The Legacy of Napster

Abstract

The legacy of Napster’s fusion of digital compression, World Wide Web distribution and its own central server–based search and share programme is a profusion of file-sharing, torrent-based and streaming services that now make free access and sharing of digital content ‘normal’. Napster has been replaced by distributed forms of peer-to-peer copyright-infringing services that continue to evade the law, as well as by predominantly free legal services like Spotify. Even legal downloading services like iTunes would not exist had it not been for Napster’s breaking down of the monopoly supply of music by record companies. Free recorded content has increased live performance earnings, so another legacy of Napster is that artists themselves are better paid.