But even this analysis—the record companies were wedded to the cash cow of the CD—doesn’t quite get at the truth behind the revolution that Napster began. Napster was the first signal that the web had changed consumer behavior in a fundamental way. Today, we live in a world where consumers not only expect, but demand, infinite selection and instant gratification. Amazon had first introduced the concept of infinite selection, and now Napster was training an entire generation to require the instant gratification.
