Napster
First of all how does Napster work? Napster is a software program created by 19 year old Shawn Fanning, through which users can swap songs over the Internet. Computer users visit Napster.com and download the free Napster program. Once the software is installed on the user’s hard drive, the user can locate songs stored on the computer of other Napster users by title and artist. Once a specific song is located the user double-clicks the title and the song starts to download on his/her hard drive in MP3 format (an audio file). The server does not contain the music, it only contains the name and location of the computers with the music files. Napster basically links the user who is searching for the song with the user who is willing to share it. This fairly new type of technology is called peer-to-peer communication and is exactly the same principle used in the Well-know chat rooms. Presently the Napster community has over 58 million users. Napster is an appealing, convenient and free way to get music to consumers. It has opened a lot of doors, and yet the music industry sees it as an ‘enemy’. Traditionally the record labels have been the essential link or middlemen between the artists and the consumer. They are the ones that de . . .
This competition has made the record labels furious and now they want people to pay for this service in order for them to gain money. cide and control what, when and where you are able to hear the songs that they choose. Now with Napster, the choice is given back to the consumer. Both new technologies allowed people to record and duplicate copyrighted information. Yet if we look at the basic spirit of these laws Napster does no such thing. At this point it has not generated income, does not charge its’ users and does not post commercial spots. The music industry’s response to Napster is similar to the response to the introduction of cassette tapes and VCR’s. If things go the way record companies want the biggest loser will be the consumers. In fact CD sales are the highest than they have ever been and several surveys have shown that Napster users are more likely to go out and buy a CD after they hear it through the server. Artists who were never given a chance can freely put their songs online. They are the ones that choose and control what they want to listen to and when. ” After all sampling has been a very successful strategy used for years by marketers. Record labels need to see this new technology not as a threat but as a challenge. In the case of Napster nobody is making a profit.
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