Long night. Not too busy.
I was glad about that, because every step that I take hurts.
Monday morning I'll get the angioplasty done... then it will all be better.
Until then I'll get by.
OK. Then there's Napster and Metallica and that whole mess.
For one thing, the numbers on my napster pages is scaring me. Getting me paranoid.
And the numbers of letters that I am getting regarding that site... nothing scary at all, just other users. I think.
And yes, I made the banned list, along with 315,000 other people. We have all been cut off from the official Napster servers.
No big deal, really, since there are others. It's a groundswell movement, and Napster's bowing to Metallica (more on this part later) has accelerated the rush to serve...
Most of the time, major industries change slowly... I have the feeling that this is not going to be one of those times. There is a feeling of rebellion in the air...
America (and the rest of the world) is attuned more to its music than ever... it pervades our society unlike any other element. We have not been without our music since the first radio was put into the first model-T, or whatever it may have been. And whenever that was.
And now... there's "Free Music" in the land. It has been tasted, and it will not be now denied. Free... well, if you have a computer with internet access, anyway.
Free if you don't mind taking the bread out of the mouths of the starving artists who made the music.
But wait... that isn't what this is about. What is this about? Why, a bunch of guys who take the artists music and give the artists $0.40 and then sell the music for $15.00 after investing maybe another dollar in it.
But, well, dammit, what's the matter with that? Isn't that the American Way, after all?
No, this is about... change. And generally, the people who have the most to lose are the least likely to want to change.
Revolutions don't get accomplished without heads rolling. And it's always, always moneyed heads that are the target. Well, there are always some innocent bystanders, too. And the journallers... uh, journalists.
There's a lot at stake here. E-conomy. Stuff that is worth fifteen bucks on a store shelf is going for... nothing.
However, according to sources that I forget, there has been no decrease in music CD sales since MP3.com came on line. The theory here is that when people download songs and like them, they want to buy them... to own them. That's the kind of people we are, we like to own things, tangible things, CDs that we can display on a rack in the den or wherever.
So why does Metallica have their panties in a bunch?
My theory is that they were elected to fight this fight. Or volunteered, whatever. They are not alone, though they are striving to look that way.
And Napster? Why did they ban all of those people? Because their lawyers are afraid of the industry's lawyers?
My theory is that they did it to foment revolution. And I do believe that it's working.
85% of the letters that I've been getting state somewhere in the content, "Metallica SUCKS!"
So, the opening is done. The midgame will take a little longer while the forces are positioned.
And the endgame will be swift and, above all, confusing. Neither side can afford to compromise. O'yeah, the principle players might compromise, but not the end users. And not the artists.
It'll be fun to watch.
Bedtime now.