There was no royalty-collecting infrastructure in place in those days. Now, thanks to Napster, the same could happen to you, no matter how popular your songs are, because all the royalty collecting infrastructure has just been over-ridden. It will be sorted out in the courts after a while, but in the meantime, I wouldn't release anything new if I were you, unless you're just doing it to gain a name for yourself. Chances are, the money you thought you might make on your art will not materialize. Napster users wouldn't bother to listen to or download.
Local hipsters perform on all the new equipment.
Name artists show up to endorse certain product lines. Everyone tries to prognosticate the coming trends. Music retailers try to predict what to order for their showrooms and music stores. And many more. You'll be able to download all kinds of content and play it back anywhere.