Chabil Ha' writes "CNET News is reporting on Napter's learning curve. There are some interesting revelations about their dealings with the music industry." From the article: "We made one last effort to convince the labels that they should do a deal with us. A little-known underground product called Gnutella had just surfaced. It was a P2P file-sharing program that required no central server and no company to operate it. If the labels didn't do a deal with us, and instead put us out of business, then Gnutella and its derivatives would become unstoppable. If we worked together now we could convert the market to a paid-subscription model. If we didn't do a deal, chaos would ensue. The labels didn't believe us and didn't really understand what this Gnutella threat was." Napster's Learning Curve Log in/Create an Account | Top | 151 comments | Search Discussion Display Options Threshold: -1: 151 comments 0: 144 comments 1: 118 comments 2: 81 comments 3: 17 comments 4: 7 comments 5: 3 comments Flat Nested No Comments Threaded Oldest First Newest First Highest Scores First Oldest First (Ignore Threads) Newest First (Ignore Threads) The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. A question for this topic (Score:1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 21, @06:21PM (#13848599) How many justifications of piracy will be posted? [ Reply to ThisRe:A question for this topic by PacketScan (Score:1) Friday October 21, @06:30PM Re:A question for this topic (Score:4, Interesting) by toddbu (748790) on Friday October 21, @06:38PM (#13848738) Agreed. But it's still human nature. In my soc class in college, they had an experiment where they'd arbitrarily break up a class into three groups: rich, middle class, and poor. According to these rules, the rich were virtually omnipotent and could make any rule they wanted. The poor had to suck it up. It was interesting to see that even in a room full of (in reality) middle to upper class kids how illegal behaviors quickly set in. In one class, the "poor" kids actually kidnapped a "rich" girl and held her down the hall for ransom.I'm not trying to justify anything here. It's just that you have to consider how people will react regardless of the law. Our jails are full of people convicted for the possession and use of illegal drugs. Does this mean that we're winning the war on drugs? [ Reply to This | ParentRe:A question for this topic by bobcat7677 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:25PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:A question for this topic by Spy der Mann (Score:1) Friday October 21, @06:30PMRe:A question for this topic by hunterx11 (Score:3) Friday October 21, @06:57PMRe:A question for this topic by PacketScan (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:13PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:A question for this topic by Baricom (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:58PMRe:A question for this topic by EggyToast (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:00PMRe:A question for this topic by macdaddy357 (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:01PMRe:A question for this topic by fimbulvetr (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:38PMRe:A question for this topic by zakezuke (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:29PMRe:A question for this topic by Overly Critical Guy (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:29PMRe:A question for this topic by I_Human (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:59PMRe:A question for this topic by DigitalReverend (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:06PMRe:A question for this topic by slavemowgli (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:33PMRe:A question for this topic by utuk99 (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:08PMThat is Privateering, not Piracy. by AoT (Score:2) Friday October 21, @10:51PMRe:A question for this topic by lewp (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:57PMRIAA propaganda? by Nugget (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:02PM Which is why... (Score:5, Insightful) by Belial6 (794905) on Friday October 21, @07:19PM (#13849051) Which is why we all need to start refering to the act of making and supporting 100 year copyrights as "Child Molestation". That way, in 200 years, our decendents can find 200 year old references to our copyrights system that legitimizes calling RIAA type organizations "Child Molesters". I don't say this tounge in cheek. If someone using an unfair comparison a very long time ago legitimizes its use in our language. (which is not totally unreasonable) Then we must keep in mind that someone must coin the term. So, I hereby coin the term "Child Molester" to refer to companies that rape our inner child by abusing copyright/patant/trademark systems. [ Reply to This | Parent2 replies beneath your current threshold.3 replies beneath your current threshold. bt (Score:4, Insightful) by ajdlinux (913987) on Friday October 21, @06:23PM (#13848609) And now we have BitTorrent! It doesn't really matter what the labels do, P2P won't go away. [ Reply to ThisRe:bt by Phil246 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:25PM Misquote (Score:4, Insightful) by Gothmolly (148874) on Friday October 21, @06:37PM (#13848725) What you meant to say, was:The more you tighten your definition of Fair Use, the more content will slip through your fingers.