The Internet is constantly expanding. The law is backing own on file-transfer sights such as Morpheus. Even new, more secure technology such as iTunes is subject to abuse.
The internet has transformed the world. It has transformed our communications. Because of the internet, one can consume various forms of media without leaving their home. But this privilege has turned many individuals towards ill. Now one can steal media, especially music, because of its digital availability. Pirating music on the internet became possible through file-sharing; this is sharing duplicate MP3 files with another user(s) on a file-sharing network. Other users may download a new duplicate from your group of music files. File-sharing MP3s threatened the music industry. Because of profit losses, the music industry mobilized to prevent illegal distribution. Certainly the iPod/iTunes helped the recording industry recover from profit losses due to pirated music, but digital music will always be pirated. This is because, as will be observed, one person's invention can supply millions of people with free music. This happened with Napster and mp3's; and with MyTunes and iTunes songs. The industry must rely on creativity to attract customers to the legal consumption of music.
Prior to the internet era, one could not easily duplicate music: “Vinyl records were almost impossible for a consumer to duplicate, and cassettes provided a noticeable degradation of sound quality with each copy made…” (“Is Digitized Music Becoming a Quasi-Public Good?”). On compact discs, digital WAV formats were difficult to duplicate: “Transferring a [WAV]file of this size over the internet might take hours, depending on the connection speed of the computers sharing the file… the advent of MP3 technology…making music sharing over the Web a much faster process”(“Journal of Public Policy and Marketing”). Also, an MP3 file duplicates exactly: “Because of the MP3, “Every second- and subsequent-generation copies are identical to the original recording” (“Journal of Public Policy & Marketing”). Easily distributed, exactly replicated media opened up a world of piracy, and a world of trouble for the music industry. This was because a free copy of the song became instant at near-CD sound quality.
The beginning of the end of the music industry began with the creation of Napster. Napster was the original file-sharing network. It is “a computer program written by an 18-year old college dropout [Shaun Fanning] in his uncle's office, and distributed free of cost to over 50 million people around the world” (“Is Digitized Music Becoming a Quasi-Public Good”). It artfully helped users share and distribute copyrighted music files: “It provides a current directory of all shared files of all users…it provides the necessary IP address information and linkage to enable users to exchange music…it monitors the exchange process to ensure that transmission is completed” (“Journal of Public Policy & Marketing”). This meant that quick, quality MP3 duplicates were made available for free among millions of users. Users downloaded from Napster's central servers, which held a catalogue of songs. Napster attracted the attention Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). They perceived Napster's distribution of copyrighted music as piracy; they took legal action.
When Napster was sued by the RIAA in 1999 ( A&M Records vs. Napster ), it tried do defend itself as an Online Service Provider (OSP). Napster banked on the fact that “an OSP that is merely a conduit through which infringing material passes will not be liable for that infringement, either directly or indirectly” (“Journal of Public Policy and Marketing”). This was denied by the court. The RIAA successfully secured an injunction on Napster on July 26, 2000. This injunction meant that Napster could not assist in the further exchange of copyrighted MP3 files; it would have to shut down. Napster quickly filed a court appeal and won (July 28, 2000); it kept operating. The RIAA filed an appeal (February 12, 2000); as a result, Napster was required to block user access to copyrighted music (March 2, 2001). Napster attempted to block users from the copyrighted materials, but failed. Under court order, Napster was forced to shut down on July 2nd, 2001. It appears that the RIAA won, but they were still losing to threats greater than Napster.
Napster served as a catalyst for peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing. “Napster was not a true P2P application, as there was a main point that all Napster users relied on: a group of Napster-owned servers kept the lists of file being offered…these servers could be seized or shut down”(Is Digitized Music…”). Despite its profoundly ill effect on the music industry, Napster was only a legal scapegoat and was the least efficient file-sharing medium. “Napster is only the most visible and prolific of the MP3 exhange services used by Internet music seekers. Many others are available, including Gnutella, iMesh, Napigator, KaZaA, Aimster, and Freenet)” (“Journal of Public Policy and Marketing). There are many others, such as Morpheus and Limewire.
