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Today I learned that Napster still exists and has even managed to get over 3 million subscribers. Metallica says that their 2000 lawsuit was never financially motivated and that it was about control.
Certainly a lot has changed since 2000, when the metal behemoths and the once-notorious Napster were embroiled in a lawsuit at a time when the struggle between copyright and music piracy threatened to tear the music business asunder. For one thing music streaming, unlike file sharing, has become an increasingly viable business. As it scales, streaming revenues have begun to increaseddramatically to the tune of some $1.6 billion in the first half of 2016, according to the RIAA. Also, the court of public opinion has changed as the pillorying Metallica once received for their principled stance against piracy would likely not happen today.
Certainly a lot has changed since 2000, when the metal behemoths and the once-notorious Napster were embroiled in a lawsuit at a time when the struggle between copyright and music piracy threatened to tear the music business asunder. For one thing music streaming, unlike file sharing, has become an increasingly viable business. As it scales, streaming revenues have begun to increaseddramatically to the tune of some $1.6 billion in the first half of 2016, according to the RIAA. Also, the court of public opinion has changed as the pillorying Metallica once received for their principled stance against piracy would likely not happen today.