The Internet is an extremely useful resource to obtain information on just about any topic. A relatively new feature of the World Wide Web is the technology for the sharing of music in MP3 format. A popular site to download “free” music is called Napster. This program allows people to share music files, discover new artists, and become part of the music community. Although Napster is controversial, the program should still remain accessible to Internet users and music lovers. Marc Geiger, a supporter of the program, states that “Napster is ‘totally community oriented,” (“Napster…”). It brings artists and fans together, and can allow struggling musicians a chance to be heard; that’s what the program is all about. “The more people hear the songs, the more they want {to} buy the CD” (“Napster…”). The struggling musicians who aren’t making millions from one CD release are the avid supporters of Napster. Richardson is promoting the good side of the software, and trying to make upset artists understand that this program is for the little guys. “Its software aims to make finding MP3 files easier one the Net” (RIAA). Another advantage of the program is that it allows finding music files easier instead of having to search the entire World Wide Web. Napster is an MP3 file-sharing program that enables users to share their music with one another. Anyone with a computer can download the program, sign the user agreement contract and then start swapping music. The program includes chat features, a top music sharing list, searching capabilities, a chart that shows the status of the file transfer, a “library,” and a help section. The chat rooms allow for conversation between the different users, and shows information on the people in the room. The search feature allows the music consumer to search by song title, artist, bit rate, ping time, and connection. The file transfer element of the program allows the customer to see how much of the file is downloaded, the estimated time for the transfer to finish, the name of the host of the music, how big the file is, and the filename, (song title, and artist usually). The “library” is a music file holder that sorts the downloaded music files alphabetically. It allows has a music player, which can play an assortment of already downloaded music chosen by the consumer in any order. The program is easy to use and does not contain ... ... middle of paper ... ...on, Brad. “10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained.” http://www.templetons.com/brad//copymyths.html (26 Nov. 2000). Outline I. Introduction A. Background of mp3 and Napster 1. What it is and how it works 2. Support for Napster B. Program description C. Founder of Napster 1. Why he developed Napster II. Body A. Problems with Napster 1. Pirated MP3 files 2. Copyright infringement court case 3. Problems with RIAA’s defense B. Bills preventing copyright infringement 1. Penalties for downloading unsecured files C. Similarities between Sony vs. Universal Studios court case and Napster vs. RIAA court case D. Consequences for Napster if it is found guilty of Copyright infringement E. Making the record companies obsolete if Napster is to be abolished F. Problems between the “digital divide” 1. Commercialism III. Conclusion A. Napster is a resource 1. Connection between artist and fans 2. People buy the CD after they have downloaded one song from that artist. B. Quote from Shawn Fanning, (founder)
Napster is a virtual community, which consists of music news and chat-rooms, the main feature it offers is an easy way to download MP3's (music files). This controversial service has brought the lawsuit to Napster. Napster allows its subscribers to download the music files without charge. It is not however, from Napster that the subscribers get these files. It is from each other. The users share their hard drives so that other users can download any of their music files that they want.
A popular program easily accessible on the Internet is called Napster. After you download it from Napster’s site, you basically tell it where you keep your Mp3 files and when it connects it cross-references everyone’s files and lets you search through them all and download as you please. 90% of the files that are traded daily are illegally “ripped” from CDs. Napster has a blurb at startup that states “Copying or distributing unauthorized Mp3 files may violate United States and/or foreign copyright laws. Compliance with copyright law remains your responsibility.” The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is charging the site with copyright infringement and alleges that Napster has created a base for music piracy on an unprecedented scale. Napster contends that they provide the platform, not the actions, and that as the blurb states it’s up to the people. Napster is not at fault because the RIAA has overstepped their boundaries and infringed on first amendment rights online.
Before the 1990’s, if people want to listen to music, they just visit a music store and pick up a CD and then put it into a stereo equipment. However, the development of MP3 file format gradually changed the way people listen to music. This format lets everyone download music easily and it can be converted to CD as well. But, there is still a problem: searching MP3 files on the internet is maddening and people seldom can find the music they want. Therefore, the birth of Napster solved this problem, creating a virtual music community in which music fans could use the Web as a “swap meet” for music files. More importantly, Napster is easy to use and it’s free, which expands the range of audience in age. Bandwidth also contributed to Napster’s success. The greater the bandwidth, the faster the file can be transferred. So, Napster really changed the way people listen to music, discover music and interact with music.
CD sales are up 16% across the nation. How can Napster be a bad thing if it is helping the
Napster was an American company that created a revolutionary platform that allowed for music sharing online. Originally, it was established as a peer-to-peer file sharing service that emphasized the exchange of MP3 formatted soundtracks. Founded in 1999, by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, who rebounded post-Napster to become the first President of Facebook, it operated between June 1999 and July 2001. It was a revolutionary because the network allowed for music to be “set free” – suddenly, an incredible amount of information was made available on the Internet, a relatively new forum that had yet to experience huge waves. Napster was that wave – it democratized the access to information and enabled the common user to listen to millions of songs without having to pay for it. Within a few months of its opening, it had 20 million users – an exponential growth which would attract the attention of large media companies, record labels, and famous bands like Metallica, which would eventually lead to the downfall of Napster.
