:: Let the Music Play ::

Lately I have found myself more and more engaged in techno-ethical discussions as to the moral grounds of MP3 sharing and Napster. To the uninitiated: Napster is a software protocol that enables users to share their music files in MP3 format with other users. The program allows users to search other users' file lists, and thus basically amounts to a huge searchable online database of free, pirated music.

On one hand, I believe that musicians should be able to earn their bread. They give us the gift of music, don't they? They should be able to live respectfully from that trade.

But then on the other hand, I am also a big Open Software enthusiast. And I believe information should be free, and shared by all. And suddenly it hit me: Music is Software. It's just a form of code. And thus should be free.

So, there has to be a better way for musicians to make their efforts worthwile. There has to, because, frankly, I don't believe they have a choice. Once the technology is out, artists will have to adapt.

Open Source leaders are divided on the Napster issue, but so are musicians. Many musicians (especially rap artists) actually approve to sharing MP3 files, and many artists (especially American) make most of their money from live shows and merchandising and use CDs only as a promoting channel.

The problem is that in our small but enemy-surrounded country, there aren't enough concerts or merchendising channels to pay the bills, not to mention the more fundamental problem writers of electronic musicians face.

But then again, there has to be a way. There just has to.

Wadi Writer #2 (Blue)

WadiList@mail.com

Links:

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2573456,00.html

http://www.napster.com

http://opennap.sourceforge.net/

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