While Courtney pulled an Albini, Jeff handed out the bread. Are the peasants acting like emperors, or do they still want something shiny, aluminum, plastic, and digital? Debacle or cage, something's got to give (pdf). Alternatively, you can just roll your own.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Feb 4, 2007 - 32 comments

Think the RIAA is doing something new by threatening and suing? Think again... it's all part of a 4-step process.
posted by clevershark on Nov 10, 2003 - 13 comments

Napster re-launching on Wednesday as a pay-per-download service. Anyone see this coming?
posted by Ufez Jones on Oct 26, 2003 - 40 comments

iTunes 4 + iLeech = Napster. iTunes can stream songs over the internet right now. With iLeech or iTunesDL (direct download link, no info available) you can download files from other iTunes 4 users. With ShareiTunes and Spymac Music you can search for available iTunes libraries. Now you have access to hundreds of thousands of songs. Will this mean big trouble for Apple or were they planning for this?
posted by capndesign on May 14, 2003 - 14 comments

Big Wigs at Napster Resign And here I thought they were dead long ago.
posted by tsarfan on May 15, 2002 - 6 comments

Kazaa asks users to accept new terms and conditions when logging on. Anyone know of any hidden pitfalls to the t&c's? Am I going to get visits from the police?
posted by wibbler on Feb 4, 2002 - 15 comments

The New Napster Preview is up. Will you pay for this? I won't.
posted by deftone on Jan 2, 2002 - 35 comments

Napster refuses to die, promises viable business model which you can now download for free. Someone tell these people that the dot-com "I've got no way of paying you anything other than stock options" boom is over. If I have to pay for the service of downloading software from a central server, the P2P model is useless. Morons.
posted by rev- on Aug 22, 2001 - 3 comments

Stick a fork in Napster, it's done. If court orders and kowtowing to industry mouthpieces weren't enough, a planned switch to a proprietary new music format looks to be the death blow.
posted by harmful on Jul 17, 2001 - 10 comments

Music CDs sales are down, coinciding with Napster's decline. Personally, I haven't bought a new CD in months because I no longer have a source for finding new music (what I used Napster for mainly). I suppose word of mouth and listening to online streams may help, but nothing compared to finding songs you liked on Napster, and searching others' files with similar tastes and finding new gems. Do you think the RIAA will notice this and change, or is control of distribution more important to them?
posted by mathowie on Jun 20, 2001 - 30 comments

Charley Pride's Copy-protected CD hacked -- or is it? Apparently, the people involved in trying to keep the CD off Napster failed to realize they are dealing with the World Wide Web.
posted by Hankins on May 16, 2001 - 6 comments

Songbird is billed as a Napster anti-piracy tool. It's job is supposedly for an artist to see the many title variations of their material as documentation for copyright violations. I don't know if this is truly a thinly-veiled claim of legitimacy or whether the author is just being earnest - but because it shows what users have what variations, I'm finding it a great tool to track down songs that I couldn't find before because of Napster's filtering and not necessarily being able to think of every possible variation...Neato.
posted by DiplomaticImmunity on May 10, 2001 - 7 comments

Could this be the straw that breaks the Camels back.
posted by monkeyJuice on May 8, 2001 - 13 comments

Congress Hears Online Music Grievances - Alanis Morrissette said few musicians were hurt by their exposure on Napster, as the structure of recording contracts prevents all but a few from ever seeing any money from record sales. Don Henley, formerly of The Eagles, took a swipe at the recording industry as well, noting that artists have had no say in the negotiations between recording companies and Internet firms. Ted Nugent, a prominent Napster critic, was scheduled to testify but had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts.
posted by radio_mookie on Apr 4, 2001 - 18 comments

Napster proof CDs? (Salon link, so shoot me) A new scheme for copy-protected CDs that uses errors and false data to confuse your CD-ROM drive. (more inside)
posted by smeat on Mar 28, 2001 - 22 comments

If you are downloading from Napster or some other service, the RIAA is tracking you. Here's a screenshot of the Recording Industry's secret weapon.
posted by andre_111 on Mar 23, 2001 - 17 comments

Judge orders Napster to eliminate copyright songs. I want to see the lists of songs that the record companies must provide.
posted by hijinx on Mar 6, 2001 - 14 comments

MP3 Translator You deserve the right to privately trade music on the Internet. Napster currently has filters set in place that look for certain words in the Artist and/or Song Title. To get around this, all you have to do is:
posted by webcowboy on Mar 6, 2001 - 47 comments

