I met a young woman who complained to me about dorm life. She hated the food and the noise and her roommate. Well, it would be rash to assume that everytime someone downloads an illegal music file the recording industry has lost a sale. When music is free people will try a lot they wouldn't have otherwise. And while Napster may have enabled the worst climate for casual piracy ever, the music industry is growing.
Total revenue is up, CD shipments are up.
It's worth wondering whether free music and MP3 swapping have stimulated sales. Or it's possible that sales and shipments would be up even higher, if it weren't for all of the Internet music piracy going on. But they love Napster. It hints that it might be time for the recording industry to consider the possibility of letting people pay for music, not just by the song or by the album, but by the month. Napster touts the size of its user base as its strength.