Word: napstering
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...moral qualms about Napster, and I didn't think of it as stealing. I liked the idea of it, even if I was too lazy to try it myself. I had the same relationship to Napster that the American Left used to have to socialism: In theory, it should work like a charm...
...believe you use Napster," Frank Pellegrini, my neighbor here at TIME.com, told me today. "Don't you think that you're stealing?" I told him that I didn't use to think so, but that lately I'd been having my doubts. "It's like being a waitress," our Frank said. "These artists depend on your royalties to live." Suddenly I felt like we were in the opening scene of "Reservoir Dogs" - and I was Mr. Pink...
...Perhaps it's because I work in a medium, HTML text posted on web servers, that was Napstered before there was a Napster, but it didn't worry me. From day one, anyone who read my writings on TIME.com was free to copy and e-mail copies to 10 friends. You could do it right now. In fact, why don't you? Good luck is sure to follow for all your days...
...What are the ethics of Napster, anyway? Is it wrong to, say, listen to a friend's Supertramp album (aesthetics aside, that is)? Say your friend bought a copy of "Breakfast in America" years ago, back when people mistakenly thought Roger Hodgson was cool. Say your friend wanted to share this ugly chapter in his life by playing "The Logical Song" for you. Is it wrong for you to listen to this song, even though you personally didn't pay for it? I think...
...this stealing? The answer is, yes, I know, that TK million people downloaded songs from Napster last weekend, which is theory represents TK million in lost revenue for record companies. (See Frank Pellegrini's accompanying story for the actual figures. TK, by the way, is journalistic shorthand for "To Come.") On the other hand, c'mon: A lot of those downloads were in the Supertramp category, songs that nobody would download if they had to actually pay for. So is it theft to take something you wouldn't pay for? Wouldn't economists simply say that for those items...