File-sharing forums and articles have crashed the Web in the last few months. Everyone is speculating, everyone is analyzing, and too many are deliberating about how Napster might reshape the Internet as we know it. What can we make of all this? Where does the hype end and the truth really begin? Let's start by considering some often overlooked truths about the Web. Then we can better define what impact Napster will potentially have on our lives.
First, people often forget that most of the planet could really care less about Napster. And second, we should also agree that the Internet wasn't the only milestone of human achievement from the last century. Although fantastic in both reach and scope, the Internet is still a long way off from restructuring the global economy (although the contrary would seem true in San Francisco) and certainly from touching the lives of everyone on earth. But the foundations have been laid, and indeed they are of a sufficiently biological design to accommodate the injection of Napster. Peer-to-peer technology might be what the Internet has needed for so long: a logical answer to the world's growing bandwidth demand. But Napster (and essentially peer-to-peer technology) is being sued, and the fate of this groundbreaking system lies solely in the hands of an appellate court.
The fight
Certainly the ramifications run thicker than anticipated. Both sides of the argument have mounted a cavalry, and both cavalries gnash rabid at the bits. The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA), like some latent megalith of the old guard, would rather see Napster flayed at the pillory than settle outside of court. And Napster, the company that some 20 million regard as a holy paladin warring against the vile institution, wages an intellectual crusade of their own, parrying the reach of the law at every turn. In fact, the two pictures are so opposite, even impartial spectators have a difficult time watching without bias.
But are Napster supporters really as ardent as they seem? As soon as Napster was threatened in court, people rushed out to use the file-sharing alternatives. Scour, Gnutella, and CuteMX were swamped with traffic during and after the injunction hearings. Users were scared. Users fled. And none of them showed the slightest hint of loyalty to their beloved Napster. Many people, it seems, don't care where or how they find MP3s. They want music, they want it fast, and they want it for free. In the end, they will choose Napster over the others, though their resourcefulness should not be ignored.
To Napster's benefit, the 20 million would-be supporters prove a great asset to their case whether they are loyal or not. In this example, users support less the actual company and more the ideal of sharing files. Napster is therefore blessed that it can play icon for a day to the assembled masses. And in doing so, it represents the very 20 million who could care less about Napster. The Napster lawyers have effectively adopted a client base of users as support for their crusade, even though the users themselves aren't rallying around their cause. Now it is the irony that runs thick.
The resolve
In any event, though, Napster has pressed for settlement, and the RIAA has failed to reciprocate the gesture. The industry is definitely not ready to accept a change of this magnitude and definitely not prepared to loosen their holds on copyrighted music. And what if they do eventually settle? What if the 20 million users of Napster were to pay a monthly fee (a la a subscription model) of one dollar, and the revenue ($20 million) was used to compensate artists, maintain the servers, and pay Napster employees? What if the fee were five dollars, and $100 million was taken in per month? Sure, the details of the case are more than complicated. But maybe Napster, as we know it, is destined for a change itself. When Betamax went to the Supreme Court, it proved that there was a viable use for its technology beyond the obvious uses for copyright infringements. Betamax asserted that a viable business could result from its technology. Now we have Blockbuster. Is Napster the beginning of a music rental service?
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So what does this mean for you?
You basically have three options. First, you can jump on the bandwagon, swear by Napster, and download like a fiend. Second, you can renounce Napster for using their clients as pawns in their legal match, and check out the file-sharing alternatives. Or third, you can dismiss Napster as an unlawful organization (whether you actually support Napster or not) and buy CDs from Blockbuster Music. In any event, don't place all your paraphernalia on eBay just yet - Napster has a long life ahead. Until next week, keep your ear to the floor and listen for the lowdown.