(Leia to Vader) [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Misquote by trurl7 (Score:1) Friday October 21, @06:55PMClarification: by Gothmolly (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:42PM OK? (Score:1) by netkid91 (915818) on Friday October 21, @06:25PM (#13848625) Wow RIAA finally made a very stupid decision(big surpise) not supporting Napster, because of this I really think they put themselves in a really bad posistion. People would actually use napster as a subscription for downloading music, pay per song no way. Gnutella needs no subscription or payment per song, people are going to use it if the RIAA/Napster agreement comes about, granted some will still use it after that, but RIAA wil still regain a holding on the music industry and lower the amount of pirating drastically. [ Reply to ThisRe:OK? by uncoveror (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:18PMRe:OK? by shark72 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:15PMRe:OK? by Clover_Kicker (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:40PMRe:OK? by shark72 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:25PMRe:OK? by superpulpsicle (Score:2) Friday October 21, @10:14PM Old Napster is STILL the model... (Score:4, Interesting) by voss (52565) on Friday October 21, @06:25PM (#13848626) The record industry still hasnt rapped its arms around paid download services...try finding one paid service that has ALL of the music companies collections. I dont mind PAYING for the songs if I can actually find them.The right service would be one that has all the music companies collections and has a mix of paid and free song files. [ Reply to ThisRe:Old Napster is STILL the model... by fohat (Score:1) Friday October 21, @06:53PMRe:Old Napster is STILL the model... by macdaddy357 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:09PMRe:Old Napster is STILL the model... by CastrTroy (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:02PMRe:Old Napster is STILL the model... by 16K Ram Pack (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:10PMRe:Old Napster is STILL the model... by shark72 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:33PMRe:Old Napster is STILL the model... by pi_rules (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:55PMEven better by Neoncow (Score:1) Friday October 21, @09:50PMRe:Even better by Neoncow (Score:1) Friday October 21, @10:00PM Lessons learned... (Score:2, Insightful) by max99ted (192208) on Friday October 21, @06:26PM (#13848637) ...from the article seem to be what the RIAA and the rest of the music industry should be looking at now. For example: Understand who your customer is, what problems you need to solve, and how much they are willing to pay for it.I guess they know who, just not the what, where, when, why, and how. [ Reply to This This shouldn't be news... (Score:2) by toddbu (748790) on Friday October 21, @06:27PM (#13848645) Ok, the story is interesting and all, but did they really think that they'd change the way that a monopoly does business? It would be like getting them to admit that they're on a sinking ship, and that just ain't going to happen. But this is also why I'm such a big believer in free market economics. About time somebody thinks they own the customer, somebody else will out-hussle them and provide better service at a lower price. Regardless of the lawsuits and the piracy and all of the ugliness that currently surrounds the music/video industry, eventually it will all settle down and we'll all forget that this ever happened. A blip in history, I say... [ Reply to ThisRe:This shouldn't be news... by Spetiam (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:36PMexcept... by Spetiam (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:38PMWhat's Free About Markets? by mpapet (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:07PMRe:This shouldn't be news... by shark72 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:48PM $0.99 per song (Score:3, Interesting) by kihjin (866070) on Friday October 21, @06:28PM (#13848659) (http://www.frozenonline.com/) Digital downloads could be much more profitable than CDs.Really? More profitable? This wouldn't have to do with the fact that digitally distributed music being more expensive than tranditional optical media. With individual songs at $0.99 and rising, you'd have to be an RIAA executive to think that it wasn't protifable enough as it is. [ Reply to ThisRe:$0.99 per song by temojen (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:40PMRe:$0.99 per song by Quinn_Inuit (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:43PMRe:$0.99 per