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NAPSTERISM August 10 2000 (Written for Internet Freedom - www.netfreedom.org) A ruling by a US federal appeals court recently that Napster can, for the moment, stay online ended a bad week for Internet music on a happy note. The decision followed that of Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, who had on Wednesday ordered Napster to shut down; fortunately the appelate court had the good sense to rule that there were "substantial questions of first impression going to both the merits and the form" of Judge Patel's original injunction. As the Recording Industry Association's Cary Sherman somewhat conspiratorially said, the final outcome of the Napster case "will pave the way for the future of online music." Because - and here's where things get controversial - Napster is without doubt one of the greatest tools currently available to music creators and fans. After all, Napster was the first widely-accepted 'celestial jukebox' system. It provides a much-needed service which the music industry has failed to deliver. Only now are major labels such as Sony, EMI and Universal selling digital downloads: and even then on a limited-capacity trial basis. With their extreme reticence over entering the digital arena and highly litigious stance towards music technology companies, the record companies have served only to increase demand for services such as Napster. But instead of trying to crush these upstarts, the record companies have a duty to work with them: for the long-term good of both the industry and artists. As a musician, Napster has brought thousands of visitors to my site, many of whom have ended up as regular listeners. It enables me to contact those people who already trade my material and introduce my music to those that haven't yet heard it and at no cost to me. Martin Williams of Silverman, a top-ranking MP3.com artist with several Internet number ones under his belt, also was disappointed at the original injunction decision: "It's a shame. I've sold numerous CDs as a direct result of Napster. It's another marketing angle closed down for me." comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion 
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