Napster Celebrates 10 Years of File-Sharing

June 4, 2009 4:51 PM
by Emily Regenold

Even though ten years have passed, there’s nothing wrong with still partying like it’s 1999 – well, in most aspects, at least. One thing that’s changed since the crunch before the millennium is the way we get music. 1999 may be remembered as the year for hide-out shelters and flashlights, but it also marked the debut of Sean Fanning’s file-sharing service, Napster. So in quo with the program’s 10-year anniversary, it’s time to look into the way Fanning, a Northeastern University 18-year-old known for his nappy hair, revolutionized the music industry and popped the cork for a new age of digital technology.

Whether you were blasting Blink-182’s “What’s My Age Again” or Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle,” odds that you, or someone you know, was one of Napster’s 26.4 million users are greater than the odds of hearing of anyone who actually got in trouble for using it. Napster only existed legally for a short six months before a high profile Metallica-lead court case pressed pause on the service for copyright infringement. But it was a short pause – the site’s usage peaked in February 2000 after publicity from the case backfired and became a marketing scheme, reeling in more music fans to the newly illegal server.

The original Napster has since been shut down but it just released a new version in celebration of turning double digits. The new Napster, now owned by Best Buy, is a $5 monthly subscription service that allows listeners access to seven million tracks, five of which they get to keep as a DRM-free mp3 at the end of each month. With some songs up to $1.29 on iTunes, music lovers may find this an appealing alternative to their current digital service.

Because if one thing’s for sure, things are now digital – thanks to Napster’s trailblazing. Analysts have linked the success of iTunes, YouTube, Hulu and other popular media destinations to Fanning’s creation. But the positive press ends there.

In addition to opening the digital door and countless ears to new music, Napster will likely always be stuck with the blame for closing the gates on a once-prosperous music industry. The original Napster officially shut down in July 2001, and iTunes opened in spring of 2003. But during this time gap, several other illegal file-sharing services surfaced. Analysts say this is where record labels lost control – rather than Napster being the bad guy, there were tons of enemies – too many for the industry to fight. Some say if the industry would have made peace with Napster from the get-go, it wouldn’t be where it is today.

So where is it today? Reports of total album sales fluctuate from source to source, but somewhere between 360 and 400 million CDs were sold in the US last year. And although digital sales were up to 65.8 million in 2008, it’s not enough to make up for the expected 22 percent decrease of CD sales by 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Remember when Lil’ Wayne sold 2.97 million last year and everyone went crazy? Well in 2000, NSYNC sold 10 million. Those days seem long gone, but somehow Madonna can still afford to sell concert tickets for $120 a pop. Her tour last year grossed $282 million, with total concert revenue up 8 percent. So musicians best stock their tour buses with lots of FIJI water and high thread-count sheets – being on the road is the sweetest way for them to taste success right now.

And if anyone owes Napster a Happy Birthday card, it’s Apple. Before it introduced the iPod in 2001, it’s stock floated between $13 and $22 a share. Seven years later? - $130. So happy birthday, Napster. Cooljunkie may not have gotten you a present but we still have all those embarrassing songs we freely scraped up to remind us of your glory. The top songs of 1999? Cher’s “Believe,” TLC’s “No Scrubs” and Monica’s “Angel of Mine.” Music sales may be in plummets – but at least we’ve got some better tunes these days.