FREE ESSAY ON LSFVH

LSFVH

Mike Rossi
Sarah Holmes
Writing 101
November 27, 2000
Napster, Fighting for Survival 
The Internet provides many different types of information on virtually any topic
possible. There are many components that make up the Internet besides text. Software that
is available on the Internet is ever-changing and is rapidly growing. Napster is a
software company located in California, that distributes music, to users all over the
world. Napster is among the many programs that enables you to share audio files with
people all over the world on the Internet. The controversial topic is, where do you cross
the line between sharing and stealing? Many people believe that Napster should be banned
permanently because it violates numerous copyright laws and many major company labels
should be paid for there losses. There are also some people that think Napster should be
allowed because it isn't really considered to be stealing if someone gives you the music
for free.
This issue has intensified over the past 6 months, and now there is a legal debate to
determine Napster's fate on the Internet. The co-owner of Napster is Shawn Fanning. At a
young age of 19 years old, Fanning designed Napster as a freshman at Northeastern
University in Boston. Fanning bought and self-taught himself Windows 95, Common Controls
and Messages API Bible off of www.Amazon.com. He began building a piece of software that
would allow people to connect to a computer network where they could freely trade songs
back and forth. This is defined as peer to peer technology. He named it Napster and it
was more than just normal computer code. What he created was not only the fastest-growing
Internet program in the world but also the launch of a paradigm shift for the world wide
web. Some have dubbed Fanning the Robin hood of the Internet, comparing him to stealing
from rich music industries and providing millions with free music. Fanning dropped out of
school, relocated to California and started the company. Napster rose 500 percent by
users in 6 months, and attracted more users than America Online.
My opinion of this controversial topic is that Napster is not to blame and should not be
punished for providing the public with music. Napster is only one of the many software
programs that enables you to receive free music. There are FTP servers, web page
downloads and other software programs that provide the same services Napster does. If
Napster does somehow lose the lawsuit there are rogue alternatives to fill Napster's
absence. Gnutella is a Napster-like service that eliminates the middleman, or central web
site. Users share music they've obtained with each other. The music is transferred by
MP3, short for the Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3, which is an audio data
compression format that allows users to send music files over the Internet. Freenet is
another program that goes a step further than Gnutella, this service uses encryption
codes that keep identities of users concealed. The existence and widespread use of such
programs would make it very difficult for record companies to identify who is sharing
music files. 
The Recording Industry Association of America is suing Napster and holding them liable
for revenue's lost due to pirating of music. Artists such as Metallica have come forward
and are willing to fight for the downfall of Napster. The RIAA is also moving forward
with the formation of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), a group that consists
of music companies and manufacturers, which would set a standard for music compression
that ensures copyright protection. The group includes Sony Corp., BMI Music, IBM Corp.
and AT&T Corp. Napster has not taken in much money so far, due to the fact they are
fairly new and do not charge people for there services. They have offered a settlement to
the music companies, offering up to 450 million dollars for compensation for the first
year. Napster's corporation would have begun billing users roughly $4.95 a month for
services at the start of the new year. The settlement was rejected, Napster's hope was to
come up with a compromise scenario that would convert Napster's online fan base into a
financial and creative victory for all(Gomes). My opinion is that the recording industry
should come to a realization that there is no control, and there will never be control,
on any aspect of the Internet. 
Napster does not duplicate illegal music, it just allows it to be shared freely. How can
a company be responsible for pirated music, if it never actually broke a copyright law.
The RIAA does however suggest that the majority of the music being swapped may be
pirated, but is a suggestion enough to shut down the company? A possibility is not
definite, and I feel that there is no actually way of knowing how much illegal and legal
music is being swapped daily. As a business Napster technically doesn't make any copies
of the music. Why then should Napster be held liable-if xerox isn't-when an individual
uses one of the companies machines to copy and distribute protected material( ). Laws
such as copyright infringement, have been reviewed in court and accusations were made
that Napster was encouraging the distribution of stolen music over the Internet. It looks
as though the case could go either way at this moment in time. The ending results could
be devastating to the music industries, there is always the possibility of a backlash
from music lovers all over the world. An online survey, off of www.aj.com, showed that
almost 90 percent of people using Napster would boycott and not buy a CD again, if it
were to lose the lawsuit. Recording companies should reevaluate and decided weather or
not it is worth getting rid of this software. If used properly it could be very
profitable for these corporations as well as the artists.
Technology can not be stopped or even slowed down in some cases. This trial has a huge
impact on the future of the music industry. Attempting to stop something that is not
feasible, is pointless in my eyes. We are lucky to have found this technology, even if it
was at the expense of others. A quote by a news reporter from the wall street journal
stated it best The dirty little secret those trying to shut down Napster ignore is that,
historically, technology often rewards those who fear it and fight it most
vigorously(Gomes). 
Bibliography
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