If a legal, high-quality, convenient solution is available, then most people will go there. Moreover, the Internet provides at least a theoretical avenue for musicians to bypass the recording industry's star system, in which a handful of artists are heavily promoted, with the remainder falling by the wayside. Musicians unable to land a big-time contract can record their own music and sell it on the Internet. That's easiest for aging musicians whose audience has shrunk yet who retain a loyal following, which is why David Bowie, Public Enemy, and Roger McGuinn all have successful Web sites. You have potential worldwide distribution.
Major labels are marketing companies.
A garage band with a Web site can't do that. Professor Richard Rasala, associate dean of the College of Computer Science, goes so far as to say that Napster may prove to be the goad the music industry needs to move into the digital age. Napster, as the broker, would be paid a percentage for each download. The idea, Rasala says, is that the price of recorded music will come down and the size of the potential market will expand. Asked how difficult a programming feat Napster represents, Rasala demurs, ex-plaining that he has not seen the source code.