Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

If Metaillica didnt fill Napster's legal plate to the brim, now software called "Media Enforcer" can allow anyone to moniter what files are being transferred across the Napster network. You give it a keyword, and it logs all matching files, allowing another anal artist like Metallica to get a list of people who download their work. Check the post on slashdot.
Personally, the more I think about it, the more I start to change in my opinion. First off, Metallica is wrong in what they are doing; I have no doubt about that. Also, Napster is just a protocol, they provide no content whatsoever. They should not be touched; they do enough good to outweigh the bad. But with that said, downloading copyrighted recordings over Napster - or anywhere - IS illegal.
Artists have a right to make a living, and the saying that "downloading the MP3 just encourages people to go and buy the CD" does not fly with me. Not when you can download EVERY track on the CD in high-quality audio. People who work hard to produce something quality deserve to be payed for it. I mean, sure we might try to embrace open source philosophy here, and say they should just give it away, but you cant really do that when what you are giving away is your day job. RedHat and a ton of open source companies make a LOT of money, artists who give out their music for free starve.
With that said, let me say why I still think Napster is right and Metallica is wrong: Napster is progress and Metallica is devolution. We need to work on developing a standard that allows for music to be openly and easily distributed on the net and at the same time gives financial reimbursement for the artists who work to make the music. I dont really think pay-per-file distribution would work. I think maybe a more viable option would be a website that gives out music for free and at the same time pays artists on ad revenue. I dont know if that is viable, but it is in the direction that we need to be working in.
Metallica, instead of bitching about all the money they might lose in the future, should embrace the reality of online music distribution, and work on making it fair for both sides - we should all do this.   slashdot.org story