Feelings on Napster?

Let's make one thing clear. I am not against the concept of a Napster. In fact, I think that's the way we're all headed. Complile a favorite song list, downoad it to a flash chip the size of a pack of gum and throw it into your nearest MP-3 player. This will probably become so seamless it will replace radio some day. I think it is not an argument or an indictment of the technolgy but of the company's practice. This is akin to downloading all movies into a database(via individuals who own a digital copy of it) and allowing you to view on-line. This could well be the case in ten years or less! Is the argument then supposed to be; "Wow I like it on-line, now I'm going to buy a ticket and see it at the theater!" Or "I liked it, now I'm going to buy it on DVD"! I don't think so. Yes, we may be talking about songs right now, but think about the legal precedent it would set! And it wouldn't stop there. Do we really want more specialized laws - or more laws in general? That's what would happen if Napster wins this thing.

After spending the last 20 minutes reading ALL of these titillating posts, I'm just happy to see that Carl Eber and Issabre kissed and made up. It just gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling about being a modern day audiophile...I think I'll go buy some new cable now. It also made me miss Mr. Gridlock. Where'd ya go man? Your posts were dope.

I never kissed the dude, just realized I could kill more birds with kindness, than with stones. Ok, I didn't really realize that, I'm just a nice guy, as long as nobody attacks me. And if they do, Tom and the AG staff desperately want to see me lay down and take it (actually, they desperately want me off this planet...or at least out of their forum). Tom said if somebody verbally accausted him in person, he would "just walk away". He says a lot of things...I don't pretend to be a fully mature individual, and I am a "hothead", I admit that. But, the concept of "first blood" is not lost on me. You play idiot with dogging my "serious" posts for over a month, you get "got"...that's the way I play (and I'm not talking about Issabre). Anyway, I can't believe they let me back on this place, must have been another hacker, heh heh...............AND MY FEELINGS ON NAPSTER ARE THAT IT'S A PAIN, if you only have a 56k modem, and that most of what's on there has been read at 12X speed, and there's no way of knowing this until you dowload it for an hour (assuming there's no "transfer error"). A few files have been quite nice, from CD-R's on my CD50. Some don't even translate to CD, they either say they're 4 seconds long, or else they really screw you, and just burn silence on the CD-R, instead of a song. FREE MUSIC IS A PAIN....and that's why I like it! Sort of...

The following is the quote that started this thread. "My opinion is that Napster is really opening up accessibility to music for alot of people, allowing them to try new things that before they wouldn't have access to or simply wouldn't be prepared to invest in." The LA riots in it's own way also opened up accessibility for a lot of people, allowing them to "steal" new things that before they wouldn't have had access to or simply wouldn't be prepared to invest in. I feel that the majority of the people that are using Napster use it's downloads as an end product, and do not "purchase" the licensed and copyrighted material. This could be the start of the end of music (writers, composers and performers)as we know it. Sure Elmo Witherspoon Jr. may still be performing on a corner somewhere but in general, no gain, no music.

If the money is THE ONLY, motivating factor, than i don't want that music!! Musician, writer...or any other REAL artist will make music, write...CREATE, regardless of their reward! They are creating, not to make You feel good! But for themselves! This atitude, as "Dekay" said, is felt in the current (sorry) state of literature, music, and if you will cinematography (movies) and much less in visual art (thank god). I just wanted to say that the true artist will create...because he HAS to!