Nap it up

'U' is right to 'wait and see' on Napster

It's not over 'till it's over - and Napster is still technically legal, so the University rightly decided not to ban student use of the controversial Internet service last Friday.

The University, as well as the University of California at Berkeley, have gone against the grain, as many universities nationwide have banned the program.

Northwestern University is the most visible institution to forbid student use of the program, due to bandwidth problems. But because of the University's sophisticated technology system, bandwidth is not an issue.

The issue placed in the University's hands was not one of copyright law - that is for the courts. The University's decision hinged upon allowing students to use Napster until the courts rule on its legality. It is great to see the University not jump the gun and rule before an actual verdict is handed down.

Dr. Dre and Metallica lead artists who feel that only paying customers should be able to listen to their songs. Non-copyrighted material such as recordings of class lectures appears along side other material on Napster and other MP3 sites. Some artists cannot acknowledge that technology will inevitably change the face of music distribution and marketing.

Napster is not the only site or Internet service where one can obtain and trade MP3's. Unless artists and record labels change their business models to suit emerging technologies, they are sure to lose profits. Even if the courts eventually rule against Napster, there will be a host of other programs to fill fans' demand for free (or at least very cheap) music on demand.

Many of these "alternate Napsters" like Gnutella and Freenet are de-centralized, meaning that there is no one single site to sue or any one individual or group that could be held liable for any profit losses.

Banning Napster now for reasons other than bandwidth overload would reflect poorly on the University, especially if the courts later decide that the site may stay open.

Putting up a firewall now would probably be futile anyway, not to mention that banning students from a site every other demographic of the population can reach would be utterly arbitrary.

Until the controversial copyright issues surrounding Napster are thoroughly settled in the courts, the University should continue to let students access the service. Who knows which way will the courts will rule - best to enjoy Napster while we still have it.