Today on slashdot, Lars Ulrich of once relevant but now aging band Metallica responded to the outcry of Napster users who were ruthless castigated for trading non-licensed mp3 copies of his music. Many users view Napter much like trading bootleg concert tapes. One user defended his right to swap mp3 file thusly:

The way I've explain Napster to those who have asked is quite simple. It's basically a giant room where people say "I have such & such a song" and other people are asking for "such & such's song." Clearly you can't say that the room is illegal.. it's just there. Everyone I've talked to always agrees on that point. They may not be thinking, like me, about online distribution models, about convenience, etc. But they do agree, it's pretty stupid to outlaw a room.

Clearly, this person didn't talk to me. Trading files anonymously over the internet is not a crime. In fact, no one is really questioning this (anyone, with an ounce of clue that is). The painful truth is that music is not yours to do with as you please. For instance, you can't buy a CD and broadcast it on the radio without paying royalities. There is a end user license with music. It is printed in every CD liner. You have the right to copy that music for your own use. No one will tell you different.

Trading mp3 files riped from CDs is not legal. Those claiming to some kind of "Bootlegging privilage" are deluded.

But I believe most of these users aren't particularly evil beings looking to defraud the evil RIAA of their due. Users are using available technology to its logical conclusion. What we are seeing is an industry that must radically change, but doesn't know how to. Napster is about convenience. That the RIAA isn't supporting and taking advantage of Napster shows the most craven backward thinking since the original Luddites.

Let's all act like we didn't just come down from the trees. Napster users should cease trading illegal copies of CDs and the record companies need to understand that Col. Parker is dead. It's time to for them to redefine their core business, promotion, and reinvent their methods of distribution. They have no choice in this matter. The genie is out of the bottle.