song by ceejayoz (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:31PMRe:$0.99 per song by ZachPruckowski (Score:2) Friday October 21, @10:29PMRe:$0.99 per song by ciroknight (Score:3) Friday October 21, @06:48PMRe:$0.99 per song by TIMxPx (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:42PMRe:$0.99 per song by dAzED1 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @10:21PMRe:$0.99 per song by Psiolent (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:56PMRe:$0.99 per song by beefypirate (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:57PM Napster Creaters Take Too Much Blame (Score:3, Insightful) by RUFFyamahaRYDER (887557) <slashdot@NOSPAm.kelsdomain.com> on Friday October 21, @06:29PM (#13848662) (http://www.kelsdomain.com/) Wow, the Napster creaters take a lot of blame for this, and I agree they are partly at fault with the failure of Napster. The part I do not agree with is them taking all the blame. The RIAA had a chance to cut a deal with Napster and look ahead to what millions of users already knew about the future of aquiring music, but they decided to sue instead. They had a chance to grab the online industry just as it was starting, but instead took the wrong route and now look at them... Sueing anyone and everyone because they still haven't figured out that they can sell MP3's for cheaper than CD's and turn a BIGGER profit. [ Reply to This Frog in the well syndrome (Score:2, Troll) by vivin (671928) <vivin_paliathNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Friday October 21, @06:29PM (#13848668) (http://vivin.net/ | Last Journal: Thursday May 12, @12:19PM) Well the recording-industry is, and has been suffering from a frog-in-the-well syndrome for a long time. Instead of trying to figure out disruptive technology, and how they can adapt/enhance their business model, they try to threaten it or squash it out of existence.Like the article said, the RIAA's biggest mistake was trying to "cure" the symptoms and not the cause(s). So they went after Napster, but they failed to (to use a cliche) see which way the wind was blowing. They should have seen what was coming with napster - how P2P would be a major force to reckon with. Instead of seeing how they could use P2P to their advantage, they decided they wanted to crush it altogether.How successful have they been at treating the symptoms? Now what exactly are the causes? Firstly I think it's the completely shitty kind of music that they churn out - the factory made, cookie-cutter style crap. I understand the whole deal about trying to make money for their shareholders, but seriously - a lot of the music is crap (which is why I try to support local bands and listen to indie stuff). A CD may have 1 or 2 good songs, but then you have to buy all the other 10 songs that come with it, and that you may not like as much. Clearly this wasn't good enough for them, because they want you to buy it all.I wonder how different the entire scene would have been if they RIAA had seen the changes happening and adopted a model that we see today - where they can charge per song.But like I said... frog in the well. [ Reply to ThisRe:Frog in the well syndrome by MightyMartian (Score:1) Friday October 21, @06:39PMRe:Frog in the well syndrome by Mr2001 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:21PMRe:Frog in the well syndrome by The Cydonian (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:02PMRe:Frog in the well syndrome by The Cydonian (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:23PMRe:Frog in the well syndrome by shark72 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:36PMRe:Frog in the well syndrome by The Cydonian (Score:2) Friday October 21, @11:32PM Pointless (Score:3, Interesting) by obli (650741) on Friday October 21, @06:30PM (#13848677) (http://obli.net/) Trying to kill off P2P is like squeezing a blob of jelly, it just pours out between your fingers and reassembles after a while... [ Reply to ThisRe:Pointless by netkid91 (Score:1) Friday October 21, @06:37PMRe:Pointless by JeTmAn81 (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:07PMRe:Pointless by Seumas (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:32PMRe:Pointless by Svenne (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:54PMRe:Pointless by Seumas (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:00PMRe:Pointless by TCQuad (Score:3) Friday October 21, @07:19PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. To say it succinctly (Score:3, Insightful) by vivin (671928) <vivin_paliathNO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Friday October 21, @06:32PM (#13848690) (http://vivin.net/ | Last Journal: Thursday May 12, @12:19PM) Understand who your customer is, what problems you need to solve, and how much they are willing to pay for it.Ohhh! But No! The way the RIAA works now is:Have your customers understand you, what problems (ooh!! P2P!! PIRACY!!) you need to have them solve for you, and how much you can make pay for itFrom what I've seen, the RIAA hasn't been about understanding