October 6, 2000

Napster fate: End of free music?

Three appellate court judges officially will decide the fate of music sharing company Napster after oral arguments in its copyright infringement case began this week. The decision won’t matter much to the little guy who uses Napster software to download digital music files called MP3s, say local fans of the site’s software and its music-for-free compatriots.

“Big deal,” says Thomas, 30, an avid MP3 fan who wants to remain anonymous, about the possible closure of Napster for enabling the massive free downloading of copyrighted songs. “There are millions of copies (of the software) already out there, and independents have been setting up remote servers. I’ll admit it will become more difficult to use Napster if they are forced to pull the plug, but not impossible.”

Thomas, a Boulder Web designer and consultant, has one eye out for the Feds, however, giving a nod to the illegal nature of downloading copyrighted songs for free. “With all the litigation surrounding Napster, I would appreciate my name not appearing anywhere,” he insists, noting that he has downloaded literally thousands of songs in the 10 months since he discovered Napster and a similar software, Gnutella.

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Thomas was checking into some financial news online when he read about the MP3 format and soon was downloading a Steely Dan song with the help of Gnutella. “I actually downloaded and tried Gnutella before Napster because it utilizes peer-to-peer vs. central server protocols. So, I could connect to thousands of other Gnutella users without relying on a single central server,” he says. That last bit was the tripping wire for Napster.

Gnutella, which lasted one day in March on an America Online server before AOL pulled the plug, is still alive and well? in its clones. Gnutella, which was retired in August, was hailed for not having a central depot and for running with an open code. This allows programmers to continually improve the software, which has created Gnewtella, Gnotella and other knock-offs. The openness also makes for a rough time in pinning down someone to sue.

Its fans are rabid and protective, creating a strong movement to spread the capability to as many music fans as possible. The unofficial Web site, gnutella.wego.com, offers downloads of the original program and nearly every clone imaginable, as well as banners promoting the movement that can be affixed to supporters’ own sites.

Gnutella is also known for the extent of the content it grabs, including all that is digital. “Music, movies, pictures, software,” Thomas ticks off. “I’ve found everything from Seinfeld and South Park episodes to movie trailers to $400 pieces of software.”

That’s too much booty for owners of the copyrights on some of those materials.

The Record Industry Association of America (RIAA), which is suing Napster and Scour.com, a company that allows for downloading any digital content, says the only way to combat technologies like Gnutella is to create an easy-to-use, legal alternative that music fans will prefer. RIAA says on its Web site, “They (consumers) are also likely to prefer dealing with legitimate sites so as to avoid the security and privacy risks of dealing with anonymous strangers on the ?Undernet’.”

RIAA, protecting its member major labels, independent labels and artists, is drawing up on its haunches and firing lawsuits at Napster and its fellow sites. Napster is ongoing after a stay of injunction was granted in August, permitting it to remain online until the trial date in October.

A suit against MP3.com resulted Sept. 6 in an estimated $250 million whammy against the site for copyright infringement. The most recent defendant, named July 20, is Scour.com, a Beverly Hills company that produces software that searches all digital content from multimedia software to sports clips to music.

Some music fans have accused record labels of trying to quash the MP3 format with the lawsuits. RIAA denies that it is going after the technology, only its role as a distribution vehicle for illegally downloaded, copyrighted music.

Elliot Dill, a 21-year-old University of Colorado-Boulder student and online marketer, sees the dispute in quite a different way. “If I painted an exact replica of one of Picasso’s paintings from a print my friend purchased, and hung it in my home, I certainly don’t feel that I owe Picasso royalties ? even if he were alive,” he says.

Thomas and Dill, who has a stock of about 120 MP3s, admit they are among the downloaders that make RIAA nervous ? those who don’t buy the music after downloading. Dill explains, “That is only because my finances don’t allow it at this time. If and when I have the money, I will be buying several CDs because through Napster, I have found that I like certain artists’ music a great deal.”

That sort of discovery is exactly what up-and-coming artists are counting on. Sites like Napster and MP3.com have enjoyed a good reputation with new artists in contrast to the vinegar reception they have received from record companies. Both sites have extensive reservoirs of songs from new artists, including 3-year-old Boulder rock band Running With Sally.

“For an independent band such as RWS, the whole point is getting the band’s name out, bottom line,” says lead vocalist Trevor Clendenin. “The band does not have a record deal, and they record and sell CDs on their own. This is not enough to promote a band, so Napster is definitely beneficial in promoting their music.”

Clendenin says much of the MP3s he supports are live bootlegs, not master recordings. “Having live shows available really proves how accomplished your outfit is. Bands like the Grateful Dead and Little Feat did very well by letting their fans tape and distribute recordings of their performances,” Clendenin says, but admits that if Running With Sally hit with a major deal, he might not feel the same way about Napster.

Brian Moreland, manager of Rocky Mountain Records and Tapes in Boulder, says the ability to download music for free, including entire albums, weakens a band’s ability to stay alive ? not to mention record stores, which rely on demand for copies of music.

“If that thing keeps going on and on, in 10 years there will be no need for record stores,” Moreland says, adding that his shop and the other Rocky Mountain Records in Boulder haven’t seen a noticeable dip in sales with the onset of the MP3 rush of the last year. His concern leans more toward the possibility of the music supply running out.

“If there’s a way for bands to make money on it, then I guess it’s OK,” he says, with a wallop of doubt in his voice. “If you want bands to make money and continue to make music, you need to buy their records.”

Clendenin is confident the music industry won’t come to that, however, and that technology will create self-regulation in the industry.

Artists, labels, fans and Napster ultimately could enjoy a civil relationship. A technology that is just past its infancy would give each sound clip a sort of fingerprint. The identifying program, known as Tuneprint, is being developed by a group of mostly Massachusetts Institute of Technology students and is nearly ready to be officially tested.

Tuneprint officials say the program, based on a mathematical technique that can recognize songs, can be used to instantly catalog music by checking its fingerprint against a central database. The database would keep track of details like titles, artists, copyright status and genre.

The technology, outlined on www.tuneprint.com, could be used to create a search engine that could match queries more exactly, to enforce copyrights or to create massive music exchanges. Napster and the like could build networks in which artists could decide to distribute MP3 files of their songs for free or for a nominal fee per download.Editorial assistant Joy Kosenski contributed to this story.

Three appellate court judges officially will decide the fate of music sharing company Napster after oral arguments in its copyright infringement case began this week. The decision won’t matter much to the little guy who uses Napster software to download digital music files called MP3s, say local fans of the site’s software and its music-for-free compatriots.

“Big deal,” says Thomas, 30, an avid MP3 fan who wants to remain anonymous, about the possible closure of Napster for enabling the massive free downloading of copyrighted songs. “There are millions of copies (of the software) already out there, and independents have been setting…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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