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 on Feb 4, 2007 - View this thread

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

Napster re-launching on Wednesday as a pay-per-download service. Anyone see this coming?
posted on Oct 26, 2003 - View this thread

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 on May 14, 2003 - View this thread

Big Wigs at Napster Resign And here I thought they were dead long ago.
posted on May 15, 2002 - View this thread

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 on Feb 4, 2002 - View this thread

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

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 on Aug 22, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Jul 17, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Jun 20, 2001 - View this thread

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 on May 16, 2001 - View this thread

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 on May 10, 2001 - View this thread

Could this be the straw that breaks the Camels back.
posted on May 8, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Apr 4, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Mar 28, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Mar 23, 2001 - View this thread

Judge orders Napster to eliminate copyright songs. I want to see the lists of songs that the record companies must provide.
posted on Mar 6, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Mar 6, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Mar 5, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Feb 26, 2001 - View this thread

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

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 on Feb 21, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Feb 20, 2001 - View this thread

Napster caves. So what is the best alternative for dial-up connections?
posted on Jan 29, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Jan 22, 2001 - View this thread

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 on Nov 1, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Sep 24, 2000 - View this thread

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

When Headlines Go... OVERT? (the surrealist headline generator strikes again)
posted on Aug 18, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jul 21, 2000 - View this thread

"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 on Jul 13, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jul 11, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jul 4, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jul 3, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 18, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 14, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 13, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 12, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 5, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 5, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 2, 2000 - View this thread

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 on Jun 2, 2000 - View this thread

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 on May 31, 2000 - View this thread

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 on May 25, 2000 - View this thread

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 on May 22, 2000 - View this thread

An interview with the lawyers from Napster and Metellica. Good points, both.
posted on May 22, 2000 - View this thread

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 on May 18, 2000 - View this thread

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 on May 17, 2000 - View this thread

''They're absolutely lying. There's no question that they're lying,'' Ummmm... Yeah...
posted on May 17, 2000 - View this thread

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 on May 11, 2000 - View this thread

Napster did it- blocked more than 317,000 names used by its subscribers, which have been identified by the hard rock band, Metallica, as allegedly infringing on the copyrights of the group's music.
posted on May 10, 2000 - View this thread

Uhoh! Leggo my napster! So I just tried to load up Napster, and it told me that my connection to the server was refused. None of the people I've talked to have been able to get on either. Could this be the end of Napster? Killed in the night while nobody was watching? The site doesn't say anything, but grrrr, I want my pirated music!
posted on May 6, 2000 - View this thread

Metallica and Napster: The Chat. My favorite quote: "For the doubters out there, Metallica will carry on for the next 20 years," Ulrich said. "Whether you're around for the ride or not, that's your problem, not ours." Oh, really?
posted on May 4, 2000 - View this thread

Napster users are named in the latest battle Some have admitted to being a criminal while others say who cares? Metallica sure doesn't seem like it is going to back down. The article says Metallica is scheduled to chat with fans online at the Artistsdirect.com Web site to explain its fight against Napster. So is any action going to be taken against the fans who want the music?
posted on May 1, 2000 - View this thread

Another music artist that doesn't get it: Dr. Dre. I knew the Metallica thing could start a rash of followers, hopefully this isn't a trend. Why is it so difficult for artists to see that fans trading their music is a good thing? (including better sales of discs thanks to the people hearing the mp3's and better concert sales from fans buying tickets to see them live)
posted on Apr 19, 2000 - View this thread

Download an Mp3... ...and goto jail. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Of course, you can always DoS attack the Motion Pictures Association of America's website, (which was down as I was writing this.) but that would most likely only land you in even deeper water than downloading the Mp3.
posted on Apr 17, 2000 - View this thread

WTF!?! Everyone's favorite band (back in high school) Metallica is suing Napster and a handful of universities for unlawful trading of their music. This is ridiculous, and I hope it doesn't set a precedence. If anyone would just slap a revenue model on napster so artists could get paid for their work, none of this piracy crap would happen. And Metallica, what about the other apps that do the same thing, are you going to sue them too? And what about every other band on earth? What do you expect to get out of universities, tighter controls over bandwidth, or student monitoring of internet usage? What about every cable modem and DSL provider that lets people use Napster, are you going after them too? Why don't you sue everyone on earth that's heard your songs but didn't pay for them? Side question: Is it better to burn out or fade away?
posted on Apr 13, 2000 - View this thread

Napster Is this the best thing ever? What's the future of this software?
posted on Mar 21, 2000 - View this thread

ABC reports on Napsters usage on University Campuses.
posted on Feb 27, 2000 - View this thread

Rex Reed will probably be getting some bad reviews in the future, thanks to today's arrest for shoplifting CDs from a New York music store. Too bad he never got into Napster and mp3s, maybe this would have never happened. I think I own all three of those CDs, actually. Rex, I would have let you download them!
posted on Feb 12, 2000 - View this thread

Contrary to what the record industry thinks, mp3s sell CDs. Today I bought "Irish Drinking Songs" after hearing "Water is Alright in Tay" and "Beer, Beer, Beer" mp3s I downloaded from Napster. Hearing the beer song brought back a distinct memory. I recall hearing it blaring from a jukebox and singing along with 50 strangers at an Irish pub in San Francisco on New Year's Eve, 1998.
posted on Jan 26, 2000 - View this thread

If you haven't tried out Napster yet, you really should. There's also a Mac port of the program (Macster) and a Linux version. On today's journey into the Napster underworld, I was rewarded with several bizarre gems. Among other things, I found a Japanese version of "Song for the Dumped" by Ben Folds Five, Tom Hanks singing "The Cowboy Song" from the epic film "Joe Versus the Volcano", and finally, a kickass acoustic version of "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters, which sounds like it was recorded from a Howard Stern radio show. You can't buy music this quirky, I'm glad there's a venue for it with Napster.
posted on Jan 19, 2000 - View this thread