OFF: Napster

[Sen. Volstead]

Stephen Swann wrote:

> 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

Might I add that the company's founder is a snotty little preppy bastard?

In addition to boycott of Napster and the like, I think more artists
should really start to make their music available for sale in MP3 format
on their own web sites, thus circumventing corporate profit almost
entirely.