What do you think of Napster?

[Borgbilly]

This is a very complicated issue but I think a lot of the respondants to this thread are missing the point. Everyone here is trying to shoot the messenger in my opinion. Napster and Macster provide a search engine and download connection point for individuals who wish to post music on the web. Technically napster/macster are not in violation of the law anymore than a gunsmith/retailer is responsible for an armed robbry that occurs with a weapon sold by his shop. The real criminals in this case are the individuals who create MP3 files from program material they do not own the rights to.

If record labels want to stop the distribution of illegal MP3's over the internet, they should launch their attack against the individuals that post their material. Better yet, monitor the number of downloads from a given source, log it, and send BMI/ASCAP to that individuals home to collect licensing fees (those neo-nazis can squeeze blood out of a turnip). Once people realize that they are going to have to pay to "play" other peoples music they may have second thoughts about putting it out there for the world to have.

The downside of trying to put the smack down on MP3 sites is that it stops the legit unsigned artists from using the internet to diffuse their product into the world market. I personally like going to MP3.com and browsing for interesting music that I would never find at my local CD Warehouse. There are numerous high quality artists you never heard of available at these types of sites. And what do I do with their stuff? I preview it, and if I like it well enough, I buy it. And it is my understanding that these sites are very fair with the artist on the use of their site. Somewhere on the lines of a fifty-fifty split for every CD sold on their site. Tell me where I can find a major label that offers that kind of deal!

Let's face it, this is the part of MP3 that really has the record industry scared. They want these sites shut down because these sites offer the public the chance to make their own decisions about what they want to listen too. That means that people will have an open forum for music that is not dictated by corporate influence but is instead fueled by competitive artists that can present themselves on a level playing field while maintaining artistic and technical license over the music they produce.

Imagine a world where the public is completely free to choose the music they buy uninfluenced by what the radio stations, MTV, record labels, and major corporations say it should listen to. It would make it possible for middle class musicians to live. And just imagine how much business your recording studio could do if an artist who can sell 50,000 CD's in the world market gets to retain 50% of the profit. You can rest assured there will be a lot of repeat customers.

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Richards Outpost Audio
* Ain't Life Grand?*

[Bryan]

Borgbilly wrote:

This is a very complicated issue but I think a lot of the respondants to this thread are missing the point. Everyone here is trying to shoot the messenger in my opinion.

<snip>

True enough, but by pulling nearly 300,000 users off the grid (from the list supplied by Metallica) Napster has confirmed that indeed there is a way to monitor and control the traffic...which is a moral responsibility for them, if you ask me (i.e. gun manufacturers can’t sell firearms to known criminals...not that they don’t ).

Borgbilly continued:
Let's face it, this is the part of MP3 that really has the record industry scared. They want these sites shut down because these sites offer the public the chance to make their own decisions about what they want to listen too. That means that people will have an open forum for music that is not dictated by corporate influence but is instead fueled by
competitive artists that can present themselves on a level playing field while maintaining artistic and technical license over the music they produce.

<snip>

Sounds awefully nice, genteel, and fair, BUT:

1. Name one (1) artist who has gained any significant (sustainable) income or exposure via mp3.com.

2. Who has time to filter through the bazillion tracks-of-**** out there to get to the ‘good’ stuff? The media and industry serve an important function. Yes, they routinely and chronicly abuse their power, often to a criminal degree--which is being prosecuted as we speak/write! But somebody has to serve that middleman function. Mp3 itself has tried to slip into that same roll as a sort of arbitor of taste, by featuring certain bands over others, having top-ten lists, etc. Is that fair to the artists who don’t make it onto one of those lists?

3. Identify one “level playing field” in all of creation (or this spontaneously organized universe, if you please). It is not the way the world works. Attempts to manufacture such a state always meet with a big Robert-Tayler-Homes-Thud. Again, stopping criminal behavior and getting out of the way of those busting their butts to produce work which will stand the test of time is the best we can do.

So, yes, it is the individuals who are responsible, but Napster is controlling some important levers and they have to assume the responsibility that goes with that power...or else congress is gonna step in (already started to if I’m not mistaken). Then things are going to get really ugly.

[Borgbilly]

Hey Bryan, back at cha.

1. Name one (1) artist who has gained any significant (sustainable) income or exposure via mp3.com.

That depends on what you call significant income. The artist who can keep 50% of the total sales of fifty thousand CD's is just as well off as the artist who sells a million CD's and retains 2.5% of the sale. Smaller overall sales with drastically higher yields will empower more artists to make musical careers instead of music as a sideline.

2. Who has time to filter through the bazillion tracks-of-**** out there to get to the ‘good’ stuff?

True enough. There is a ton of junk to filter through but with the exponentially increasing baud rates available to the average guy, a quick preview of the song is only slightly more cumbersome than changing the dial on your radio. MP3.com also tracks the songs that you download and sends occasional recommendations based on your most recent picks.

In conclusion, MP3.com, IUMA, and other similar services still have a long way to go, but I think their hearts are in the right places.

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Richards Outpost Audio
* Ain't Life Grand?*


[This message has been edited by Borgbilly (edited May 23, 2000).]