It was forced into bankruptcy in the early 2000s, and just as it appeared that German media conglomerate Bertelsmann was set to purchase it for anywhere between $8 million and over $90 million (figures reported at the time vary widely), that buyout was denied by a judge. In between the court cases and today, Napster has been through a lot in its struggle to find strong, respectable footing in the music business. Some would argue it is still undervaluing the art, but that's where the industry stands these days Music is still very cheap, though now, Napster doesn't deal with downloads.
Napster is now one of the many legitimate streaming services operating in the U.S., competing with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, which is a business model that is certainly different from, but not necessarily in stark contrast to what the founders were going for when they created the first iteration almost 20 years ago. One would expect that the music industry would ensure it was never seen or heard from again, but the opposite has actually occurred. It’s not shocking that Napster didn’t win any of its court cases, as it was clearly facilitating crimes many millions of times over, but what is somewhat surprising is the journey the name has taken in the decade-plus since. Dre, and Napster didn’t come out the victor in those instances either. Lawsuits were also filed against the site by musicians themselves, such as Metallica and Dr. The case was the first to see companies go after a peer-to-peer platform, which itself claimed it wasn’t committing the crime, so it shouldn’t be held accountable. It didn’t take long for Napster to lose not only the first case, but also an appeal that was filed in a higher court. Over a dozen record labels, including major players like Warner Brothers, Sony, Universal, Island, Interscope and A&M, which led the charge, filed suit, claiming that Napster was complicit in the rampant theft and infringement taking place online.
#FREE FILE SHARING MUSIC DOWNLOAD SITES FULL#
It only took about a year for the music industry to realize how bad this new platform was for business and come together to attack with full force. Of all the former piracy sites that shook the music industry and proved how unprepared the business was for the tech revolution, Napster is the only one that has seen its name continue to this day, though its current form isn’t exactly what the founders had in mind. While at the time, peer-to-peer technology wasn’t itself brand new (there were other websites utilizing the same tech available to savvy users out there), Napster focused specifically on sharing music, and that’s what both set it apart and helped it gain the attention of the masses. The company was created by John and Shawn Fanning (an uncle and nephew team) and Sean Parker, who more or less became the face of the controversial company. Believe it or not, Napster was actually created back in 1999, which makes it older than many music fans are today.
0 kommentar(er)
