FREE ESSAY ON NAPSTER

NAPSTER

The problems faced by Napster and how it affects us.
INTRODUCTION
Shawn Fanning let his closely cropped coiffure grow a bit shaggy, so his friends started
calling him nappy. That evolved into a new nickname, Napster, which became the Internet
handle he used in chat rooms. After sharing tips on guitar playing, Fanning told two
cyberpals about a revolutionary software program he was working on. Encouraged by his new
friends, he wrote the program and the idea attracted a sizable cash donation from a
family friend. So he quit college, moved from Harwich, Mass., to Silicon Valley, and
started a company together with his two buddies. 
That was sevral months ago. Today, 19-year-old Fanning and his company, Napster, have
become the Internet's latest one-hit wonder. Hundreds of thousands of college students
and music fans have downloaded the firm's free software, which allows users to swap MP3
songs, the Net's most popular digital music format. Napster, whose latest software will
be released this week, has seen its user base grow by as much as 25 percent a day. Says
Napster CEO Eileen Richardson, We see ourselves as the MTV of the Internet, 
But Napster has made some powerful enemies in its brief existence. Musicians and record
companies accuse it of creating an online den of thieves. Last December, the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA), representing 18 record labels, sued Napster for
copyright violations, seeking to shut it down and collect more than $100 million in
damages. Rapper Sean Puffy Combs says Napster abuses his artists. And in the past two
months, at least 50 universities have blocked students from accessing Napster, saying it
strains campus computer systems. 
All the outrage is a result of Napster's unique design, which fosters music sharing but
also hogs bandwidth. The company doesn't own or sell any music. Its software merely acts
as a digital matchmaker, allowing people to trade MP3 songs. Napster peeks into a user's
hard drive and publishes a list of all the songs it finds there onto a central database.
To locate a tune, a user enters the name of an artist or a song to see if anyone else on
the network has it. If so, they can download it at the push of a button. In this way,
Napster has created the Net's largest music library. 
Now all of us have downloaded music of the internet and most of us have also used Napster
but as we all know Indiana University is one of the fifty odd universities that have
banned Napster on campus servers. This is a situation that affects us directly as
universitys like Duke,Stanford and M.I.T have refused The R.I.A.A. requests to ban
Napster. Thus according to me we should all be better informed of this situation to know
why we are being deprived of such a cutting edge program. 
The Napster case is very important not only because people won't be able to download free
music if it's ruled illegal, but because the case will serve as a major guide for the
future. It is a foreshadowing of the future. As technology becomes more and more
advanced, we will constantly be faced with similar questions. 
The RIAA announced in December they would sue napster. Explain reasons.
1.Napster is considered pirating software. It can allow anyone access to copyrighted
files. 
2. Although all users will not abuse the system and make pirated cds some will. Therefore
opposers of napster wish for a complete shutdown of the site. 
3. Some who oppose merely wish for napster to exist in a way that will not allow
pirating. 
C. Napster's is banned on the Indiana campus after a request from the RIAA and Heavy
Metal band Metalica. I.U. claims that napster is using up too much of its bandwidth. 
1. Indiana University bans napster controversially even though many students are against
it. I.U. students say that the ban affects their freedom of music and exposure to the
Internet revolution. 
2. Give out information from napster website and also list the reactions of other major
universities for and against the ban.
3. Napster may have been banned but there are still other identical programs, which are
benefiting from this ban (e.g. Scour exchange).
D. Discuss how Napster can be used to be a profitable unit for the music industry if
given the chance.
1.State studies in business week and wired which state that if napster charges a monthly
fee between 1 or 3 dollars then they can earn up to half a billion dollars.
2.Napster is one of the most popular programs for young teenage computer users and is
growing in popularity every day. 
3. Napster is a great way for upcoming artists to spread their music. Thus this program
is feeding the music industry with good information on new artists and is also helping
the artist's talents to be recognized. 
Conclusion
1. Napster is a product of new technology, which has no guidelines in our current system
of laws. Current laws do not prohibit technology like Napster directly, but many question
whether it is legal. 
2. Napster can be still used in I.U. There are programs like Napigator that bypass I.U.'s
server thus enabling the use of Napster.
3. Will state how important the outcome of the court ruling will as it will change the
legal standings of a lot of internet companies and will be a precedent for such a law in
the internet era.