The Death of NAPSTER

It to me is startling how different things are today in the field of music. The pursuit of music in the words of a bass player friend and real estate agent was like religion. It was a bubble in which you lived. I used to live in that bubble, until the art of live music died. Not to offend the members of David Letterman’s band, who represent the best of the best in terms of live television music, I can’t express enough how the disappearance of live bands from television via the music networks effects the state of American pop culture. While I respect Burt Sugarman’s attempts to market the Midnight Special television performances on DVD, I simply must present the question of: “What are we paying for on cable television?” If the decision has been made that we, the paying public, are no longer afforded live music on television, then I think a band ought to signal that decision. If Time/Life has bought the privilege of being the ONLY company worthy of broadcasting or distributing our country’s musical lineage, then it she be made known. I’ll say it. “TIME/ LIFE HAS BOUGHT THE RIGHTS TO THE MAJORITY OF POPULAR RADIO ORIENTED MUSIC IN THE 20TH CENTURY!” Evidence of that easily is found on their website offering an extensive assortment of packages of popular music. That this music once was played FOR FREE on FM radio demonstrates that a cognitive decision has been made to restrict the dissemination of this music to the public. That could account for the disappearance of music on the television music channels MTV, VH-1, and BET. This occurrence can be met with a variety of reactions. One is elation to know that this music still exists and is available. One is outrage to know a corporate monopoly has taken control, much like the rest of American. One is disbelief to think our most recent pop music history has been systematically eradicated for corporate gain. If the latter is the case, then Time/Life/AOL/FederalGovernment/BET/MTV/VH1/CIA/FBI/HOSA/ObieWanKanobe and God need to find an agreement for the fair usage of this music. The bickering between Apple and Microsoft, the competition for the best digital music player, cell phone, and personal vibrator needs to come to an end in support of the continuation of the PRODUCT. The product is not the PLAYER. It is NOT the cell phone that displays digital images. It is not the Web Browser that plays YouTube video clips. All of these things are great in the emancipation of the individual’s creative attempts, but in terms of the artistry of music? Where does ASCAP stand on all these issues? Are they responsible for the canvassing of the internet for musical content? Are they collecting royalties on YouTube music clips? Napster was wrong when they decided it was okay to distribute copyrighted recorded music for free, whether it was in the MP3 or AIFF formats. We have the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to thank for issuing an injunction demanding Napster shut down its network for good. Unfortunately the record industry has never recovered, and it was five long years before the Apple iTunes Music Store appeared. My suggestion is an integrated service of online promotion and distribution of new music be devised with video capabilities. The hang up is this. Can the miniscule bubble of the internet and home computer be the host for music making? Is what is necessary to make music available from a wire and a room? Protools has all ready given the answer to this question. There is no way digital software, miniature components, and sequestered libidos can represent the scope of the human spirit. We must find a way!