their customers. At all. [ Reply to This1 reply beneath your current threshold. Pioneers in a new industry (Score:5, Insightful) by glaqua (572332) on Friday October 21, @06:35PM (#13848711) Napster was clearly the pioneer in the music download business.And they clearly forgot the old saying:"How do you identify the pioneers?They are the ones with arrows in their backs!" [ Reply to This It was inevitable anyway (Score:1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 21, @06:37PM (#13848726) > If we didn't do a deal, chaos would ensue. I believe that chaos would have ensued anyway.A RIAA-sanctioned version Napster would have had SOME kind of encumberance for the user. (Such as limited selection, low bitrate, monthly fee, non-MP3 format, DRM, or some other bothersome detail.)We subsequently found out that P2P is awesome for distributing large F/OSS binaries, such as Live CDs and so forth. Therefore, something like BitTorrent would have had to been developed anyway.After that, it would have been inevitable that people would start using P2P to bypass the bothersome restrictions of Napster. [ Reply to ThisRe:It was inevitable anyway by Stormwatch (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:05PM You better do a deal with us or else! (Score:2) by AKAJack (31058) on Friday October 21, @06:38PM (#13848731) Yeah, that would work with what? a three-person internet startup talking to some guy in a music company? I mean I wouldn't hire any one who came in preaching doom and destruction if I didn't buy into his act. More often than not you'll be right. So when you're wrong and it becomes a huge problem, what do you do, just say "yes" to ever huckester that comes along? [ Reply to This Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. (Score:5, Interesting) by Ahnteis (746045) on Friday October 21, @06:41PM (#13848757) Let's see -- I can:1) Buy music from itunes. It will be in a format that only Apple players can play, will have digital restrictions, and will be at lower bitrate then some competitors. It will cost the nearly the same as the full CD if I buy the album ($14 at Walmart vs $10 on itunes).2) Buy music from other server. It will be in a format that can play on many players, but not on the popular Apple players. It will have digital restrictions. Quality may be greater then the Apple offering (depending on the store.) It will cost the nearly the same as the full CD if I buy the album ($14 at Walmart vs $10 online).3) Buy music on CD. I get great quality at a slightly higher cost, but I have to buy all the songs on a CD. I also have to travel to the store instead of sitting at home (or work). I do get artwork and physical media, but have no backup unless I make my own. Increasingly, I may be faced with attempts to block me from making a backup or traveling copy.4) Buy the music from a Russian site. Incredibly low price, selection of different bitrates. Artists probably won't be paid, but the RIAA won't either. Won't be sued by RIAA for illegally downloading. Morally not quite as "right" as other options.5) Download the music for FREE through kazaa / etc. Quality ranges, but I will likely have to hunt for a real copy of popular songs. I risk being sued by the RIAA. Morally, one of the least "right" choices.6) Steal the CD from a store. All the benefits of a CD without the cost. Unless you get caught. Still, you will may very well be penalized less if you get caught then if you had downloaded the song from kazaa. Morally a "wrong" choice.7) Make a copy from a friend. Quality ranges depending on your friends original source, but it's free and may be legal under home taping laws. Morally questionable.Of course, the RIAA isn't interested in choices. They're only interested in money and that's why this article is interesting. As far as I know it's not even a dupe! +1 intersting for Slashdot! [ Reply to ThisRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by Seumas (Score:3) Friday October 21, @07:27PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by Tim C (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:06PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by Seumas (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:21PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by Seumas (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:57PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by finkployd (Score:2) Friday October 21, @10:13PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by kesuki (Score:2) Saturday October 22, @12:15AMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by Requiem18th (Score:1) Saturday October 22, @12:36AMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by stuttering stan (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:08PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by slavemowgli (Score:3) Friday October 21, @07:28PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by e40 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @07:34PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by