Aimster fights back... Not sure this is legal but it looks like some people have already found a way to bypass the napster filters...
posted by TNLNYC on Mar 5, 2001 - 9 comments

If Napster does die, what then? Industry Standard relays a report that investor Bertelsmann isn't just sitting there waiting for the axe to fall. They may be behind the development of their own Napster clone—Snoopster—to move in on the wide-open territory Napster leaves behind. The catch? Snoopster only searched online services, not your own files. Services like... Napster.
posted by honkzilla on Feb 26, 2001 - 1 comment

CD Sales down by 39%? And guess who's to blame. (Also linked in the article is the interesting stopnapster.com site.)
posted by gi_wrighty on Feb 26, 2001 - 43 comments

Napster takes first steps in trying to appease the RIAA, and specifically BMG. To me this approach is the stupidest thing Napster could have done. Who would want to pay a membership fee to use Napster if one can't even burn the files onto a cd?
posted by JFunk2800 on Feb 21, 2001 - 1 comment

Is it just me, or does it seem ridiculous that Napster will have one billion dollars of expendable net income over the next five years that it will be able to pay to the record labels? The labels would be crazy to accept this; in a year, when Napster files for Chapter 11, the settlement would vanish.
posted by delfuego on Feb 20, 2001 - 26 comments

Napster caves. So what is the best alternative for dial-up connections?
posted by aflakete on Jan 29, 2001 - 23 comments

IBM, with the latest attempt to put the genie back in the bottle. Their fatal flaw is betting on a post-napster world, though I bet their EMMS technology gets cracked before that ever happens.
posted by mathowie on Jan 22, 2001 - 11 comments

What the Bertelsmann-Napster deal means.
"Hank Barry, chief executive of Napster, has suggested a monthly fee of about $4.95 might be appropriate, but he stressed that fees had not been set." (NYT article; grow up.)
posted by sylloge on Nov 1, 2000 - 11 comments

Barenaked Ladies use ingenuity instead of lawyers to outfox Napster users. Singer Steven Page can be heard in one download telling users: "Although you thought you were downloading our new single, what you actually were downloading is an advertisement for our new album." In retrospect, it's so clever, it's obvious. We're all smacking our heads thinking, "Why didn't I think of that?" Appropriating the Napster system to recoup valuable advertising targeted to those who actually like the band is so elegant in its simplicity, and everyone but the would-be copier is satisfied. (Until they BUY the album)
posted by mikewas on Sep 24, 2000 - 8 comments

John at Genehack sez: "The music industry is a drug dealer. Napster is drug legalization." I think he might be right.
posted by baylink on Aug 24, 2000 - 5 comments

When Headlines Go... OVERT? (the surrealist headline generator strikes again)
posted by wendell on Aug 18, 2000 - 4 comments

A new survey of online music aficianados supports claims that the Napster crowd has been making for months: MP3-swappers are more likely to purchase music after listening to it for free.
posted by harmful on Jul 21, 2000 - 3 comments

"Hatch Warns Labels, Don't Make Me Come Over There and Spank You" Oooh! This is gonna be good. [ From Inside via Dan Lyke's excellent Flutterby. ]
posted by baylink on Jul 13, 2000 - 20 comments

Wow! Lars Ulrich makes a valid point! Who'd a thunk it? While he still fails to notice the obvious benefits the Nap' provides, or make amends for attacking his own fans (or at the very least realized that it's not Congress' place to meddle), Lars has gone ahead and more clearly illuminated his own point of view. Now if only he could have STARTED his argument a few months ago with such calm and coherent points (as opposed to grandiose posturing), this whole Napster debate would be a bit more...um...SOLVED by now?!
posted by NickBarat on Jul 11, 2000 - 14 comments

Napster Says RIAA Trying to Stifle Technology. Aw yeah, it's nice to see Napster get on the offensive. Armed with data showing that CD sales have increased with the rise in mp3 trading, Napster is now alleging that record companies are against the software because it reduces their 100% control of the music distribution business. But will a court allow Napster to go on while their users walk the fair-use tightrope?
posted by mathowie on Jul 4, 2000 - 23 comments

