Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, music downloaders from all the world....welcome to Round One: RIAA vs. Napster.
Source: Time
They have said over and over again that they do not want to shut down Napster. The RIAA, as well as many artists, know the importance of technology and using the internet to reach a bigger audience; they are only asking that Napster stop distributing unauthorized music.
"We love the idea of using technology to build artist communities, but that's not what Napster is all about," said Cary Sherman, senior executive vice president and general counsel of the RIAA. "Napster is about facilitating piracy and trying to build a business on the backs of artists and copyright owners."
The RIAA alleged Napster wasn't following through on earlier claims of encouraging unsigned bands to use them. Instead Napster was advertising they were the best place to find popular music without going through pages of unknown artists.
"...Online or offline, a business model based on pirated music is simply not fair. No other service on the net has generated as many calls of outrage from artists, managers and artists' representatives and others representing the music community's interests," said Sherman.
There are many other website services out on the internet that offer free music to anyone without asking for payment, but many of those music services are using only authorized music. They include: Emusic, MP3.com, Rioport, Listen.com, and SpinRecords.com.
***Excerpt from the RIAA.com Napster lawsuit FAQ page:
"Napster's copyright protection pae clearly says it revokes the ability of users to access Napster if they violate copyright law. Isn't that enough?
A few words cannot undo the harm caused by millions of Napster users unlawfully downloading tens of millions of infringing music files...Napster's actions speak louder than its words. Napster is actively encouraging and facilitating the illegal copying and distributions of copyrighted music.
The RIAA sued for $100,000 per each song pirated* using Napster. According to an article posted at News.com on Dec. 8, 1999, Napster had 1,244 libraries filled with over 200,000 songs.
*To learn more about piracy and its effects (according to the RIAA) click on the word "piracted" above.
