More than 25 million people have used Napster in less than one year of operation. It took America Online over 9 years of mailing out start up c.d.'s and other publicity ideas to have that many users. Napster has become the most popular computer software ever made. However, as the majority of you are aware, there is a lot of unnecessary controversy going on with it caused by greedy musicians and record companies. Napster is not illegal. It does not violate any copyright laws, nor does it deprive musicians or record companies of profits. More importantly, Napster and sites like it must be allowed because they represent a revolutionary peer-to-peer file sharing system that could improve computers and the Internet forever.
             Throughout history, new technologies like Napster have challenged corporate comfort, but that does not make them illegal. In 1984, movie companies tried to sue Sony for making VCRs. Their number one argument was that they believed that if people watched movies at home, they would not go to movie theaters. For this case, the court decided that as long as technology like a VCR has substantial legitimate uses, it could not be banned. VCRs obviously did not hurt the movie business because it is bigger than ever.
             Just like VCRs, Napster can be used for legal purposes. It can be used to promote new artists who give permission for their songs to be downloaded. In addition, Napster chatrooms are very popular for meeting new people and talking about music. Nor is Napster harming the record industry. In the year 2000, which has been the era of Napster, CD sales have increased by $500 million. It is a fact that record industry sales have shown an 8% growth since music downloading became widely available. As Rapper Chuck D said in an interview, "Music on the Internet is just a promotional device that helps to sell records." Chuck D is one of the few musicians who is smart enough to understand the truth.
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