Comment It's time.. (Score 1) 520
It's so obvious what everyone has articulated, and now that the RIAA is actually (gasp) mounting a challenge to the supremecy of mp3 distribution, is that we need a new system.
Imagine a forum, where Artists (registered?) could post their music, including the big bands such as Metallica and Limp Bizkit, and you login and search for a song. Then, after you find the song, you simply enter your credit card details, or whatever, maybe 50c per song, depending on the artists. The money would go straight to the artist - you would be given a code which allowed you to download the song at a specific IP, over a period of say, 24 hours. This would eliminate the need for record companies.
Okay, so maybe that is a bit utopian, but you can see my point. Napster has opened up a can of worms that has now pervaded our everyday lives. If Napster gets banned, should http, ftp, usenet, and any other form of file distribution be banned? Why doesn't the RIAA go after CuteFTP, or BulletProof FTP, or any other FTP software - because mp3 trading was rampant on FTP before it was on Napster. Napster simply provides a (poorly constructed) GUI which allows more simplicity for file distribution.
What we need is a better music distrubution system, or else things like Napster will keep trumping the system. Trading illegal mp3s is illegal. We all agree on that. But that's not the POINT of this whole argument. The point is, music distribution has changed the way we will listen to music, FOREVER. I have an mp3 cd player now, and I don't listen to normal audio cds (when I buy them, I rip them into mp3s and burn them onto a blank with about 10 other albums). This must stand for something - Napster has paved the way for the future of music, whether it was constructed for illegal purposes or not. If the music industry kills it off, they are destroying a huge chunk of their future revenue. And as has already been mentioned, music sales are way up. So where's the parity that they are losing money?
I really don't know what the resolution is, to be honest. Either way, the music industry is going to rant and rave about people pirating music, but this has been going on a LOT longer than Napster has been alive. It's time for a change - we're in the 21st century.
/Templux.
Imagine a forum, where Artists (registered?) could post their music, including the big bands such as Metallica and Limp Bizkit, and you login and search for a song. Then, after you find the song, you simply enter your credit card details, or whatever, maybe 50c per song, depending on the artists. The money would go straight to the artist - you would be given a code which allowed you to download the song at a specific IP, over a period of say, 24 hours. This would eliminate the need for record companies.
Okay, so maybe that is a bit utopian, but you can see my point. Napster has opened up a can of worms that has now pervaded our everyday lives. If Napster gets banned, should http, ftp, usenet, and any other form of file distribution be banned? Why doesn't the RIAA go after CuteFTP, or BulletProof FTP, or any other FTP software - because mp3 trading was rampant on FTP before it was on Napster. Napster simply provides a (poorly constructed) GUI which allows more simplicity for file distribution.
What we need is a better music distrubution system, or else things like Napster will keep trumping the system. Trading illegal mp3s is illegal. We all agree on that. But that's not the POINT of this whole argument. The point is, music distribution has changed the way we will listen to music, FOREVER. I have an mp3 cd player now, and I don't listen to normal audio cds (when I buy them, I rip them into mp3s and burn them onto a blank with about 10 other albums). This must stand for something - Napster has paved the way for the future of music, whether it was constructed for illegal purposes or not. If the music industry kills it off, they are destroying a huge chunk of their future revenue. And as has already been mentioned, music sales are way up. So where's the parity that they are losing money?
I really don't know what the resolution is, to be honest. Either way, the music industry is going to rant and rave about people pirating music, but this has been going on a LOT longer than Napster has been alive. It's time for a change - we're in the 21st century.
