The best thing to hit the music industry since music (Napster)

Member Name: neinel

Product:	Napster
Date:	11/09/00 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The days of paying £15 a CD are now over, really huge collection of MP3's, a must have for anyone with a computer

Disadvantages: Doesn't seem to be going down well with bands and record companies and its future looks uncertain

I'd heard of MP3's for a while but never actually came into contact with them until I learned of the miracle that is Napster.Legal sites such as MP3.com do not have permission to store MP3's of the vast majority of recognised artists and, as a result, only contain songs by unknown artists - and let's face it, hardly anyone would choose to listen to them instead of famous bands.Before Napster, MP3's made little impact - there were many illegal 'Warez' sites that claimed to contain thousands of well known songs on MP3 but, upon requesting them, about 99% of these sites did nothing more than open 150 pop-up windows advertising porn - and I viewed the technology as being of more use to the budding musician than the everyday record buyer (very much like MiniDisc).MP3 certainly has the potential to replace current standards such as CD's and tapes but there is one rather significant problem preventing it from doing so - copyright.Record companies and artists are not willing to distribute their music on MP3 over the internet because up until now, there is no way of stopping it from being obtained freely.The creators of Napster choosed to ignore this fact and went on to create a program that made headlines around the world and is, without a doubt, the most famous music program ever created.To use Napster, you need to create an account and register a user name.You can then download other users' MP3's and upload your own to share with others.The downloads are relatively quick (usually 3 - 4 MB), collection of songs unbelievably vast (there isn't much you won't find with it) and, best of all, it's completely free!!I heard on the news that it was forced to be shut down and then heard that it was given an extra three days to remain open and have now heard it has closed for good - a fact that I'm still puzzling over because I'm using it at the moment and it seems very much still open to me.I find Napster comes in very han
dy when you want to check out a band but don't want to waste £15 on their CD in case they're rubbish; it has definitely allowed me to explore many new bands that I wouldn't have been able to listen to without it.MP3 is a technology that cannot and will not be ignored and, even if Napster is closed down for good, there will be replacements.This revolutionary program has shown the record industry that the public will not pay for CD's and tapes when they don't have to.Yes, Napster is technically illegal but it has made such a phenomenonal impact on the way in which we obtain music that it is only a matter of time until record companies set up their own legal MP3 sites/programs.Whilst they may not offer music completely free, thanks to Napster, it will certainly be lower in price than what we are being charged for CD's at the moment.

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