studied at Princeton, after which he became (from 1969 onwards) a successful music and film producer for artistes including Bob Dylan, The Band, George Harrison, Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders and Gus Van Sant. In 1984 Taplin embarked on a career in the media business, first as an investment banker, and then as the founder of Intertainer, the first ‘Video On Demand’ company in the world. He now teaches at the Annenberg School forCommunication of the University of Southern California and advises companies and government agencies on the role of the digital media in the economic infrastructure.