Hullo folks,

The excuse that Napster should stay on as a promotional tool is kind of a weak, because most people by far want it because of the music they get for free instead of being nice to small bands. But even so, what Rammy mentions does happen, believe it or not.

I've encountered several people downloading stuff off me like some Bon Jovi or Def Lep B-sides, and when I start talking to them, finding out what their tastes are, I sometimes go, "Oh, you may want to check out these songs by a band called Harem Scarem, or these by Giant and so on....." and many times they see me again and thank me and ask for more recommendations, so it does happen. But the question is, will these new fans ever support the artist by buying anything? Who the hell knows.....depends on the person, I guess.

And yeah, this is just a temporary thing. Impish Lars doesn't, if I may say this like he would, like, motherfuckin realize that like, technology is like, a motherfuckin Hydra.

You can chop off heads and there will always be another and then they'll grow back. Technology is like a mutating virus, a fungus that crawls its way in through the sewage pipes if you don't let it in through the door. Even if they shut them all down: Scour, Gnutella, etc....it'll come back in a few years, but modified and even more bad-ass. The only way is to find some agreement you and the Hydra can live with together. Trying to kill it will only give you headaches.

Plus, you've got to remember this only applies to the US and affects Napster because it is an American company. So even if they banned all the programs like Napster, someone in a country with laxer laws with regards to copyright infringement could open one of these things up, and the internet being the global juggernaut it is, anyone would access it and the US government could do squat.

Cheers,
Jack.