OFF: Napster

[Stephen Swann]

So, after hearing about it from all my friends, I finally checked out
Napster.  Last week, I spent a few hours connected to the "Napster
Music Community", searching out old songs that I remembered from years
ago, and a few cool songs that I'd heard on the radio this year, but
had never gotten around to picking up on CD.  It was loads of fun,
there's no doubt about it.  Practically any song you can think of is
available from *someone*.  I grabbed "Driver's Seat" by Snif'n'the
Tears.  I grabbed "Blue Suede Shoes", covered by Ozzie and Black
Sabbath.  I grabbed "Every You and Every Me" by Placebo.  I grabbed
"Walk On the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket, and "Life In a Northern
Town" by Dream Academy.  Jeez... it was great.

Then I realized what I was doing.  I mean, sure, I plan to buy a fair
number of these things on CD someday, and the MP3 is "mostly" to check
the song out, to see if I really like it enough to buy it.  But what
about the ones I don't plan to buy?  And I going to delete the copy of
"Little Black Backpack" that I leeched?  After all, I don't plan to
buy the CD, because I don't like the rest of the songs on the album.
What a dilemma.  I mean, it's not a moral dilamma, because the
morality of it is pretty clear to me.  It's a dilemma of conscience,
especially since I personally know one hard working musician who
doesn't get properly rewarded for the work he has done, and it bothers
me to do that to any musican, even ones who haven't invited me into
their home.

So what do I think of Napster?  I think the recording artists'
association should crush it like a bug, because although 1% of the
people may be using it to ethically "preview" purchases, you can be
sure (read the chat rooms if you don't believe me) that most of what
is going on in the "Napster Music Community" is pure theft, clear and
unadulterated.  It's going to hurt the musicians, as people
(especially college kids, who are the heart of the Napster communal
theft ring) stop buying records, when they can just leech the one or
two songs they want off a record.  It's also going to hurt the music
industry as a whole - not that I care much for record company
fat-cats, but I suspect that this is going to drive up the price of
legitimate purchases, as legal fees and expensive anti-theft measures
start getting slapped in place to try and stem the tide.

That's my opinion, anyway.

Steve
swann at plutonia.com