You Got Nailed!: Napster Creates
Accidental Bootleggers
I have to admit, I was surprised a couple
weeks ago to find that I could still download
songs through Napster. I thought for sure I'd
wound up on Metallica's most-wanted list, the
document that detailed over 300,000 surfers
who have swapped bootlegs on the popular
MP3 site and, subsequently, been banned.
Over the course of my, um, journalistic
research, I've probably downloaded about a
dozen songs from the site. Nothing special: a
couple pretty terrible live Nirvana tracks, a
Beth Orton song (that I actually had on a CD
but couldn't find), and, because it seemed
appropriate, the latest Metallica single. But, as
it turned out, Metallica only narced on those
who uploaded songs from their albums.
Problem is, some inadvertent bootleggers
might have gotten nailed along the way.
According to copyright law, you're allowed to
make copies of music for your own personal
use. That means you can make a tape, burn a
CD, or create an MP3 file of any song that
you've purchased. If you give the copy to
someone else, though, that's where the trouble
begins. On Napster, you can break the law
even if you don't really intend to do it.
Here's how: When you log on to Napster's
online community, the program automatically
scans your computer for MP3 files. It's kind of
like walking into an orgy and having someone
check your package. Once your stuff has been
itemized, the rest of the community learns that
you're sharing, say, six songs. If they click on
your name or do a search and like what they
see, they can start sucking up your MP3s
and, well guess what? You're a bootlegger!
Though there are no numbers that really break
down the usage patterns of Napster visitors, I'd
venture to say that there have been surfers
who've simply dropped by out of curiosity and
found themselves suddenly immersed in an
illegal transaction. Ignorance, of course,
shouldn't necessarily absolve anyone for
anything, whether it's swapping bootlegs or
attending a Celine Dion concert. Then again, if
someone's scouring your drive every time you
visit a site, what are you going to do?
The implications are potentially huge no matter
what happens with the lawsuits against
Napster. Whether or not the service lives or
dies (though it certainly won't survive in its
original form), there will certainly be many
other sites and services offering the similar
power: fast action between surfers who want to
swap wares online. These programs will have
to take into account that a music fan might
have perfectly legal MP3 files that are simply
not intended for others to copy. Should you be
liable for trading songs that you never intended
to trade at all? That's one for the lawyers.
In the meantime, software companies can help
by coming up with tools that will give us the
freedom to trade our wares without giving up
the right to manage our music as we see fit.
DAVID KUSHNER
(June 3, 2000)
