If you have read the HSW clause entitledHow MP3 Files Work , then you are familiar with theMP3format for digital music . You know that you could download MP3 data file from the Internet and play them on your computer , mind to them on a portable MP3 player or even burn your own CDs . The vantage of the MP3 data format is that it makes birdcall filing cabinet small enough to move around on the Internet in a reasonable amount of sentence .
The initial MP3 craze was fueled by site like mp3.com . On these sites , anyone can upload a Sung dynasty . However , the sites can not legally store or distribute copyright material – that would be copyright infraction , which is illegal . So all of the songs that you find on mp3.com ( and sites like it ) are either public domain song , songs upload by creative person who are trying to get exposure , or songs released by record party trying to build interest in a CD .
Napster is a different way to distribute MP3 files . Instead of storing the songs on a central figurer , the songs live on users ’s machines . When you want to download a song using Napster , you are downloading it from another person ’s auto , and that person could be your next doorway neighbor or someone halfway around the world . Individuals tend to be less interested about copyright law of nature than businesses like mp3.com have to be , so individuals make all variety of copyrighted song available to the Earth from their personal machines . This means that anyone can download , for free , any song that someone has hire the time to encode in the MP3 format .
Right now the biggest users of Napster are college students . There are four reasons for this course :
Therefore the idea of downloading medicine for free is appeal and easy for pupil .
The job with Napster is that it is a big , automated style to illegally copy copyrighted cloth . This is why there is so much emotion around it right now . College students love Napster because they can get music for gratuitous rather of paying $ 15 for a CD . The medicine diligence is against Napster because people can get music for free or else of paying $ 15 for a cadmium . Napster ’s defence reaction is that the file are personal files that multitude maintain on their own machines , and therefore they are not responsible for . But it is a fact that thousands of citizenry are making thousands of copies of copyright songs , and neither the music diligence nor the artists get any money in return for those written matter . That is right of first publication violation , and is why Napster has ended up in court .
How this plays out will be passing interesting to watch . Copyright law has been in place for hundreds of year and works very well . George Lucas has create four Star Wars photographic film , for example , and knows that he will be adequately rewarded for make more under the current law of nature . However , cyberspace applied science is convert everything , and may make whole new ways for artists to get paid that are easy for both artist and sports fan . If you’re able to invent a comfortable way for any artist to get paid when people view / get word his or her study , you will be a very illustrious person ! You will also enhance the creative outgrowth .
This question was so democratic that we indite a whole article on it . Check outHow Napster Worksfor a more comprehensive flavour at this topic .
Here are some interesting links :