million users. And all those millions of Napster users around
the globe, and countless millions of others, who by now got used to sharing MP3s, and got
used to the sheer convenience of the format, and the ease of exchanging it over the Internet,
they were still around. They didn’t stop exchanging MP3s just because Napster was gone.
Its not like they all of a sudden saw the light in the wisdom of the courts’ decision,
and got copyright religion. As a matter of fact their number grew, and new services took
Napster’s place – Gnutella, Morpheus, Kazaa, AudioGalaxy, LimeWire, Grokster…
First Barndemburg, with his MP3 file format, and then Shawn Fanning, with his Napster,
got a genie out of the bottle, and the things will never be the same in the music industry
because of it. Bringing down Napster didn’t change anything, Bringing down Kazaa, Grokster,
Morpheus, didn’t change anything. Suing thousands of consumers for illegal music downloading
didn’t change anything. Running around the media and the courts, screaming, “the barbarians
are at the gates”, didn’t change anything. What did change things, or I should say what
started to change things, was the major players in the industry joining the online revolution,
instead of trying to fight it. And I don’t mean joining in on the mindless “music wants
to be free” chorus, of course, because regardless of the deep conviction of many, that music
grows on some magical, self-sustaining, music tree out there, so it should be free for all,
it doesn’t. But what started to change things in the industry is embracing methodical and
intentional utilization of the new technologies, and the power of the Internet, in adjusting
their business models and methods of participation in the market. And I kept repeating that “started
to change things” phrase here, so you don’t mistake it for “increased CD sales, higher
profits, more money for the labels”, and so on. No “change things” as in modifying
the business model, revising financial equations, adjusting operations, adapting to consumers
needs, embracing the new digital ecosystem as the new reality and new marketplace. What
started to change things is Apple’s iTunes. The music industry was slow to see the online