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Napster Traffic Drops
rev420 writes "Wired is reporting that Napster traffic has fallen by 60% since it instituted it's (er, the labels') name-blocking scheme. Despite their best efforts, few people seem to be finding name-scramblers like Catnap to be useful and the Aimster's Pig-Latin encoder is no longer available because Napster requested that it be disabled." No big shocker here.
I think it's important that we don't conflate the idea of "theft" (stealing property, removing it from its owner) with the idea of "copying" (duplicating something without degrading the original). To be sure, both are illegal under current US law. However, they're illegal for different reasons, and with different justifications.
The RIAA and others want you to fall into the mind trap that copying IS theft, since practically everyone believes that traditional theft is immoral. In order to make sound judgments about these issues, we need to clearly separate the two concepts.
I don't know if anybody else has checked it out, but I just logged on and I only saw about 6k people on napster. So I fired up gnapster's OpenNap browser, I went around to a few servers... stopping at the MusicCity network, it has 30k users on it! And the number's grown about 1000 since i got on 20 minutes ago that's crazy... everybody must have gone there I wonder if the RIAA will be able to get ISP's to shutdown OpenNap. Supposidly ISP's aren't liable for the traffic on their servers... but who knows with the courts lately.
- "Never let a computer tell me shit." - DelTron Zero
No amount of filters/lawsuits will stop the 31337 underground. I don't agree with them - but I feel a bit sorry for the RIAA - trying to take on the 31337 underground. They obviously don't know who they're messing with. These guys are the mafia of the internet. So get their ISPs to ban them, I hear you say. Sure, but when that was tried with one of the 31337 leaders, the 31337 group took out the ISP - DDoSed it to death. If they can't do that they'll attack the upstream.
They have literally thousands of automated vulnerability programs searching for open servers to build new platforms to attack again. You can't stop them - they are the 31337 underground. I know, I've tried to stop them. It's not their abilities (well, in most cases at least) but their sheer numbers that make them impossible to defeat. Also, they are not centralized, so law-based methods won't help - they are in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, UK, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Russia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico...yet they all speak a common language - "31337 h4x0r 5p34k."Their average conversation is this:
- y0...- wh4t n3w sh1t y0 g0tz?
- k00l sh1t- FTPx0r d4 1nf0...
Yes, you definitely don't know what you're messing with. I don't agree with what they're doing either, but trust me - there is no way to stop them. They are the 31337 - Elite in the 31337 speak....and that they are, Elite 31337 h4x0rs on the information superhighway...A long term strategy to deal with them must be formulated - that I'll grant you. Because if they aren't stopped eventually, 31337 5p34k will be the world's official language. These guys make other terrorist groups look like the tooth fairy for one reason - all other dictators so far have done their work through military force - therefore they could be combatted with military force....but the new era will see increasingly complicated telecommunications systems taking over functions of the very human world. And the 31337 will control that, unless we formulate a plan to stop them within the next 5 years.
There is one man that needs to be targetted - the Dark Lord of the Internet, a 31337 h4x0r known as "Goatboy25". A 25-year old 31337 h4x0r who is the New Dark Lord. These are dangerous times on the Internet.Dangerous times on the Internet indeed.
"A few atoms won't even light a match" - Dr Jones, 1933
it's only going to reduce the number of "mainstreamers" getting mp3s, and in all honesty, those are the people the record companies should be worried about.
It's the mainstreamers that purchase albums like britney spears, n'sync, aguiliera, etc...but because they only listen to the albums for a few months until the trend changes, they feel no loyalty to the band, and have no reason to purchase the cd.
the people who have been using mp3s since way before napster, have other means of getting them: ftps, irc, and private forums immediately come to mind. and ftp can NOT be stopped unless the whole protocol is banned (won't happen) Us, on the other hand, do purchase cds even after downloading mp3s. Yes, I have about a hundred mp3 cds that I didn't buy. But I've also bought well over a hundred cds because of mp3s that I first downloaded.
No I don't condone downloading mp3s, and yes, it is theft. But economically, me downloading mp3s is making them more money than if i wasn't.
and napster's death isn't going to stop me or millions of other music lovers. as i said, there's other ways that are faster, more efficient, and more reliable.
Hell, it's not even making them any money.
Let's face it, the average music listener is busy listening to Brittany or N'Sync, and the only reason for downloading that crap is that your folks aren't paying you enough allowance to buy the CD.
What I loved about Napster was the stuff that is copywrited, yet not for sale. Rare tracks, bootlegs, unreleased cuts, out of print EPs... that is the stuff dreams are made of.
The labels aren't going to burn a CD and print a jewel case up so that they can sell you your "I had it but a friend borrowed it and never gave it back so now it's out of print and I can't get it *sob*" music.
But, they could have allied with Napster to provide work that they no longer sell to to audiophiles and hard core fans. Let's face it, if the RIAA made any money off of such a partnership, it would be more than they are making now. I would have paid for the Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails cover of Down in the Park, but it's not for sale.
Not to mention that it would have been an example, something for related industries to emulate. Ever tried to find an out of print book? Wouldn't it be nice if you could download it (even for a small fee), rather than scour used book stores, estate sales, flea markets, etc.?
The labels really fucked up a golden opportunity. For shame.
It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. - Andre Gide
I see two possible causes for this, first, the filter may be ineffective, and copyrighted works may still be being traded.
Second, the RIAA greatly underestimated the number of legitimate downloads going through the network, or fudged the figures a bit to improve their position during the trial. Maybe 40% of Napster's users really *do* use the service to trade bootlegs, live recordings, and other unregulated music.