David Boies, the lead lawyer for the Justice Department in the Microsoft antitrust case, has taken on Napster as a client. He’s come up with some interesting arguments (Reuters) to counter the lawsuit filed by the Recording Industry Association of America against the music-trading company. (Here’s a PDF file of Boies’ legal filing.)
When Boies says, “It’s clear the RIAA sees Napster as a threat not because it’s going to reduce record sales but that it will reduce the RIAA’s control over record sales,” I think he has captured the essence of what’s going on here.
The entertainment industry does not care about anything except its profits, and it recognizes that profits will only survive as long as it maintains its iron grip over artists and distribution. Innovation is anathema to this industry, but technology is going to overcome these dinosaurs eventually. The question is how much damage the RIAA and its ilk will cause in their death throes.