IntergalacticWalrus (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:34PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by e40 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @11:43PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by IntergalacticWalrus (Score:2) Friday October 21, @11:17PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.what about usenet? by sdnoob (Score:1) Friday October 21, @07:44PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by Rangsk (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:36PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by kraut (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:51PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by canadiangoose (Score:2) Friday October 21, @10:45PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by 3.1415926535 (Score:1) Friday October 21, @11:25PMRe:Still working on it? Yup, and a long way to go. by rolfwind (Score:2) Saturday October 22, @12:15AM1 reply beneath your current threshold. napster was naïve (Score:1) by spirit_fingers (777604) on Friday October 21, @06:45PM (#13848789) Given the history of the RIAA and the major labels, it's mind boggling to me that Napster would think there was any chance at all of striking a deal, despite the looming Gnutella threat. As far as the industry was concerned, Napster was the devil incarnate. Remember, this is an industry that thinks nothing of criminalizing its customers by adopting overly restrictive DRM. It has fought and continues to fight the customer's legitimate fair use rights. To expect them to wrap their puny brains around the notion that they could actually profit by embracing Napster is ludicrous. [ Reply to This This just sounds like BULLSHIT! (Score:2) by GecKo213 (890491) on Friday October 21, @06:45PM (#13848791) Has anyone ever heard that Hindsite is 20/20? Meaning you can look back and see clearly and exactly what you should or shouldn't have done. This sounds like a story of sour grapes! Napster or Shawn Fannigan? whatever the kid's name was is trying to rub this in the Music Industry's face. "See!? If we'd have done a deal then pirating wouldn't be there, Gnutella would never have take off like it has, and all of your music would be safe!" See! If you'd have listened to us, everything would be just fine. I call BULLSHIT!I for one enjoy listening to my music before I buy it. I liked the radio, but how many of you have been burned and bought a CD/Tape/Record/etc after hearing only one track on the radio only to find out that the rest of the album is pure shit. I like to be able to download the "WHOLE" damn album and listen. Then if I like it, I go buy the CD/Tape/Record/etc, if I don't I certainly don't keep it cause it sucks! Only thing wasted is some time and temporary disk drive space, not my hard earned cash. This whole music situation is stupid. Rant Over. [ Reply to ThisRe:This just sounds like BULLSHIT! by kraut (Score:2) Friday October 21, @08:58PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold. Dealing with Napster (Score:2) by murr (214674) on Friday October 21, @06:51PM (#13848825) It's hardly a surprise that a Napster insider would have a somewhat self serving perspective on what went wrong.Other observers might very well conclude, e.g. from books like All The Rave [amazon.com] that Napster was not a trustworthy (or even a competent) partner for a deal.Furthermore, today there are all sorts of legal models for online music (subscription, per-song, whatever), and it hasn't exactly stopped piracy networks. [ Reply to This "Hello friend" TV ad downright spooky (Score:1) by davidwr (791652) on Friday October 21, @06:58PM (#13848886) (Last Journal: Thursday October 06, @07:18PM) I know it's a bit offtopic, but I just had to comment on Napster's new TV ad.It starts off with a spooky-I-want-something-from-you "Hello friend" and gets darker from there. I actually change the channel when it comes on. [ Reply to ThisRe:"Hello friend" TV ad downright spooky by jlarocco (Score:1) Saturday October 22, @12:31AM I got one thing out of this article... (Score:2) by ajservo (708572) on Friday October 21, @07:09PM (#13848968) When you're challenging a big business model like the MPAA or RIAA...Ignorance is bliss for all parties involved.Now that Napster came and rocked the boat (can't blame them, though, there was money to be made...) ALL digital downloading of media is being eyed very suspiciously by all sides. Is it legal, illegal?Can it be made into paid content? Should we allow X resolution based video out versus X-1?Soon we'll all have to pay for that pr0n we download, and the Britney Spears comeback album (Oops, I Ran Out of Welfare Again!) will require authentication everytime we open iTunes. :) [ Reply to This Power to the indy (Score:2) by rawg (23000) <`moc.reyonek' `ta' `llihp'> on Friday October 21, @07:21PM (#13849071) (http://phill.kenoyer.com/) Record Companies are going to be irrelevant in the years to come. Bands are going to start selling their own music over the internet. Why get pennies on