[use
the back button on
your browser to return
to the main site]
21-08-2K:If
your answer involves
a squirrel with a
gun and tux acting
like James Bond, you
may want to consider
going to a doctor.
But let’s get serious
now. As most of us
know, the music industry
is suffering financial
losses due to a new
controversial program
and web site known
as Napster. For those
of you who are living
in a cave, the Napster
program allows any
computer user with
internet access to
transfer/download
MP3’s of famous musical
artists, such as Limp
Bizkit and Jay-Z.
Napster is rapidly
growing with more
and more users everyday,
all who feel it is
" a really cool
idea."
Some
however do not feel
so enlightened by
the whole Napster
situation. Artists
such as Metallica
and Dr. Dre have filed
lawsuits against Napster
claiming it is infringing
upon their copyrights.
Dr. Dre responded
that if you
were to go into a
recording studio and
pour your heart and
soul into an album,
you would like some
money in return. Metallica
even went so far as
to have Napster monitor
file transfers of
Metallica songs and
stop them in progress,
although my friends
who use Napster are
still able to download
Metallica songs. Metallica
feels that the use
of Napster and CD-RW
drives make it possible
to copy and entire
Metallica album for
only the price of
the CD they burned
the songs to.
However,
research collected
by E. Deborah Jay,
president and CEO
of the San Francisco
research firm, shows
a contradiction to
Metallica’s accusations
against Napster. When
respondents were asked
why they use Napster,
twenty-two percent
claimed that they
use it so that they
could purchase fewer
CDs. Thirteen percent
said that they can
get the music they
wanted and for free.
But when the respondents
were asked about how
Napster impacted their
purchasing of music,
thirty-eight said
it didn’t make any
impact, and twenty-two
percent said it helped
them decide on what
music they wanted
to buy. Another test
in which 3,218 random
college students were
interviewed, of which
2,555 were Internet
users who agreed to
complete the survey.
But only 500 of those
students who completed
the survey said that
they used Napster
to download free music.
Honestly,
I don’t see the big
deal over this entire
Napster thing. To
be realistic, there
isn’t really anything
that one could do
about these sorts
of things. Even if
you get rid of Napster,
the problem isn’t
going to go away.
There are probably
many underground programs,
inspired by Napster,
that are just as effective.
And artists such as
Metallica don’t even
need that money from
album sales; they
have enough money
as it is. For them,
the lawsuit was just
something to boost
their fame and wallets,
although I would not
blame them for getting
angry over a company
that infringes copyrights.
But
Napster’s enemies
don’t’ just involve
Metallica and other
various artists. The
RIAA and the National
Music Publishers Association
filed a motion for
a preliminary injunction
against Napster, seeking
to remove all the
songs owned by the
trade group's members
from Napster's song
directories. One U.S.
district judge, Judge
Marilyn Hall Patel,
nearly succeeded in
shutting down Napster
once and for all.
After hearing the
news, traffic on Napster.com
rose an amazing 92%,
since all those who
feared the demise
of Napster frantically
tried to swap as many
files as possible.
My
vision of the future
of the music industry
doesn’t involve profit
from album sales.
In fact, I think that
in the next decade
music will be free
to download from anywhere,
and musical artists
will obtain profit
from merchandise,
touring, and appearances
on commercials, TV
shows, and movies.
Limp Bizkit and Cypress
Hill are even doing
a free tour sponsored
by none other than
Napster. In the future,
we will probably see
concert ticket’s price
rise, but the music
will be free to download
via the Internet.
It seems that Napster,
rather than be then
enemy of music, could
be the future of the
music and how we view
the music industry.
Ckor.
The
above is a personal
opinion and should
not be taken as that
of WM.V2 or any of
its other staff
//agi.
[agi@fsmail.net]
