Digital Boomerang Singapore 

Quibbling over copyright stifles the growth of digital music

A corner drugstore owner exasperatedly tries to explain to an e-commerce salesman why he doesn’t need to go online. A restaurant manager turns away a banner advertising sales executive citing notoriously unsuccessful banner click through figures. A jeweller gently guides an e-mall salesman to the streets, reminding him that jewelry is expensive and persuading consumers to part with large sums of money online is “Mission Impossible”.

Any dotcom business can tell you how familiar these scenarios are. Resistance to the internet is prevalent for many reasons. To the businessman, the main reason is because the internet may not be suitable for his goods. The reluctant jeweler, the Mercedes-driving chicken rice seller and the excessively chatty taxi driver can all live without the paradigm shift of the internet.

You would think then that industries that can harness the power and robustness of the internet, such as the music industry, will dive right into it and exploit the rich financial rewards. Yet the legal battle against Napster indicates otherwise. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is more caught up in controlling the internet and throwing its weight around, than devising methods of reaping the dot com rewards.

What is the basis of my conclusion? Consider this:

* Napster is actually the RIAA’s bedfellow.

* It has propelled the music industry into the digital internet age. With 20 million users, Napster has proven that digital music is in demand.

* It has indirectly created and sustained a demand for goods that complement digital music such as MP3 players, computer speakers and recordable CD drives.

* It has made audio quality and sophistication a standard for computer manufacturers. Dell now manufactures computers with MP3 components and ports. Other leading manufacturers such as IBM and Compaq also have grand plans to integrate MP3 technology into their products.

* It has inadvertently converted a proportion of music-loving non-computer users to computer users.

* It has profiled the digital music consumer for the RIAA as online users who, contrary to initial beliefs, have the patience to search and download files from the internet.

With Napster having so many positive effects on the music industry, it is surprising, even shocking, that the RIAA is hauling Napster to the courts. The RIAA should be hiring think-tanks and negotiators to arrive at a win-win venture with Napster. The lack of effort on the part of RIAA to initiate and sustain a dialogue with Napster and its 20 million users causes one to draw the conclusion that the RIAA only cares to flex its muscles.

What about the copyright infringement issues?

The RIAA cannot allow copyright to be blatantly and continually infringed - an understandable and even honourable cause. However, hanging Napster for infringement is not a solution.

Napster does not file-swap or actively encourage its users to file-swap infringing files (obviously!). Napster merely provides a software tool for its users to swap files among themselves. Selling a tape recorder or providing one free does not make you liable for copyright infringement. That is the law as it stands.

I will leave it to the lawyers to split their hairs over the similarity of Napster’s software to traditional tape recorders and the legalities of copyright infringement. What is of more importance is the fact that stopping or shutting down Napster does not advance the RIAA’s cause. Copyright will continue to be infringed by freeloaders with or without Napster.

Already new technologies more robust than Napster’s are available in the market. Gnutella, a “peer-to-peer” file-sharing technology, allows users to swap files without routing through a central server. Gnutella eliminates the need for a definable “sue-able” entity like Napster. How is the RIAA going to deal with Gnutella and other new challenges?

It seems Napster is merely today’s most convenient target. The judge who granted an injunction against Napster herself acknowledged that she is restraining Napster because it is the only one before the court.

Clearly, legal action and recourse is not the panacea for the music industry and copyright owners.

A better, though possibly more difficult alternative is collaboration. The RIAA, together with industry heavy weights like Bertelsmann’s BMG Entertainment, Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group can and should find ways to co-exist with Napster and Napster-alternatives.

- First published on IT AsiaOne, This is IT

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