From Ron Lin's, "Intellectual Pornography," Fall '00 From Ron Lin's, "Intellectual Pornography," Fall '00Whatever happens, whatever travesties or calamities or whatever injustices befall this sacred earth, no one will ever take away my Napster. On Tuesday, rapper Dr. Dre issued an ultimatum to Napster demanding that his copyrighted music be removed from Napster's network. In short, Dr. Dre may soon join company with other bands, such as Metallica, who have filed lawsuits against Napster for allegedly encouraging its users to illegally distribute copyright music over the Internet. For the Napster-bereft, here's a summary. With Napster software, one can search for and download MP3 music files with other users over the Internet and listen to those files through the computer. It's almost as accessible as porn on the Internet, and it's way easier than finding out how to synthesize a high-grade explosive out of fertilizer and toothpicks. The paradigm is shifting for the music industry, and whenever paradigms shift, somebody is bound to get aggravated and lash out against something innocent -- in this case, the laws of human nature, physics and innovation. Napster, developed by a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Michigan, is really nothing new. In fact, it essentially represents an age-old problem. You see, there will always be smart-ass college kids hell-bent on screwing over someone -- particularly old people. In this case, the gray hairs of the recording industry fall prey to youth's swift sword. So Napster certainly does not represent a new problem. Like the massive challenges that face every old industry, record companies and musicians are faced with the need to adapt to a Napsterized world and the Napster addicts like myself who populate it. Whenever new ways of doing things comes around, some people don't get it. Western Union didn't quite get it when it turned down Alexander Graham Bell and the rights to the telephone. When Sony first introduced VHS in 1975, the film industry was extremely wary of the new technology and its potential ramifications. Certainly, one could argue that musicians are entitled to copyrights to their works of art. The reality of the matter is that there will never be an easy way to copyright sounds. Once a copyright is given, there is essentially no foolproof means to guarantee and enforce such a protection. Ultimately, at some point or another, a sound escapes from its safe digital confines and is unleashed into a world of microphones and sound recorders. No matter how the industry encrypts and no matter how upset Dr. Dre gets, a sound only has to fly through the air in order to get to our ears. And the last time I checked, the air is free. Napster is here, and here to stay. What's more, the Napster model could potentially expand into other industries. For example, because of technological constraints, video is not now being distributed so freely via the Internet. But it is not unfathomable to envision a time when the necessary bandwidth exists to allow all of us to trade movies as easily as we currently download Soundgarden. And like most things worth doing, widespread adoption of Napster has emanated from universities. Just like marijuana, the Napster revolution will reach into every crack of the earth and turn the establishment on its heel. While adoption has been the easy part, acceptance has not. Ironically, Metallica and Dr. Dre embody the core of the "establishment" as much as the corporate industry behemoths do. So, it's the musicians who must essentially face up to a changing world, one in which the album doesn't represent the fundamental component of artistic creation. In the end, musicians have to be as diverse as the people listening. CNET News.com columnist J. William Gurley asserts that musicians will have to rely on other income sources besides album sales. Specifically, artists may have to be more dependent upon appearances, sponsorships and electronic distribution royalties rather than sales of the actual album through traditional channels. In short, the artists will have to get closer to their fans. The concerns of universities around the country are also understandable as they face the threats of litigation from musicians and the recording industry. It is unfortunately just another component of a new emerging world that will never quite go away. So, my suggestion to schools that can't handle the "extra capacity" from Napster traffic is brief -- get more capacity. So while Dr. Dre may at first glance inspire fear in Napster-lovers everywhere, the truth is that the world has changed. Western Union does not sit atop the world of mass communication because of the inability to adapt to a changing paradigm. Will the same fate befall the traditional recording industry? Hell, I don't know. I don't care. Just as long as I have my Napster.
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