The Napster software, launched early in 1999, allows internet users to share and download MP3 files directly from any computer connected to the Napster network. The software is used by downloading a client program from the Napster site and then connecting to the network through this software, which allows sharing of MP3 files between all users connected to the network. Napster does not condone copyright infringement, there is no opportunity in the software to stop this, or for royalties to be paid to the song belongs to.
The reaction from recording artists, record labels and other music industry players has been varied, but primarily anti-Napster. The first action to be taken against Napster was by the band Metallica. In April of this year, they sued Napster Inc for copyright infringement. The case was settled out of court when Napster agreed to ban some 300,000 users who had allegedly downloaded Metallica songs. Again in June Napster Inc was sued for copyright infringement by The Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group representing the US recording industry, alleging "Napster is enabling and encouraging the illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted music". And the fact that Napster is free and more convenient than visiting a record store makes it an appealing way to get music for consumers. The problem the record companies have is that there is no way of regulating who has access to the information, and hence no way of profiting from it. It is obvious here, that the record companies and a scared panic have seen Napster as an easy scapegoat and have tried to show it in a negative light so that Napster will not benefit from them any longer.
But that is just the views of the major Record labels and music industry players, other artists and record labels have responded to the advent of Napster and similar applications in a more positive way, embracing the new technology rather than rejecting it. On their website, the Offspring says "MP3 technology and programs such as Napster are a vital and necessary means to promote music and foster better relationships with our fans." Interestingly enough, the Offspring's last album, Americana, was made available online illegally before commercially released, yet it is the band's best-selling album to date. Furthermore, a number of surveys have proven that Napster users actually buy more CDs, after 'sampling' the songs online. These are the ones who believe that the major music players are just afraid to lose a dollar and that we can see who the real sell outs are because they will be the first ones to accuse Napster just because of a little hard times. So this shows that through we use symbols, that being the way that different groups are portraying Napster right now. That some people see it as a good thing that it is helping them, and that some people see it as stealing and ruining the Record Industry. Also we have seen that people invent their own Negatives. How one band, like offspring can show us that napster helps record sales, yet another band, Metallica says that napster is ruining their sales and that what people are doing is stealing. All of these ideas of Metallica, all things that they had to come up with in an effort, they were hoping, they would save their industry and still make millions. And that we find a way to separate ourselves from the way things start out and do. The way that napster started out was just free sharing of Mp3's online, and now we have stepped away from that and it is now an issue of stealing and whether or not money should be made off of people downloading songs. And there are many different ways to say in this situation who is right and who is wrong. There are also many answers to what can be done to settle this problem. The option of Napster paying royalties to artists whose songs are downloaded would
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) from the late 1990s to 2008 brought multiple lawsuits against companies and individuals they claimed were either infringing copyright or helping others to infringe on copyright. These lawsuits led to a greater awareness of copyright issues among average Americans and college students. Napster was the first file sharing service that allowed college students to share music MP3 files among one another. RIAA sued Napster in 199 with a trial in…
later on. 1. Introduction We are living in an age where the advancement of technology can happen in the blink of an eye. The use of P2P applications have become part of the standard suite of PC applications. With millions of users world-wide sharing music, video, software and pictures at their fingertips, it is no wonder why it is so commonly used today, compared to the traditional client/server file distribution system. However with that being taken into account, it comes with its disadvantages like…
Effects of Illegal Downloading on the Music Industry Illegal downloading is commonly known as piracy, it describe that the steeling music from artists, songwriters, musicians, record label employees and others whose hard work and great talent who make music possible. Nowadays, downloading music is available for everyone on internet. However, it is still illegal. Downloading music on internet is what most people are doing because they do not have to pay, and they can choose only the songs they…
downloading is destroying the music industry? The proposition that illegal downloading is destroying the music industry can be critically assessed by exploring how the music industry's revenue is progressing in the age of digitalisation. This will include the discussion of supply side and demand side risks. Furthermore, illegal downloading and its effects on the music industry in will be assessed in terms of whether it is aiding the overall growth of the music industry, or impeding it. To start…
included the sharing of files, music and software. Napster was one of the first agencies to openly advertise that you could “share” files with their P2P software. What happened? According to History.com, Napster began operation in 2000 and by later in the year, some 60 million users were freely “sharing electronic media of various forms. This is where the modern practice of enforcing the existing versions of copyright laws was being challenged in court. Napster, as it originally operated, only…
copyright laws. These laws mean that piracy is illegal, it must be stopped and by doing so, industries such as the music and software industries, will save billions of dollars. Piracy must be stopped! Although these Copyright & Piracy Laws are in place, the music industry still loses $12.5 billion dollars each year, 71,060 jobs are lost each year in the US due to online piracy and a whopping 95% of music downloaded online is illegal (GO-Gulf.com, 2011). In the pre-digital era, people’s ability…
Are peer-to-peer networks or file sharing websites liable for copyright breaches? Or it is users duty not to infringe copyright law? Since we are living in digital era everyday a new digital technology has introduce to it’s users .One of these technologies which has varied the way people use electronic products is peer to peer networks and file sharing sites. They allows users to watch clips and movies, listen to the music, read EBooks or even sometimes download any of these products…
convergence on Music Industry Modern music has become popular because of the developments in the media. At the same time, people have more purchasing power and time to spend on radios, records and turntables in order to listen to the music of the time (BBC History, 2014). However, with the introduction of digital technology, the music industry has adopted the continuing and changing new audio and computing technologies in order to use the Internet as a tool to promote music. Music industry expands and…
Phoenix Jacob Chaplinski, a 34 year old man from Calumet City, Illinois, recently learned that he can get music, movies, video games, and even computer software for free, and all he had to do was download it from a peer-to-peer client, more commonly known as P2P networking. What he did not realize was that companies like RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) were now tracking people’s internet provider addresses.…
January 30 2015 Music Industry in Economics: My central question was Looking back ten years to now, how have music sales changed due to the creation of free downloading and streaming? How is the music industry trying to get some of their music revenue back? Looking back over time, music sales have dropped immensely, as free music downloads have become very popular within the past ten years affecting the sale incomes of the music industry as well as job loss and the economy. The music industry has tried to get…