Napster Killed The Pirate-Star
…Or maybe Napster created the Pirate Star. Either way, people have always stole music and art, but this became a common problem when Napster allowed ‘mass file sharing’. As a result – literally overnight – founder/creator Shawn Fanning changed the music world forever. People no longer were handing off burned CD’s to one or two friends – they were sending out mp3′s to millions of people.
It creates a few problems. So with the news that Sweden is cracking down on Piracy, what does this mean for all the Pirates and File Sharers throughout the world?
1.) Copyright.
2.) The world needs P2P sites. Many GNU, Creative Commons, and more depend on these services to increase their outreach. Websites like download.com thrive on these open-source projects, too.
3.) There will always be another way. Come out with a solution, and in 2 weeks people will find a way around it. Look at security risks in Microsoft, iTunes, Limewire, Kazaa, and more. Heck, even people are smart enough to escape prison and out-think the thinkers. Its a cat and mouse game that’ll never end.
4.) Privacy issues. People have a right to anonymity… but what if they steal something? Technically, when ISP’s (like Time Warner, Verizon, Comcast, etc.) give you the service, you sign their Terms of Use that states they can give out your info for certain situations.
So generally, there was ALWAYS pirating since the dawn of the 8track. The problem is, that Napster created such an exponential outreach around trading files, that it killed the artform. Other projects such as Muxtape were ‘OK’ until they became too big. The result is that things are ignored until they cross a threshold of viewers/participants.
The Ramones, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Steve Vai, Poison, Guns and Roses and yes, even Metallica created their empires by not trying to do everything themselves.
Let’s look at Facebook Platform, Youtube, and Apple’s App Store: These three services allow for user-generated content. Why? Because the users generate the content and market themselves within their own community. As a result, the real winners are actually Facebook, Apple, and Youtube. Not only that – they also scale!
So let’s take this concept and apply it to music. If I’m playing shows every night in front of 10 people, I may never create an audience of 100,000 screaming fans… but now if my fans help me out – then it creates an army. It creates a village. Ultimately, it creates a community. Because those fans tell their friends, and their friends tell their friends, etc. As a result, you reach people though the nook and crannies that you would’ve never dreamed possible. This is why Youtube, Facebook, Meetup.com, Wikipedia, Apple App, Linkedin, Twitter, and Musicians have learned to ‘win’ in this space.
So pirating was ALWAYS around – the problem is that Napster made it so easily excessible and exponential, that it essentially killed the Pirate Star.
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