In the June 11 issue of the New York Times Magazine , Andrew Sullivan argues that the Internet, citing Napster as exhibit A, is the first place where communism can actually survive. While I sympathize with his his thesis, I also believe Napster and the exchange of music files is the logical revolt against industry price-gouging, the ultimate triumph of crony capitalism. Jon Stewart quipped that record labels going after Napster is the result of the industry being against broke high school students and fun. He may be right. In fact, the record companies have completely failed to prove that file sharing directly leads to losses in revenue.
Most studies confirm that the opposite is true.
That is, the typical Napster user also spends a lot of money on music. This is not a point that can be easily dismissed. The free exchange of music will not go away anytime soon. Rather than trying to feebly shut this Pandora's box, the record industry should work with sites to make money off of music sharing. The technology behind Napster will outlive the site, whatever its fate.