I am not a lawyer, but I use Napster, so allow me to respond. I invested a lot of money in a CD- writer and blank CD- Rs with the promise of getting music off the Web. Then, I found out that the oldies that I wanted were almost impossible to find, and that many sites were selling tracks for nearly a dollar a pop, the amortized cost of most CDs. So I found out about Napster, and started using it. How do I reconcile myself to it? First, I regard it as little more than swapping CDs with acquaintances and using digital tape or a CD- writer that attaches to a stereo system to make my own mixes. Virtually no one thinks anything of that. If one objects that it is much more efficient than a random exchange, I use the analogy of a second hand store: no one says that I cannot sell my CDs to a second hand store, even though they suffer much less quality loss than records. Then, the second hand store profits from resale, without any money going to the recording companies or artists. In one of the larger such stores, it is possible to find much of what I want with little trouble. Sure, I avoid paying the store using Napster, but we were talking copyright infringement, not the obligation to pay Napster if they don't ask for it. Thus, there is a zone of ownership which permits the exchange of recorded material and books, for that matter, through trade or resale, and I consider Napster to be merely an extension of that. I have given discarded books to friends, and accepted them. Should I send a remittance to the author?
Now, if I were to manufacture CDs for sale, I would feel differently, then copyright law comes into play. But I do not, they are solely for personal use, and occasional gifts.
The social dimension is this: has there been a substantial drop- off in revenues among manufacturers of recorded music? In fact, there has not been, arguing that Napster helps promote interest in groups, and merely supplements one's collection. People still like to avoid the hassle of downloading and burning when they really like an album....... |
