would net you the rapper of the moment’s brand new release, days if not weeks before the official disc hit the shelves. Dell, a pressing plant worker at the Polygram factory in Shelby North Carolina, was that man in his town. After attending a house party with coworkers, he noticed the DJ playing unreleased tracks from his favorite artist, and soon was on the hunt himself for the latest and hottest music, only to find the cds had been smuggled out of the very plant he clocked into everyday. Dell quickly teamed up with a coworker Tony Dockery and begin supplying the neighborhood barbers with bangers hot off the press. Using oversized belt buckles to outsmart the plants security, the pair stuffed the discs into the front of their jeans as they excited to the parking lot.
With the purchase of PolyGram by the Universal Music Group in 96 from Phillips, came boatloads of overtime hours for the plant. Glover and Dockery took full advantage, using the extra money to subscribe to satellite internet access, and install a tower of disc burners in Glovers home capable of burning 30 copies an hour. Tony introduced Glover to the Warez networks online, a backdoor forum of bootlegged file sharing where anything digital was up for grabs. By 1998 they were distributing playstation games, movies, PC applications, and MP3s downloaded from the net. Glover used this new side hustle to purchase bikes, a brand new truck, and all the sneakers the local mall sold in his size. But money isnt everything, and more valuable than the quick change earned from their bootlegging operation came the clout.
What media couldn’t be found at the pressing plant could be downloaded online via invite only private servers. Tony and Dell had gained a reputation as key suppliers of unreleased music to the web, and were invited to join the RNS, the most prestigious of file sharing networks. The demand for the new music they uploaded grew expeditiously, and soon they recruited more coworkers into the fold offering cash for leaked discs. By 2006 Tony and Dell had uploaded an estimated 2000 albums to the RNS, forging a relationship with its admin, whose identity was only known by his screen name Kali.
Tony decided to move on from the outlaw life, leaving Glover as Kali’s main supplier. Via napster and Kazaa the music Glover and Kali made available to the net had made its way all over the globe and the music industry was feeling the heat. The FBI doesn’t take too kindly to widespread copyright infringement, and hunted down the perpetrators with impunity. Glover and Kali discussed calling it quits after hearing rumors of their co-admin’s wearing bracelets but Glover couldn’t help himself. Breaking Kanye’s Graduation, Eminem’s “The Eminem Show” and 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” weeks before they stocked the shelves wasn’t enough, he had to retire on a high note. Fall Out Boy’s “Infinity on High” would be his swan song. The RNS servers went offline in 2007, ending their epic run.
In 2007, Glover left work only to find 3 Sheriffs waiting to collect him at his car, while the FBI simultaneously raided his home. He plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence. The FBI added the stipulation he must cooperate and testify against Kali, now identified as Adil Cassim, an IT worker that lived in his parents basement. Cassim had deleted and destroyed most of the physical evidence the authorities could use against him and got off clean, leaving Glover holding the bag. Glover would serve 3 months in prison for his part, Tony who left the RNS before the FBI’s investigation was never charged.
After serving his sentence, Glover would be contacted by Steven Witt, a phd student at Columbia University, and participated in a series of interviews resulting in the best selling novel How Music Got Free , detailing the impact piracy had on the music industry and physical media. Next time you hit play on a brand new album on Spotify, give a silent thanks to Dell Glover, who’s sacrifice and ingenuity spared you that 16.99 trip to the mall.