Metallica Rocks the Boat; Fans Seasick
Napster has become to the Internet what Elian Gonzalez has become to current events: Everywhere you look, someone seems to be talking about it. But that's because the whole phenomenon is so damn interesting. The latest: Metallica and Dr. Dre have joined the growing list of people who want to see Napster's head on a platter, alleging that college students are robbing them by downloading their copyrighted songs for free. Which they are. And the way the law stands now, the responsibility for copyright infringement falls upon the person whose computer is uploading songs to other Napster users. I speculated in MP3 Buzz last December that Napster's server logs might be subpoenaed, putting thousands of users at risk of prosecution, and it looks like that's exactly what has happened.
But hold on a second here. This is music we're talking about; since when did Johnny Law care about my rock and roll? And why is Metallica going after its fans when we all know the band is living in castles and bathing in champagne? Something strange is afoot.
"Artists, like anyone else, should be paid for their work."
--Lou Reed
I'll believe anyone who can write a song like "What Goes On," and what Lou's saying makes a lot of sense. Still, for college kids who are strapped for cash and saddled with today's preposterous tuition costs, $15 to $20 for a CD seems like a lot. Understandably, they would rather pay for food than another Britney Spears breast augmentation. They can use programs such as Napster to get the music they require, while saving enough money to buy 15 to 20 servings of ramen noodles.
Disposable Heroes
I can see both sides of the coin, but I also see some evidence of a trend here: fans aren't taking their heroes' attention to the bottom line very well. Since most mainstream bands these days are nothing more than the slick product of some massive record company's marketing department, artists who publicly involve themselves in the pursuit of more cash are going over like lead balloons.
I asked confirmed Metallica aficionado and CNET production manager Juliette Maramaldi for her opinion on the suit, and she reacted with a mix of outrage and common sense: "The real shocking quality of the whole lawsuit against Napster is that for years Metallica strove to maintain a positive relationship with their fans. Their especially loyal fan base has continuously supported them and recognized their talent, even when a defining metal album such as Master of Puppets didn't receive the recognition that it deserved. What this lawsuit tells me is that money is their first priority, and that Metallica doesn't care about damaging their reputation with their fans--the people who got the band where it is today. If they truly cared about their 'art' (to quote drummer Lars Ulrich), then they would care less about squeezing every last cent out of their fans and more about reaching the largest possible audience."
Corporate Rock on the Way Out?
Fans want artists to be making music, not filing lawsuits. Maybe fans will take this outrage and redirect it at the slick boy bands and histrionic divas who are being rammed down our throats by an overly corporate record industry. Who knows, maybe the Metallica suit will usher in an a new era of independent music at the expense of the bloated corporate machine that cares more about profit than artistic integrity. Either way, we're definitely seeing fans demanding more music for less money and the record companies running scared and acting rashly, all thanks to this new technology.
The Other Pirates: You and Me
The motivations of both the students and artists are pretty clear. What isn't clear is why everyone thinks students are the only ones using Napster. What about corporate America? Most offices have T1 connections, and employees can easily download songs in the background over an entire day while they're using the computer for legitimate work purposes. Of course, none of us here at CNET would ever think of downloading songs through Napster. (Dre and Lars: if you're reading this, you might see my IP address on the Napster server logs, but that's just because I had to do research for this column on how the service works--I swear!)
Note: I'm not the only one with an opinion on Napster. To read CNET users' views and post your own two cents, go to the Napster feedback page on CNET Download.com.
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