Pirates? They seem more like pioneers

The news that the company behind MP3 music software firm Napster cut off 300,000 users for trading the songs of hairy rock group Metallica could be seen as a victory for the protection of intellectual property on the internet.

But it isn't - it's just another nail in the coffin of a supposedly free and open system. Anyone serious about embracing the internet must realise where its roots lie. The anarchic spirit that urges disparate developers to create software such as Napster is the same spirit that was behind the development of the early net, and it's not an isolated urge.

One of the key cultural and social tenets of the internet is that the more valuable content is perceived to be, the more it will be mirrored and linked and stored, and therefore have more of a chance of surviving censorship. In the same way, valuable ideas will persist, and that's exactly what has happened with the Napster phenomenon. There are already a number of Napster clones out there, and hundreds of other file-sharing initiatives.

It's not just information that should be free. Ideas, especially good ones, have a habit of proliferating if allowed to do so, and the MP3 renegades are proving beyond doubt that music should enjoy the same freedom.

Giving the customer what they wantFar from being anarchic, these 'pirates' are merely following that most basic of American instincts, free trade. Maybe the US constitution should be amended to include 'the right to write software, and distribute ideas'.

Here is a product consumers want, and the Napster crew is providing an easier way for them to get it.

In the process, it is cutting out the margins on CD sales, the marketing stranglehold on the media, and the cultural monopoly that these afford the record industry. Rather than greasing the palms of DJs with pluggers and freebies, Napster is greasing the wheels of distribution with technology.

And let's face it, the cat is out of the bag. What will this crackdown do to Metallica's rock credentials? I'm sure there are many budding artists who would gladly step into the breach, and who will benefit from the publicity that free downloads bring. The truth is, more revenue can be made from live tours and merchandising, things you can't download from the net.

When convergence really kicks in, who's to say that the CD album will still carry the same commercial and cultural weight? I'd much rather surf an artist's site or go to MP3.com than listen to a bland radio playlist dictated by the whims of marketing men.

On a personal level
The early adopters of this technology will be the ones who have access to personal details and will then be able to issue personal invitations to concerts and plug the latest tour merchandise. Just like a nightclub.

The fact remains that, in the same way that MP3 files proliferate exponentially across the net, so does the software and services behind them. Instead of trying to control this means of distribution as the record companies have done, Napster and MP3.com have realised that, in the New Economy, it's eyeballs and emails that count, not the media.

After all, their intellectual property is in their software, and they are quite happy to give it away. If the record industry got its act together, it could just as easily copy their software, and salvage what little respect it still has on the internet by copying their ideas. But that would be piracy, wouldn't it?