“Napster: Whose side are you on?”
If you read the recent Newsweek article about Napster, it appears that the music industry is up in arms about Napster. Everyone is either for Napster, or against Napster. No middle ground. Kind of like rap and country music. You either love it or you hate it. Some people claim that Napster is terrible for the industry because people are giving away what people are spending millions on to sell. Others claim that it’s kind of like giving away one thing to “entice” people to get the full album. I agree with the latter. Hearing Jeff Foxworthy stand-up comedy through Napster made me realize how funny his stuff really was. And thus I went out and bought Jeff’s newest CD. I did the same thing for Robin Williams’s stand-up. Though Mom warned me about where I can play that one since it had the “Parental Advisory” label on it. Still, I believe that Napster is like fan sites. It’s done by enthusiasts for other enthusiasts, and that is a much stronger recommendation to buy or not to buy something, because those people have no financial interest in sales and thus can give a completely honest opinion about whether it’s good or not.
Date posted: May 31, 2000