The music industry was greatly
affected from the first day that Napster was introduced to the world. Napster is a computer program that has
attracted millions of users. It can be
downloaded from their web site www.napster.com
for free and then can be used as soon as you set up a user name and
password. Anyone with Internet access
can use this program with its purpose of sharing MP3s. MP3 stands for mpeg layer 3, which allows entire
songs to be compressed into a size that can be transferred over the Internet in
a reasonable amount of time and will not take up large amounts of memory on
your computer. It also allows the song
to remain at near CD quality sound.
Generally, the people using Napster are sharing audio files, or MP3s,
that are copyrighted by the artists.
Some say that receiving songs for free like this is just like walking
into a record store and stealing an album.
However, there are others that argue that Napster actually increases
album sells and promotes the music industry.
Unfortunately, the RIAA does not feel this way. The RIAA, which stands for the Recording
Industry Association of America and regulates the business of the music
industry, has filed suit against Napster along with several well-known
artists. They have joined Lars Ulrich
from the band Mettallica, and the rap artist Dr. Dre to attempt to shut down
Napster. These artists feel that they
are missing out on profits that they have earned. Despite these nay Sayers, many still support Napster and what it
does for the industry. Even though some
believe Napster is detrimental to the music industry, it should not be shutdown
because it actually helps the industry in many ways. A compromise could be reached, by allowing Napster to remain
online but charge a small access fee to users that would be distributed to the
artists that have music being downloaded.
While
Napster has been in use by millions of users across the nation, the music
industry has not seen a decrease in album sales. This proves that Napster has not warranted the negative press
that it has received. The whole reason
many artists and the RIAA are upset with Napster is that they believe that
money is being lost. Since 1998,
(insert fact of sales increase) causing an increase in funds for these
artists.() Use rolling stone
polls. By providing the population with
a way to hear new music without having to spend money, Napster is able to whet
the consumers appetite for new music.
When consumers are allowed to sample the music, they are much more
likely to purchase it if they enjoy it.
This causes an increase in sales, because not many people will purchase
music if they do not know what it sounds like or if they will like it. It is a situation much like an ice cream
store where they let you taste any flavor they have for free. They realize that a customer is more likely
to then buy some ice cream if they know what it tastes like. Napster provides this same type of service
and yet is attacked by many of the artists it is actually helping by increasing
their album sales. The music industry was greatly
affected from the first day that Napster was introduced to the world. Napster is a computer program that has
attracted millions of users. It can be
downloaded from their web site www.napster.com
for free and then can be used as soon as you set up a user name and
password.