Online Music Sharing
Will cds and cassettes soon become
extinct like the 8 track and vinyl records? Well, that very well may become the
case due to online music sharing. Music sharing has become the hottest, most
popular thing now-a-days for teens and college students across the nation. This
innovative idea is now caught in between a war of advocates and anti-advocates,
courts have now become involved, which side are you on?
I don’t know about
you but I’m all for the online music sharing. I’m for it simply because I am one
who doesn’t have a lot of time to go review and listen to cd’s to hear their
potential. I am a very busy person, and I am always on the run so I don’t have
the time to go to the record store and buy whole cd’s or the singles which is
one of the pros of online music sharing.
Online sharing is an excellent way
to preview music before one would decide to buy it because if there aren’t any
songs that aren’t liked by the listener then they would decide to buy the single
and not waste money buying a whole album of an artist that they wouldn’t like.
But that factor is frowned upon by the music industry. Why? One may ask. Because
of online music sharing services such as Napster.
Napster was started by
accident by a college student trying to find a faster way to load and copy songs
off of the internet. He some way found out how to load songs really fast. After
finding out this information he put it on the internet so that other college
students like himself who wanted to sample music could find it faster and easier
just like he did.
The Napster website is simply a free way of obtaining the
songs wanted and to make mixed cd’s for themselves and others. There are other
sites (i.e. Morpheus, Aimster, Audio Galaxy) that offer their free music and
sites to listen to any song of their choice. “Currently the post-Napster tool of
choice is Aimster. The name Aimster was cobbled from America Online Instant
Messenger and Napster. Developed by John Deep of Troy, New York, Aimster
software allows AIM users to offer other AIM users a way to locate and copy
files on one another’s computers. Unlike Napster, AIM users are on one another’s
buddy lists. The index of files exists on each AIM user’s personal computer.
When one AIM user wants to copy a file from a “buddy’s” computer, the transfer
takes place between the two machines. Aimster has a search function that prowls
the directory of the buddies’ computers. When it locates the desired file, the
transfer takes place. The speed of the transfer depends on the bandwidth
available to the machines. Otherwise, the request and transfer are almost
instantaneous. Aimster uses ICQ, a popular messaging client, and AOL’s Instant
Messenger to detect buddies. In order to prevent an Aimster-type of
search-and-retrieve function from working, changes in the architecture of these
programs would have to occur or Aimster users would have to be denied access to
these popular services.” (Arnold 1). With all the controversy going on, popular
music artists as well have stood up to voice their opinions and stand against
Napster.
Online music sites have proven to be helpful to many and if they
were so wrong then why are there so many available to the public and free of
charge? Why are a large majority of people using it? “It's one of the gutsiest
venture capital investments ever. Napster, the file-sharing software company at
the center of one of the Net's biggest controversies, had no revenue but needed
millions in private equity. Despite Napster's overnight rise to fame and its
potential to revolutionize the distribution of music, many VCs felt they
couldn't get comfortable backing the startup. Then Hummer Winblad stepped in. In
May, the San Francisco-based firm led a $15 million round of funding--including
$13 million of its own--and installed partner Hank Barry as Napster's acting CEO
and John Hummer as a board director. Barry aims to turn Napster into a
subscription service, eliminating the record companies' chief grievance with
Napster: that its technology allows millions to share recorded music for free”
(Park 1).
People like me aren’t stealing the songs, we’re simply getting the
songs that we’ve always wanted from a ‘friend.’ Tell me, what’s the difference
between getting the songs and albums off the internet than getting them from a
local friend of yours? It’s basically the same things except that it’s on a more
world wide type of sharing basis. People have been doing it for years when they
used to (and some still do) dub cassette tapes. The industry didn’t have a
problem with it then, so why a problem with it now? It was out there just not as
prevalent as it is now. I don’t agree with the record industry at all, why make
and place music on material that they know can be copied on MP3s, other tapes,
other cds? “Napster, the digital music distribution service, has been
temporarily shut down. A San Francisco judge ruled the service was encouraging
“wholesale infringing” of record industry copyrights. The Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA), a trade body that represents record companies
such as Warner and BMG, sued Napster in December accusing it of encouraging the
illegal distribution of MP3s. The RIAA estimates that song swapping via Napster
has cost the music industry more than $300 million in lost sales. For it’s part,
Napster has denied this, saying it’s a community service which encourages the
sharing of music for non-commercial purposes. Independent research from Jupiter
Communications also showed that Napster encourages music sales. While this
ruling is a major blow, it’s by no means a fatal wound. It seems likely the
music industry will eventually embrace Napster.” (Internet Magazine 1). It’s
their fault and they should have to live with the mistakes they made. Don’t go
blaming the innocent people that have found a new way to get around their system
before they did and now they’re upset. They’ve had control for years, they
control the prices of the cds (many of which are just plain ridiculous), how
many quantities are produced, what will be soon out of print, and so many other
things.
It’s about time that we the people took control of a small aspect of
it and since we developed it, we should be allowed to use it and not be punished
for it. And the online music sharing companies should go unpunished as well. Did
they really do anything wrong? They’re honestly giving the people what they
want, none of those artists are truly losing a great heap of money, they’re just
money hungry and want more of it. Well, we’re not rich, we’re regular Joe’s and
we buy, get, and take what we can afford and free…everyone can afford.
Works Cited
Arnold, Steve. “Peer-to-Peer Computing and
Contents Control.” Oct. 2001. pg.1
“Bad News for Online Music.” Internet
Magazine. 24 Sep. 2001: pg. 1
Park, Lark. “Keeping the Napster Faith.”
16 Oct. 2000: pg.1