"With the increasing accessibility of on the Internet, and the new technology available on it, there must be a matching increase in responsibility. Without public accountability, this responsibility reverts to groups like the RIAA to seek out those who are misusing the advances in technology and to the courts to adapt and enforce the law. Napster is allowing people to disregard copyright laws because they were not written in the spirit of today's technology. These copyright laws are the only things that protect what musicians do for a living; write songs. Napster is allowing people to steal these songs." -- Jeff Cameron, Jeff Hanson Mangement & Promotions (represents Creed and other artists)

"I couldn't believe it when I found out that this Napster was linking thousands of people to the new Notorious BIG album "Born Again," a week before it even hit the streets. This album is a labor of love from Notorious BIG's friends to the man, his kids, the rest of his family and everyone else whose lives will never be the same since BIG passed. BIG and every other artist Napster abuses deserve respect for what they give us." -- Sean "Puffy" Combs, CEO, Bad Boy Entertainment, Inc.

Dixie Chicks and Senior Management are huge fans of the Internet and its possibilities. While there are great efforts being made to ensure that the rights of the artists and songwriters are protected, Napster's apparent way of doing business sets those efforts way back. If the Internet thieves are not stopped or better regulated, it not only robs current artists but might have even more serious repercussions for the next batch of artists. I support and applaud the RIAA on their efforts to make sure that Internet companies are not stealing the rights of the people who make the music. Simon Renshaw, Senior Management (personal manager of the Dixie Chicks) [end of press release]>>

Two streams have intermingled and everybody's mad.
I weep only semi-crocodile tears for these wealthy artists whose careers might be marginalized by low-fi MP3 piracy. And when you look at what RIAA is suing Napster.com for, it becomes even more surreal. $20 billion. What's going on here?

Stream #1 is: Napster provides a program that will download MP3s for you while you're asleep - just let them know the stuff you want, however much might be out there, whether licensed or not. It's a great idea...and my comment when it was introduced was "wait until the RIAA hears about THIS!" What I didn't realize was that if everybody on campus turned this on, it would clog the entire system. And that's just what happened. According to Indiana State's Mark Bruhn, by the middle of February, 81% of the university's pipeline was dedicated to downloading MP3s! It wasn't just a problem in Indiana. Over the last month or so, over 130 universities have disconnected or severely limited student access to Napster.com.