the dollar when you can get the whole dollar? Sell your songs for 99 cents online. Pay your $20 hosting fee. Sell millions. [ Reply to ThisRe:Power to the indy by kraut (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:01PMRe:Power to the indy by shark72 (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:58PM Glad To See This (Score:3, Interesting) by szyzyg (7313) on Friday October 21, @07:38PM (#13849233) There were many companies that wanted to sell music the way ITMS does, I remember going to a party in SF with about 10 different companies - including Napster - all wanting to sell music online. Of course, the record business didn't budge and all these companies bit the dust. Napster of course was a latecomer it started out in not so legal forma and tried to become legal, so it's understandable that perhaps the record business didn't want to deal with them, but there were many other companies who didn't have the legal baggage who were stonewalled by the record business.Which is why it pisses me off immensely that people described ITMS as 'innovative' when it appeared, elsewhere taleneted developers had innovated and built all the technology several times over. [ Reply to This Yeah......No. (Score:1) by madmaxmedia (775327) on Friday October 21, @08:24PM (#13849511) (Last Journal: Wednesday September 29, @01:04AM) Napster was not popular because it had a clever name or cool Gen-X logo. It was popular because people could download music for free. Had Napster switched to some sort of paid service, everyone would have migrated to other programs, just as they ended up doing anyways when Napster was shut down.It's like a bank robber telling the banks, "Instead of me continuing to rip you off, let's work together! Don't worry about other bank robbers, I'm the most successful one so the others will go away!"Also, the way Fanning describes how Napster would provide a great outlet for new artists seems completely contrary to how people used Napster. I never fired up Napster and entered a search for "new rap music" or whatever, I searched for specific songs and artists, or even specific misspellings of songs and artists (after RIAA started watching.)His revisionist history was not quite complete, let me fill in the rest:"Napster started out as a free download tool for college students [to illegally download music.] Later the goal was to make it a real business in partnership with the record labels, [after it became evident that we would be shut down with our current model.]"I don't have any problems with Napster or Shawn Fanning, but he sounds like a drug lord attempting to euphemize his trade by describing his drugs as "product". I guess he must be trying to get VC money for a new legitimate venture. [ Reply to ThisOops- it was the other guy's words, not Shawn's by madmaxmedia (Score:1) Friday October 21, @08:26PMRe:Yeah......No. by Maxo-Texas (Score:2) Friday October 21, @09:51PM They don't know? (Score:2) by mankey wanker (673345) on Friday October 21, @08:32PM (#13849554) > Never start a business focused on solving a big company's problem. They don't know they have a problem...and they are probably right.Really dumb article - a string of obviously failed business strategies is all it is. In what way did Napster hope to move from a free music model to one in which customers would pay? I still can't see the advantage of something like iTunes considering the very poor quality of files being sold.I do see the advantage of buying CDs and ripping them for myself. I also see the advantage of downloading free songs I probably wouldn't have paid for to begin with via P2P networks, so thanks Napster.Copyright laws make no sense any longer. That's a well plowed subject here. [ Reply to This Sharing The Pie (Score:2) by rossz (67331) <rossz AT vamos-wentworth DOT org> on Saturday October 22, @12:17AM (#13850626) (Last Journal: Thursday July 01, @06:57PM) The music industry has had it their way for so long that they simply can not grasp the concept of sharing the piece of the pie, even if it's a huge ass pie. They want it all.To put it simply for the record executes (who are too stupid to understand basic math): you can have all of this lovely McDonalds hot apple pie (contents may be hot), or you can have half of this full-sized, deep-dish apple pie.The record executives will, of course, take the McDonalds pie and sue the bakery out of existence. [ Reply to This Re:Surprises (Score:1) by blues_shuffle (921429) on Friday October 21, @06:40PM (#13848750) Why did the Egyptians takes years to do what we can do to in a week?The market was more fresh at the time; iTunes was not a great new way of doing things when it came out in the same way that Napster was. Napster was definitely not the first way for someone to acquire music using the internet, but it was the first one that was really big. There was no example to follow at that point. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Surprises by CDMA_Demo (Score:2) Friday October 21, @06:50PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.