Paramount+ has announced that the two-part docuseries How Music Got Free will premiere exclusively on the service in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday, June 11, and Wednesday, June 12, in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.
Alexandria Stapleton (God Save Texas, Reggie) directed the series, which premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
The docuseries was executive produced by Marshall “Eminem” Mathers, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Paul Rosenberg, and Steve Stoute and produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures in association with SpringHill, Interscope Films, and Shady Films.
How Music Got Free details the fascinating and often funny inside story of the technology-driven disruption that changed music during the late 1990s and early 2000s. File-sharing technology, combined with the insatiable demand for new music, created both the means and the motive for millions of young people to participate in outright theft—and be celebrated for it.
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.
“As a filmmaker, I wanted to challenge the narrow lens of who we regard as tech innovators,” said director and executive producer Alexandria Stapleton.
“How Music Got Free is a story that proves brilliant minds can be found in unlikely places, like the rural, forgotten factory town of Shelby, North Carolina.”
How Music Got Free is directed by Alexandria Stapleton and executive produced by Stapleton, Steve Stoute, and Stephen Witt, along with Marshall “Eminem” Mathers and Paul Rosenberg for Shady Films; and LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, and Philip Byron for SpringHill.
Bridgette Theriault, Dan Sacks, and James Chapman are executive producing for Warner Bros. Unscripted Television/Telepictures; Steve Berman, John Janick, and Anthony Seyler for Interscope films; and Bruce Gillmer and Michael Maniaci for MTV Entertainment Studios.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.