false 700819 1 It was the best of ideas, it was the worst of ideas. Perhaps the most revolutionary technological concept to emerge in the super-heated days of the internet investment bubble (with apologies to one-click ordering), the peer-to-peer .mp3 file transfer system developed by barely reformed computer hacker Shawn Fanning fueled a company that at its peak claimed 70 million users and ranked as the fastest-growing company in history. Not bad for the out-of-wedlock son of the guitarist for a Boston-area Aerosmith cover band still in his teens. <p> The story of how Napster challenged the copyrights and distribution hegemony of the world's ruling music business cartel has become one of the e-boom's most enduring myths: David Vs. Goliath, with an outcome more like Tyson Vs. Lewis. In deconstructing the saga, veteran <I>Los Angeles Times</I> business reporter Joseph Menn patiently chronicles the double-dealing, ego, greed, hubris and remarkable naivete - informed by precious little long-term vision - that variously characterized both sides of the epic struggle. <p> Perhaps Menn's most telling revelations here center around the previously under-reported role of Shawn's uncle John Fanning, the shady, entrepreneurial con-man who claimed to be Napster's co-inventor/co-founder (distinctions that actually belonged to Shawn's teen friends, Jordan Ritter and Sean Parker), cutting himself in for a whopping 70% initial stake in the company. The elder Fanning's ability to clutch defeat from the jaws of even the smallest victory is set up as nothing less than Shakespearean parable. If Menn's work has a shortcoming, it's his seeming reticence to consider the larger, long-term implications of peer-to-peer file-swapping and an internet culture that enthusiastically stood centuries-old notions of property rights and demand-and-supply pricing firmly on its head by the tens of millions. <p> Ironically, the record industry's touted quashing of Napster was ultimately akin to killing a hydra-head monster. A variety of more lawsuit-resistant systems ultimately arose in its wake, leading one executive to ponder whether future record industry battles against file-swapping would simply degenerate into a never-ending game of "Whack-a-Mole". <I>Jerry McCulley</I> 687123 8 4 2003 All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster total:10|5:2|4:4|3:3|2:1| 10 37 16 3 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Jun 13 00:18:55 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 02:58:08 -0700 2009 Napster was of course a major revolutionary force in modern civilization, a huge cultural phenomenon that changed the world so much, but this book doesn't fully explore the cultural phenomenon aspect. Instead, this book is focused on the inside story and therefore it turns out to be more like...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Apr 23 23:18:45 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 23 23:23:26 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Thu Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 17 20:30:51 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 17 20:31:32 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Sep 23 18:47:44 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 18:47:44 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Aug 03 20:50:30 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 20:50:30 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 29 06:33:40 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 06:33:40 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Apr 29 09:36:29 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 09:36:29 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 10 11:53:38 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 11:53:38 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Oct 05 14:47:54 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 05 14:47:54 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Sep 29 16:03:49 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 16:03:49 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Fri Jul 18 16:39:19 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 16:39:19 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Feb 23 23:34:15 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 23:34:20 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jan 07 13:12:13 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 13:12:13 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Mon Dec 17 05:57:21 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 17 05:57:21 -0800 2007 2 0 false false Sun Nov 04 17:21:09 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 04 17:21:09 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Wed Oct 31 16:50:44 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 31 16:50:44 -0700 2007