Napster
...changed the days of going to the record store to purchase music. Now we are able to link to millions of music lovers around the world by hopping on our computers, getting on the interenet and by using a file-sharing program called Napster. Now many questions arise: Is it stealing from the artists or is it stealing from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)? It also brings about the questions of how "free" the internet should be. Where do we even begin to regulate this giant beast called the World Wide Web?
According to www.news.com, the RIAA is stating that napster allows approximately sixty-four million users around the world to steal music from the artists who created it. Yes, it is true that napster allows millions of users to download songs for absolutely free; however, isn't this what the artist want from there music? Don't they want their music to be heard worldwide? Most of all, don't they want their music to be distributed for free so they don't have to pay out so much money to the record companies?
I understand if the artist is worried about not making any money from their album, especially since they spend most of their record deal money to not only record their album, but to live off of while they record it. Even if the artist sells a million copies of their album it is still more than likely that they will break even. According to the RIAA, most bands don't make their money by selling albums; they make money by touring. Knowing this, the question of who really wants napster shut down fills my mind.
Is it the artists or the RIAA?
Being a musician myself, this topic interests me greatly. I am deeply concerned about how people get music in the future because it plays such an incredible role in my life. In the article, I read napster is being forced to remove copyrighted songs submitted by the RIAA....
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