Ayers (Manhattan College), a contributing music critic to the Village Voice and Billboard.com, introduces this collection of a dozen essays analyzing the cultural aspects of online music. An overarching theme is that the creation, production, consumption, and perception of this art form is inseparable from Internet technologies. Offering grist for debate and research, contributors discuss such topics as Napster and iPod file-sharing communities, intellectual property rights' issues, and Webmix aesthetics. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)