When the major labels shut down Napster in 2001, they effectively shot themselves in the foot. They truly believed that the digital world could be stopped and that over-priced cd's would rule forever. Time and time again, whenever I talk music with people, casual and manic fans alike, they all say the same thing; they miss the original Napster.
Now some of these people are immense music fans and others, well, they stopped buying and listening to music all together after the service was shut down. What made the original Napster so great was (from what I am told) was that it was the central source for music. Looking for an out of print album, you could find it on Napster. Seeking a rare Japanese b-side from 1986, you could find it. Seeking a live bootleg you heard on the radio at your college 2 decades back, it was there.
When Napster was shut down, the digital world splintered. It broke off into a thousand different configurations. While the software for iTunes is wondrous, I've never bought anything from their digital store because until recently, they offered inferior versions of the songs for basically the same price as retail. You want that rare b-side, new single from your favorite artist, a new album from an indie artist? You may have to seek out dozens of different sites to find it. Not to mention that some of the rare stuff may not even be found on eMusic or iTunes.
Now comes news that Shakira is giving her latest single away on ABC's Music Lounge. ABC has a music lounge? Why not iTunes? Why not her website? I wouldn't even think about heading over to download it. When Radiohead offered In Rainbows for free, the irony of it all is that the P2P file trading network lit up and it was the most downloaded and traded on those file networks, even though it was free!
I want to buy my music from one place. I want it cheap and I want it in high quality DRM-free MP3's. Until that happens, I'll be seeking out the used cd bins.
