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Tuesday, 2/20/2001
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Tuesday, 2/20/2001
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 Napster should charge monthly subscriptionsThe future of Napster may be in jeopardy.
Following an appeals court decision just over one week ago, Napster must stop allowing its users to share copyrighted materials, possibly within a short period of time. Napster is currently the most popular means of downloading free music off the Internet. The company services over 50 million users worldwide and has exploded in popularity since the introduction of a file sharing service in May 1999. Several major record labels, the Recording Industry of America, and artists including Metallica and Dr. Dre have filed suits against the Internet company citing alleged copyright infringement. Napster denies any copyright violation and insists their continual efforts to back up claims against record labels and artists are for the love of music. Between lawsuits and appeals, the court case is bound to drag on for months to come. Is there an easier solution here? Yes. Napster should start billing its customers. With a flat fee of $4.95 per month and base of over 50 million users, Napster could earn as much as $250 million per month and over $3 billion per year. Even Napster has suggested monthly charges with the promise of compensating record labels, songwriters and artists. Such an agreement could be reached without the drama of the courtroom. So far, many of the organizations and individuals who have filed lawsuits against Napster have avoided any idea of cooperation with Napster. They would rather hide behind lawsuits, then address a problem that simply won’t go away with the elimination of Napster. The Internet is the future of music and Napster should remain part of it, without an infringement on copyright laws. It is an invaluable service and offers a wide variety of music. It provides a large collection of music that may not be offered on CD. You can download music from award shows like the Grammys and the American Music Awards, the Super Bowl or the radio, techno and acoustic versions of certain songs. New and upcoming artists can receive career boosts when featured by Napster, which may help them sign decent record contracts, increase their publicity and CD sales. Users can sample music by discovering new artists and hearing music that they might not have considered purchasing otherwise. Record companies and certain artists alike need to wake up and move with the times. New and emerging technology allowed Napster to reach its success and prosperity. By winning the court case, they seem to think that the problem will go away, but it won’t. A black market for music will continue to exist; current technology has allowed that to happen. People will continue to share files over the Internet and burn CDs no matter what the outcome of the case. Music fans have used Napster as a cheaper means of obtaining the same music otherwise only available by CD. Record companies have inflated the cost of new music; the least expensive new releases are often $16 or $17 at Best Buy. It is much easier to go on the Internet and download a couple songs. The court case is a perfect example of an overwhelmingly rich industry fueled only by greed. Its greed could be fed by the profits of Napster, if it switches to a subscription service. The industry may only want more money, but its court case is not completely unfounded. Napster is infringing on copyright laws of music by profiting on the advertisement money it receives without the permission of the record labels and artists. Its founder, Shawn Fanning and CEO, Hank Barry are living lavish lifestyles as the result of the success of Napster. They may have suggested a monthly fee for Napster, only because they've had a guilty conscience about stealing money. In the end, the record companies need to come to the realization that ultimately they can never win against Napster; this case marks the beginning of endless court battles ahead if a solution cannot be found that agrees with both sides. They need to start working with companies like Napster, instead of against them. Colleen Straniero is a freshman in the School of Science. |
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OPINIONS DESK PHONE: Opinions editor:
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