We come to praise music not to bury it

IT'S been described as a civil war which could tear apart the music industry and finally strip rock'n' roll of the rebellious trappings which, for 50 years now, have allowed it to plug into the teenage psyche and make billions in the process.

The spark which ignited a bitter battle which has set rock band against rock band, and stars against the fans who pay for their lavish lifestyles, is a piece of computer software invented by - who else - a music obsessed techno geek student from Northeastern University in Boston.

Nineteen-year-old Shawn Fanning is the mastermind behind Napster, which, put simply, allows music fans to download good quality copies of music from any hooked-up computer in the world. It is a global swap-shop which allows fans to trade their favourite songs, or indeed entire albums, and neither the record company nor the artist receives a penny from the process.

To make matter worse for horrified music executives, a range of so- far unreleased music can also be downloaded through Napster, including the title track of Madonna's new album, Music, which will not arrive in the shops until September.

Warner Brothers, parent company of Madonna's Maverick Recordings, have threatened legal action against any internet site which they feel violates Madonna's copyright. But the major force in the fight to stop Napster has been the world's biggest selling thrash metal band, Metallica, who have sued Napster itself, as well as various universities, which they accuse of allowing the pirating of their "creative efforts".

Metallica went even further when they handed over to Napster the names of 330,000 fans who had downloaded the band's songs and forced them to take the named users off their site.

The irony of a band who have carefully cultivated their anti- establishment image taking legal action against the very people who have poured money into their bank accounts has not been lost on the fans. In fact Metallica, as the band themselves are quick to point out, have actively encouraged the trading of their product, including tapes. They allow fans to tape live shows and have no worries about such tapes passing from fan to fan.

The problem with Napster is that it could represent a sea change in the way rock fans consume the music, led by a web-savvy generation who simply don't understand the concept of paying for anything which is available for free on the net and fuelled by resentment of an industry which is perceived as exploiting the market to make almost unimaginable profits.

The current issue of NME states: "However this debacle turns out, one thing's for sure. The music industry and the way you access music will never be the same again. No more having to buy the second part of that rip-off two CD pack to get that extra track. Download it. No more buying the whole LP just for the two good songs. Download them.

"Ask yourself this question: do you really care if Sony get their cut? Thought not. Given the choice between [Pearl Jam singer] Eddie Vedder getting his dues for the songs he writes or being able to get them for free, which would you choose? Thought so ..."

It's hardly surprising that Metallica don't agree. "From a business standpoint, this is about piracy - taking something that doesn't belong to you - and that is morally and legally wrong," says the band's drummer Lars Ulrich. "The trading of such information - whether it is music, videos, photos or whatever - is, in effect, trafficking in stolen goods."

Lining up alongside Metallica in the rock civil war are hip hop star Dr Dre, controversial white rapper Eminem - "whoever put my music on the internet, I want to meet that motherf***er and beat the sh*t out of them" - Elton John and Puffy Combs.

But Napster isn't short of celebrity backers either. Limp Bizkit - you probably won't have heard of them but they are this month's hottest band in America - will tour with rap rockers Cypress Hill this summer in support of Napster. Punk band Offspring have started selling Napster merchandise from their own website. And Courtney Love has spoken out strongly against the record companies.

"The only people scared of Napster are people who have filler on their albums, frankly, and are scared that if people hear more than one single they're not going to buy the record."

Yet market research conducted in the US seems to show a marked reduction in spending in record stores around college campuses where Napstering after class has become a favourite hobby.

OF course, we have been here before. Remember all the fears about home taping killing music when cassette decks were the latest in high technology? So when music industry execs say they've got an attack of the corporate blues, are they just howlin' wolf yet again?

An attempt at answering that question will be made today and tomorrow in Glasgow at a conference called Interactive City, organised by Anthony Wilson, the former boss of Factory Records, who brought us New Order and Happy Mondays.

Wilson believes music could be the "killer app" which will entice millions more users to plug into the net.

Professor Simon Frith, who chairs the Mercury music prize panel, isn't so sure. "I can't see Celine Dion fans getting her album from Napster," he says. "My sense is that only people who have some commitment to music can be bothered with Napster."

Metallica may be sore because there's a close fit between their own fan base and the kind of campus kids who have got into Napster big time. But the case serves as a warning that the industry will have to find a new way of distributing music which appeals to these kids, and the growing number of people who are searching for their entertainment online.

"The battle is not really about Metallica getting ripped off," adds Frith. "The internet gets music into homes without paying but it can also allow the music industry to charge you every time you listen to music."

Net evangelists say this form of distribution will cut out the middle men, while still allowing artists to be paid. Wilson is amongst a growing number of entrepreneurs trying to find a way of charging for music on the net. His company, music33.com, is named after the target price for a single song. That equates to around four quid for the average album.

The music industry is remarkably skilled at adapting to changing times and still emerging on top. It has triumphed over every challenge to its power - it turned the liberal ideas of flower power into hard cash, it annexed and disarmed punk, it took the anger and violence of American inner-city ghettoes and made hip hop the top- selling form of music in the US. It's almost inconceivable that it will allow a 19-year-old student to bring it to its knees.

Napster is the internet program that millions of music fans wouldn't be without. Now the record industry wants to destroy it. Eddie Gibb reports on the extraordinary battle being waged in US courts, and in cyberspace, for the future of rock'n'roll [email protected] www.napster.com www.macster.com

Copyright 2000
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