FREE ESSAY ON NAPSTER

NAPSTER

The Napster Revolution
Have you ever listened to your favorite song on the radio and recorded it? I remember
when I would sit next to the radio and listen to it for hours at-a-time, just so that I
could record my favorite songs off the radio. Now with computers and the Internet, I
would go all over the Internet to look for songs, but only some of the time I was
successful. Then I ran into a program called Napster, which made my music search much
easier. Have you ever download free music off the Internet? Statistics say that 59% of
people that download free music from the Internet, end up buying the music. Recently,
there was a lawsuit made by the Recording Industry Association of America towards Napster
concerning copyright issues, which in return had Napster rethinking its principles. Then
in July of this year, a federal court judge ordered Napster to halt the trading of
copyrighted material, but the decision was stayed. Napster has responded by saying that
it is supporting music by bringing together more than 6 million users a day, whom all
support Napster .By downloading free music over the internet, people support artists by
liking their music.
How Internet music sharing works. In order to start downloading music, people first must
start by getting the program "Napster." When this program is installed in the computer,
its starts working by connecting to the Internet and creating a list of mp3 files
available in the users computer, which in return sends it to the main Napster computer.
When someone searches for a particular song the list of that song comes up with all
available matches, and then the person can choose the one to download. After this, the
users computer then connects to the other party's computer and commences the transfer.
To what extent does music sharing break the law? The real theft is taking place when
people sell discs online that they have made of bootlegged songs, not when someone
listens for his own enjoyment. The issues surrounding digital music — to swipe or
not to swipe — are not legal or even technological so much as they are ethical. So
what if Napster is shut down? Tons of new schemes have already come online that allow
people to trade songs pretty easily — and unlike with Napster, there is no one to
sue. There's even a promising underground technology called Aimster that allows the 61
million users of AOL's Instant Messenger to swap music, only untraceably, with the people
on their buddy lists. How much of a crime can it be if you're doing it with a buddy?
Why we should use it? When we buy a Compact Disc, we own it, we are free to do whatever
we like with it, and it can be shared with our friends; so why can't we share our
favorite songs with the world. Using Napster supports many artists who believe that this
is an innovative way to share music. Here is what artists think about Napster: I believe
that artists should welcome Napster. We should think of it as a new kind of radio —
a promotional tool that can help artists who don't have the opportunity to get their
music played on mainstream radio or on MTV. CHUCK D " Why aren't record companies
embracing this great opportunity? Why aren't they trying to talk to the kids passing
compilations around to learn what they like? COURTNEY LOVE
In the end, when downloading music, a person is not doing anything illegal, just sharing
his/her favorite music with the world. While at the same time supporting the artists by
having their music.
OUTLINE: Napster Revolution
THESIS: By downloading free music over the Internet, people support artists by liking 
the music.
I. Introduction
II. How Internet music sharing works
a. Getting the program
b. Using the program
c. Searching for music
III. Is it illegal?
a. Recording bootleg CD's and selling on the Internet
b. Other ways/programs
IV. Why we should use it?
a. Free to-do-so
b. Supported by artistes
i. Chuck D
ii. Courtney Love
V. Conclusion