Motley Crue ROCKS man! Okay so maybe they're just as old and washed up as Metallica, but the diff here is that Motley Crue supports the idea of their fans downloading MP3s of their music via Napster and Metallica is just trying to get cheap publicity by screwing their own fans. Personally, I listen to bands like these and I made fun of groups like Metallica and Motley Crue back when I was in high school and everybody else thought they were cool, but I'll stop badmouthing Crue for the rest of my life. I might even try to appreciate their music. Metallica still sucks though.
posted by ZachsMind on Jul 3, 2000 - 3 comments

Napster retains (ahem) counsel. The right move I think. Along with the DeCSS case, this may be setting the precedent for what "intellectual property" and "public domain" mean in the 21st century. Hopefully, things will turn out better than in Sterling's "Distraction". Either way, things will never be the same.
posted by aflakete on Jun 18, 2000 - 1 comment

Love unloads This is one of the more comprehensive and insightful takes on the RIAA vs. Napster vs. Record Companies that I've heard. It's long and rambling, but it makes a lot of sense to me.
posted by y6y6y6 on Jun 14, 2000 - 35 comments

RIAA, mp3.com & Jack Valenti gang up on napster Media racketeers flex their collective muscle. As long as napster is outside the ring, it's a movement symbol as much as a corporate entity. Where's the money? Where's the music? When will artists just start selling mp3s?
posted by aflakete on Jun 13, 2000 - 11 comments

Hey Napster fans! Pull your pants up, turn your hat around and get a job. "We'll put all the albums we can on the Internet for free download and to hell with the record companies. See how they'll like that! I know this feels good but they're throwing the baby out with the bath water."
posted by Mick on Jun 12, 2000 - 31 comments

At first, Napster hits the Offspring with a C&D. Now, they're working together to offer "a more complete line of Napster products."
posted by CrayDrygu on Jun 5, 2000 - 4 comments

Too funny... Napster has hit The Offspring with a cease-and-desist order after the band started selling merchanidise emblazened with the Napster logo. Boo Napster.
posted by PWA_BadBoy on Jun 5, 2000 - 13 comments

HA! How could I have found out about this through something other than Metafilter? You people are slacking!

Anyway, The Offspring are selling bootleg Napster merchandise.
posted by peterme on Jun 2, 2000 - 11 comments

The Brunching Shuttlecocks are planning to follow Metallica's lead in seeking out pirates of their MP3 music on Napster. They have different ideas about how to deal with said pirates, though.
posted by harmful on Jun 2, 2000 - 3 comments

Motley disses Metallica Mister Sixx and pals give their response to Lars' crew, on the whole mp3/napster issue. Sounds like 2 groups of people are benefitting from all these lawsuits, lawyers and flash-cartoonists...
posted by nomisxid on May 31, 2000 - 4 comments

CD sales down near college campuses?
A new study shows that despite growing music sales overall, independent stores near the campuses of colleges that have banned Napster report a 7% decline in sales over the past two years. [more inside...]
posted by daveadams on May 25, 2000 - 10 comments

Napster finds financial support Venture capital firm Hummer Winblad are pumping $15m into Napster, effectively taking over the company by placing co-founder John Hummer on Napster's board.
posted by prolific on May 22, 2000 - 3 comments

An interview with the lawyers from Napster and Metellica. Good points, both.
posted by Mick on May 22, 2000 - 6 comments

Trey Anastasio (Phish) on Napster. I know we're all kind of sick of this now. The interesting thing is that I got an MP3 of "Heavy Things" (which is on their new album) this morning from Napster, listened 3 times and then called my local HMV to see if they had the album in yet. They did, and I'm off to buy it. (Feeling legit? You can get Liquid Audio versions of two cuts from the new album, including the one mentioned.)
posted by sylloge on May 18, 2000 - 5 comments

Dr. Dre follows in Metallica's footseps and hands over a list of 239,612 user ID's to Napster to for possible termination of these accounts.
posted by vitaflo on May 17, 2000 - 13 comments

''They're absolutely lying. There's no question that they're lying,'' Ummmm... Yeah...
posted by da5id on May 17, 2000 - 29 comments

Napster throws Metallica a curveball. Napster has been pointing out to its kicked-off users a certain provision of the DMCA: If an ISP kicks a user off a service for violating copyright, that user may file a counternotification if they believe they were wrongly accused. The plaintiff (Metallica) then has 10 days to respond with a lawsuit directly against that user. If they choose not to respond, the ISP must restore the account. If enough users (among the 300,000 blocked) file counternotifications, Metallica may wish it had never begun this process.
posted by daveadams on May 11, 2000 - 12 comments