Napster Escapes Death
By Matthew Toledo - 7/27/2000
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year and a half, you've heard of Napster. (Then again this is Athens, so most people around here won't know about Napster for another 20 years... sorry, I couldn't help it)
The popular software allows people to share their MP3's with other people on the Internet. It does so by making a complete list of all the MP3 files on your computer. It then adds that list to Napster's central database. Napster users are then able to search the database for MP3's they want to download. These MP3's can be located on your computer, or on a computer half way around the world.
At any moment, there can be literally hundreds of thousands of songs available for download for free. Everything from the Beatles White Album, to a CD that was just released. Over 20 Million people have used Napster to download a single track or whole albums without paying royalties to the musicians.
Recently a court order was handed to Napster, Inc by the Recording Industry Association of America mandating Napster to remove all copyrighted material from it's database. The order was issued by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel on Wednesday, the 26th of July.
With the scent of death in the air, Napster users began a last minute dash to pilfer as many songs as they could before the court order went into affect. On the eve of the court ordered shut down, Napster's servers were inundated with upwards of 4 terabytes of songs. Literally millions of songs, were available for the taking--a record for Napster.
Just when the plug was about to be pulled on Napster, two 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges granted Napster a temporary stay of the preliminary injunction. Their reasoning being that this was the first case of it's kind and Napster should be allowed to remain functional until the case is decided.
Even if the RIAA is successful in eliminating Napster, will it mean the end of MP3 sharing on the net? Nope. There are several other free software packages that do exactly what Napster does. Examples include:
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CuteMX
The question is, does distributing pirated music over the web using tools listed above really help musicians out like Napster proponents claim? Or does stealing away dollars from up-and-coming bands hurt them when they could really use the money?
Many technology-savvy musicians and experts have claimed that Napster would be responsible for the downfall of the record industry as we know it. The logic being that technology in existence today can fill the niches that major record labels have carved for themselves. Those niches being national and global CD distribution and publicity.
Or can this technology backfire on the small time musician by making it even harder to be heard over the roar of hundreds of thousands of other independent musicians competing for the web surfer's ear. Will this technology eventually work in favor of unoriginal commercially produced music machines like N'Sync and Brittany Spears? Please, share your opinions of the AMN BBS or below.
