Friday, Jul 25, 2008
Liberty and Napster for all? Plus: Gore's duplicity on the environment; Tony Rice tops Jerry Garcia on "The Pizza Tapes."
Apr 28, 2000 | CORRECTION:
Our Salon Technology article "After the Fall" originally contained an inaccurate description of the status of Healthshop.com. The company has shut down the e-commerce part of its operation but remains in business. The story has been corrected to reflect this.
Napster will sponsor free summer tour for Limp Bizkit
BY ERIC BOEHLERT
(04/24/00)
I find it somehow hilarious that Dr. Dre is suing Napster. Here's a guy who, as far as I know, cannot play a musical instrument but has made millions from sampling the music of real musicians. Now he's suddenly on the bandwagon for intellectual property rights. Hey Dre, sample this!
-- Clyde Flowers
Undoubtedly now that one megastar act is taking a very public (and equally unpopular) stance, others will follow in Limp Bizkit's footsteps in siding with Napster. The battle lines will become ever more clearly drawn, as Boehlert points out, but whatever the eventual outcome there is certain to be some "collateral damage," to borrow the Gulf War's well-worn phrase. In other words, the shit will hit the fans.
-- Ken Ashdown
Hail, Metallica!
BY JOHN PERRY
(04/24/00)
Despite Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's self-proclaimed concern about the purity of his art, it's clear to most informed observers (including John Perry) that Metallica's suit against Napster is really about economics. But Ulrich would do well to learn a smidgen about the subject before announcing that it is "sickening to know that our art is being traded like a commodity." Uh, Lars? If you're so worried about people trading your "art," perhaps you should give it away, instead of selling it like every other commodity in existence.
-- Jay Macke
Napster is not ripping musicians off, it is merely forcing them to change to the new business world. No longer do you make money from production, but from services. It's not money that is at stake here, but merely the business method used in obtaining it.
Those who resist change tend to be like the dinosaurs and will eventually become extinct. The chameleon is still around.
-- Lee Templeton
Nobody slams Microsoft for trying to prevent piracy of their software. Microsoft and their lawyers shut down piracy sites all the time and nobody mocks them for trying to make a buck. Why be so hard on Metallica for trying to prevent Napster from helping to pirate the fruits of their labors? I see no difference in Microsoft or some other software company spending months or even years to produce a product and bands spending months to write and record their music. The double standard is amazing.
-- Scot Penrod
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