Napster

9 Pages 2252 Words

other music industry players has been varied, but primarily anti-Napster. The first action to be taken against Napster was by the band Metallica. In April of this year, they sued Napster Inc for copyright infringement. The case was settled out of court when Napster agreed to ban some 300,000 users who had allegedly downloaded Metallica songs. Again in June Napster Inc was sued for copyright infringement by The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), a trade group representing the US recording industry, alleging "Napster is enabling and encouraging the illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted music". Napster claims that Audio Home Recording Act that permits copying of material for personal use, allows it's uses to swap MP3s. Napster further claims immunity by defining the company as an ISP under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The RIAA unsuccessfully applied to have an injunction to stop Napster's operations until after the court case in September, so Napster will continue to operate until (and if) the court rules against Napster.
Other artists and record labels (http://www.napster.com/speakout/artists.html and http://www.napster.com/speakout/labels.html) have responded to the advent of Napster and similar applications in a more positive way, embracing the new technology rather than rejecting it. On their website, the Offspring says "MP3 technology and programs such as Napster [are] a vital and necessary means to promote music and foster better relationships with our fans." Interestingly enough, the Offspring's last album, Americana, was made available online illegally before commercially released, yet it is the band's best-selling album to date. Furthermore, a number of surveys have proven that Napster users actually buy more CDs, after 'sampling' the songs online (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/12093.html). It is this issue that is...