Originally, Napster was a kind of file sharing software. File sharing software had been developed as database managing software. As the internet has grown so huge all over the world, a distributed database system model has been proposed as the preferring system. The file sharing P2P software has become the celebrated information tool for storage system. But now, rapid growth of broadband and the ability to be anonymous on the internet threaten the entertainment industry’s control of the distribution of such products as movie and music. We can get music or movie files with P2P software through the internet for free.
By fall 2000, there were 80 million users for Napster, and according to survey that was conducted on Napster users, there was an increase of 9% in music fans spending, among more experienced users there was an increase of 20% in their music spending, in addition to an increase of 19% among those using high speed connection. Napster and other free file sharing had caused the record sales to suffer. However, the file sharing services altered the conventional way of lessening to music for consumers. In 2001, 50% of U.S. households owned PCs; consumers spent $1.6 billion on CD burner, blank CDs and digital-audio players. 54% of PCs sales came with CD burners. More than 26% of online music users were ...
In 1998 a university dropout, Shawn Fenning, nicknamed napster, spent days without sleep in his uncle's office producing a new music-swapping programme now known as napster. Napster is an MP3 file sharing programme that lets you connect to millions of other users world-wide and swap music with them for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, even Napster itself as a programme is FREE and is available to ANYONE with a PC and the Internet.
Napster was created in 1999 by a college dropout named Sean Fanning. Napster allows users to swap digital song files over the internet easily and most of all free. Millions of people used Napster to retrieve almost any song a person could think of, for example, songs that are current number one hits to the other songs from the "one-hit-wonders." Napster created a way for people world wide to exchange or share music files quickly and easily. This causes the ethical dilemma on whether trademark rights are being infringed or is "sharing" the music files legal and ethical.
Napster, a free online file sharing network, allowed peers to share digital files directly with each other by way of connections through its software and system. The no cost peer-to-peer sharing gained popularity, particularly with trendy music. A&M Records took notice of all the free digital music downloads and brought suit against Napster for direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringements (Washington University School of Law, 2013).
Napster was an early peer-to-peer file sharing network which could be used for transmitting various files, but which attained massive popularity as a way to share music through .mp3s. Unsurprisingly, major record companies took issue with
According to the text A Gift of Fire, Napster “opened on the Web in 1999 as a service that allowed its users to copy songs in MP3 files from the hard disks of other users” (Baase, 2013, p. 192, Section 4.1.6 Sharing Music: The Napster Case). Napster was, however, “copying and distributing most of the songs they traded without authorization” (A Gift of Fire, Section 4.1.6 Sharing Music: The Napster Case). This unauthorized file sharing resulted in a lawsuit - “eighteen record companies sued for contributory infringement claiming that Napster users were blatantly infringing copyrights by digitally reproducing and distributing music without a license” (Communications Law: Liberties, Restraints and the Modern Media, 2011, p. 359).
The story really begins with Napster and its free software that allowed users to swap music across the Internet for free using peer-to-peer networks. While Shawn Fanning was attending Northeastern University in Boston, he wanted an easier method of finding music than by searching IRC or Lycos. John Fanning of Hull, Massachusetts, who is Shawn's uncle, struck an agreement which gave Shawn 30% control of the company, with the rest going to his uncle. Napster began to build an office and executive team in San Mateo, California, in September of 1999. Napster was the first of the massively popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems, although it was not fully peer-to-peer since it used central servers to maintain lists of connected systems and the files they provideddirectories, effectivelywhile actual transactions were conducted directly between machines. Although there were already media which facilitated the sharing of files across the Internet, such as IRC, Hotline, and USENET, Napster specialized exclusively in music in the form of MP3 files and presented a user-friendly interface. The result was a system whose popularity generated an enormous selection of music to download. Napster became the launching pad for the explosive growth of the MP3 format and the proliferation of unlicensed copyrights.
The music industry started in the mid 18th century with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Through the decades there has been a great increase in this industry; however, the revenues for this industry have declined by half in the last 10 years. This has been caused by music piracy, which “is the copying and distributing of copies of a piece of music for which the composer, recording artist, or copyright-holding record company did not give consent” . After 1980’s, when the Internet was released to public, people started to develop programs and websites in which they could share music, videos, and information with...
Napster is a company that developed the so-called peer-to-peer technology that lets people search and retrieve music files directly from one another's personal computers. When Napster first came out, millions of internet users worldwide were illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted music, videos, images, and software for free. After being vilified by the entertainment industry, which claims that Napster and any similar programs could make piracy of almost any digital work unstoppable, and many court battles, Napster was ordered by court to be shutdown in 2000. The technology has been praised as a revolutionary development for the Internet—unaware of the problems that would arise from such practices. However, the termination of Napster was not enough, months later, dozens of new, like programs were being developed and used. And since Napster, not much has been done to stop these latest downloading programs.