Napster, Recording Industry Search for Answers

As with any great revolution, the Free Music Movement that was started by Napster is far greater than Napster itself and is about much more than the technology that allows users to share their favorite songs via the Internet. The order issued on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel stipulates that the recording industry must provide Napster with a detailed list of the songs that are copyrighted, including the song titles, artists, and the names of the files within the Napster network. This would appear to give the record labels a great measure of control over what songs appear within the Napster service and how long they will remain available on Napster. After receiving the list from the various record labels, Napster will have 72 hours in which to comply with the court order. These are the nuts and bolts of the ruling.

However, the technology that drives Napster has spawned countless similar applications that enable Internet users to share files among themselves. The Napigator software that powers Napster is now used in numerous international and unrelated Napster spin-offs that are now rivaling Napster in terms of active users. This should make it abundantly clear to the courts and the recording industry that the "problems" created by Napster are far greater than Napster itself. Now, individuals around the world have the capability of sharing copyrighted music material and this is not going to stop because a court order has restricted Napster. The recording industry certainly can't sue every music sharer out there, although we may see them try. The solution lies in a complete paradigm shift, to borrow a technology term, which must involve a cooperation between the recording industry and services such as Napster and a vision for the long-term health of the music industry and its fans. The solution seems inevitable, simply because the alternatives do not exist.