ontain any copyrighted files, tracking down users breaching copyright legislation will be incredibly difficult. 4. Pros and Cons of Possible SolutionsThe option of Napster paying royalties to artists whose songs are downloaded would be a positive move because it would mean that artists receive fair compensation for their work. However, on the other hand, to support the enormous cost of such a move, Napster would either have to turn into a paid subscription service, or show advertising (which wouldn't necessarily cover the costs). Added to this, the cost of modifying the application, and working out a way to determine what songs have been downloaded, the administration costs for Napster would skyrocket. The option of a cooperative effort with the music industry has the advantage of being totally legal and stopping all conflicts between Napster and the RIAA. However, such a model would mean a great reduction in the number of songs available and would eliminate the 'sharing' aspect of the program. The advantage of the anonymous peer-to-peer model is that if no corporation, individual or other entity claims ownership, no one can be sued. And because no files are stored on the central server, no copyright is being infringed there. The disadvantage of this method, would be that Napster would still be breaking the law, and undoubtedly new legislation would be brought in and measures would be taken to stop the service. Furthermore, if Napster could not take credit officially for their software, then they could not profit from it (something they need to do, considering the investment in the company) 5. RecommendationsI believe that Napster is a valuable program and an indication of things to come. However, in its current state, it will have a very hard time remaining legal. I believe the only way Napster will survive will be to change its service (and it may in fact be forced to by the courts). I would suggest that Napster develops some system o...
