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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Napster offers music industry $1 Billion to settle legal suit! |
Current rating: 0 |
by Paul R.
Email: paul (nospam) mediageek.org (unverified!) |
20 Feb 2001
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According to CNN, which posted the news at 10:15pm EST, Napster offered the music industry $1billion to settle the suit it has against the peer-to-peer file sharing network. Napster plans to start charing users for tiered downloading services up to $9.95/mo for unlimited downloads.
Here is the CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/02/20/napster.settlement.03/index.html |
I think this stands to have significant impact on independent media producers and anyone looking for a media distribution system outside the global entertainment oligopoly. While I'm no fan of Napster's plan to make money by enabling copyright infringement, I am a big fan of peer-to-peer networking, which has the power to cirumvent centralized servers for media distribution. Even if reluctatntly, Napster has been the chief proponent for this sort of networking in the American legal system.
If the music industry takes the money, then it has reason and resource to go after the more distributed and open-source file sharing systems, like Gnutella and Freenet.
Make no doubt about it, whether or not you download mp3s, your ability to have a network to share and distribute your own work on the 'net is on the line. Although the apparent justification for the battle against file sharing is to curtail copyright violations, the ultimate goal of the intellecutal property/entertainment industry is to establish and maintain control over the channels of distribution, which is where they derive their profits, by playing gatekeeper and tolltaker on our very culture. |
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http://www.mediageek.org
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