[Commlist] Conference Call for papers: 20 years of File Sharing - What comes next? - 3rd Futures of Media Conference

*Call For Papers:***

*3rd Futures of Media Conference: *

*20 years of File Sharing - What comes next? *

*8^th  – 10^th  November 2019, Suzhou, China*

**

After two successful Futures of Media Conferences, we are happy to 
announce the 2019 Futures of Media Conference with the title: *20 years 
of File Sharing - What comes next?*

In June 1999 the peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing website Napster opened, 
having been developed by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. While there were 
other file sharing platforms such as Usenet and IRC before, it was the 
first site dedicated to music sharing, at that point meaning mostly 
encoded as MP3. With computer power steadily increasing, and MP3 
compression having been publicised as the international sound standard 
in 1998, for the first time music file sharing became an easy option. 
Napster was a quick success, with more than 80 million registered users 
availing themselves of it services by January 2001. Especially fast 
university server networks were used to share files, with much of them 
being utilised by Napster aficionados/as.

But legal troubled loomed, with several artists such as Metallica and 
Dr. Dre as well as A&M Studios and the Recording Industry Association of 
America (RIAA) suing it for infringement of copyright. Napster was 
forced to close down 11 July 2001. It had only been the beginning. 
Today, P2P file sharing sites have become a staple in society’s 
mediascape. While there have been high publicity shutdowns such as Kim 
Dotcom's MegaUpload (2005–2012), KAT (2008 - 2016), Demonoid (2003 - 
2018), and Torrentz (2003 - 2016), many others have survived and new 
ones are popping up all over the world. The most famous of the survivors 
is ThePirateBay (2003 - present), which even spawned a political party. 
This history demonstrates that P2P is a global phenomenon and cannot be 
relegated to 'a few teenagers engaging in illegal downloading activity’. 
Media futures will have to contend with such websites remaining an 
integral part of the Internet.

*The topics for discussion*can include – but are not limited to – the 
following:

·How has device mobility changed media reception modes?

·How can the gap between technological advancements and other areas of 
society - politics, economy, the law - be closed?

·What role does the global availability and accessibility of media play?

·What are the ethics of geoblocking?

·How can and should media theory influence future developments?

·What good/evil can cyberlockers do?

·How have cloud services become a game changer?

·How has globalization, the global South and the Asian Century redefined 
approaches to file sharing?

·How will movements such as Digital Commons and Open Source change the 
way business, science and entertainment will develop?

·Does code - the software and hardware that make the internet what it is 
-threaten liberty?

·What emerging Business practices are likely to affect file sharing in 
the future?

*Venue: *

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) is a pioneering, 
international joint venture university located in the city of Suzhou on 
China’s east coast close to Shanghai. Founded in 2006, it has quickly 
established itself as one of the leading research universities and it is 
the largest international joint venture university in China, a 
partnership between Xi’an Jiaotong University and the University of 
Liverpool. As it is an independent Sino-foreign cooperative university, 
it captures the essence of both prestigious parent universities and is 
the first and only one of its kind approved by the Ministry of Education 
in China.

The city of Suzhou is one of the most culturally rich areas of China, 
with Suzhou’s UNESCO World Heritage gardens and canals famous around the 
world. Upon completion of China’s Grand Canal, Suzhou was strategically 
located on a major trade route. Throughout the course of the Chinese 
history, it has been a metropolis of industry and commerce. Since the 
Song Dynasty (960-1279), the city has been an important centre for 
China's silk industry. The explorer Marco Polo once described Suzhou as 
the "Venice of the East". With its gardens, canals, Tiger Hill and Pan 
Gate, it is one of the top tourist attractions in China and has a 
history of more than 2,500 years making it one of the oldest towns in 
the Yangtze Basin area.

Suzhou combines its rich history with being one of the most modern 
cities in China. It has a population of more than six million and a GDP 
of a trillion RMB – far larger than those of many entire countries! 
Alongside its beautiful tourist spots, Suzhou has many excellent 
learning resources and sports facilities, a great choice of shopping 
malls, cinemas and restaurants, and a variety of bars and nightclubs.

*Time line: *

*Deadline for Submission of Abstracts*

	

*1 July 2019*

*Notification of Abstract Acceptance*

	

*15 July 2019*

*Early Bird Registration Deadline: *

	

*1 August 2019*

*Regular Registration Deadline:*

	

*1 September 2019*



*To submit your abstract, please visit *http://futuresofmedia.com. 
*Abstracts should be in English (the conference language) and not exceed 
300 words*. If you have any problems, please contact the organisers of 
the conference at: ***(holger.briel /at/ xjtlu.edu.cn)* 
<mailto:(holger.briel /at/ xjtlu.edu.cn)>**or*(_heidingsfelder /at/ googlemail.com) 
<mailto:(heidingsfelder /at/ googlemail.com)>_.*

For further submission requirements, accommodation and other enquiries, 
please consult the instructions on the conference website, 
http://futuresofmedia.com.

Conference presentations will be collected in the conference 
proceedings. The best contributions will be considered for the 
indexed/IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies /and a book with an imprint of 
the University of Liverpool Press.//




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