2003-08-01

The Son of Napster

Ready to have your mind blown? Then, please, read this article aboutSnapster: The Son of Napster.

Don't have time? Here's the basic concept. As the owner of a CD, you are legally allowed to make backup copies for your own use. If a company buys a CD, then it and all of its owners would be able to do the same. So if you had stock in a company that boughtevery CD in the world, you would own part of the company andall the CD's and be allowed to download copies of this legally purchased music.

EnterSnapster...the hypothetical name of a hypothetical company that would buy a ton of CD's and start selling its stock. This guy's aritcle projects some rather astronomical numbers, but even without that you gotta appreciate what he's talking about!

For those of you who would like to point out the finer details of the concept of fair use, please read thefollow-up.