Re:Collapse (Score 2, Informative)

If you read the rest of it, the author says that shutting them down outright was a mistake. He says they should have sat down with Napster and worked out a revenue sharing/licsening deal. That way the record labels would have had a well established, well run, well liked outlet for their music. They probably would have lost some customers from Napsters peak if it went to a pay service, but it wouldn't have been completely unprofitable. Instead, the shut down Napster and all the people using it went elsewhere and nothing was solved. (Napster was revived, but it was a watered down service in comparison to the original and way too late on its return). Years later, the same issue still exists. "Pirate" clients/webpages are still the best way to get good quality music files. The "legit" offerings from the record labels are not up to par with what the original Napster offered. In fact, they're not even close (limited selection on some, DRM, format restrictions, ease of use, etc.). Suing did nothing to improve their standing.