[Edition 26] LOS ANGELES, Monday: A US court has heard that music crime will be forced back into the music stores if Napster is shut down. Napster, a program which allows people to download computer files (MP3s) of musicians’ work without paying either artists or record companies, was held by a US court at first instance to be in breach of copyright laws.

The threat to music if Napster is closed down … Napster users take their music ‘downloading’ skills back into the local music store.

[Edition 26] LOS ANGELES, Monday: A US court has heard that music crime will be forced back into the music stores if Napster is shut down. Napster, a program which allows people to download computer files (MP3s) of musicians’ work without paying either artists or record companies, was held by a US court at first instance to be in breach of copyright laws.

The downloading of MP3s over the internet is seen as a major threat by the established music industry. The decision to ban Napster has sent shock-waves through the worldwide community of music thieves.
“If Napster is shut down I’m going to have to go back to stealing Metallica CD’s from HMV,” said one disappointed Napster fan.

Music stores have found themselves in a difficult position as the growth of Napster has seen not only a reduction in sales but also a reduction in store theft. Stores expect that the closure of Napster will force them to increase staff numbers to some extent in retail but primarily in the security sector.

“When the initial finding said that Napster had been closed down my store was full of kids ‘downloading’ CD’s into their jackets,” said Shane Crossing, who manages the Virgin Megastore at Darling Harbour. “Typical bloody Napster users, they kept saying that they were just going to sample the new music and then come back and pay us for the CD if they liked it.”

Napster claims that it simply allows people to exchange their own private copies of music in the same way that people have always exchanged dubbed copies of tapes. This claim has been supported by the Australian “Friends of Napster” group which claims that nothing will change if Napster is shut down.

“It may take a bit longer to do, but we can still do searches of what music other people have manually, dub it and send it out to Australia by post. It’s just the same as downloading it from the internet.”
Critics of Napster however claim that the program allows for large scale evasion of copyright and deprives musicians of profits from their music.

“Napster is really threatening the livelihood of rock stars,” said a spokesperson for Napster enemy number one Metallica. “And it doesn’t just stop there. Once the musos are short of cash, the booze and cocaine sellers are the next to go. Pretty soon hotel repairmen across the globe will be retrenched and the world will accumulate dangerously high reserves of acid wash jeans.”

Breaking news: A Court of Appeal has decided to avoid the increase in store crime by granting a stay of the decision against Napster.
“There are serious questions about the legitimacy of this judgement,” the appeal judge claimed referring to the initial order for Napster to close given by Marilyn Patel of the United States District Court in San Francisco. “If Napster is forced to close tonight I won’t be able to finish downloading ‘Oops I did it again’. I’ll be the laughing stock at my Britney fan club.”