Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop
Napster didn't invent the MP3. There were ways prior to Napster to purchase digital music. They were just not very good. An industry is not going to embrace change unless they are forced to.
I was trying to look up an article on digital music prior to Napster, but my Google-fu just isn't up to it.
But here's a bit I did find on Wikipedia that illustrates my point (sorry for the long quote, but I believe it is on topic):
The major record labels eventually decided to launch their own online stores, allowing them more direct control over costs and pricing and more control over the presentation and packaging of songs and albums. Sony Music Entertainment's service did not do as well as was hoped. Many consumers felt the service was difficult to navigate and use. Sony's pricing of US$3.50 per song track also discouraged many early adopters of the service. Furthermore, as MP3 Newswire pointed out in its review of the service, users were actually only renting the tracks for that $3.50, because the patron did not own the audio file. After a certain point the files expired and could not be played again without repurchase. The service quickly failed.
Undaunted, the record industry tried again. Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment teamed up with a service called Duet, later renamed pressplay. EMI, AOL/Time Warner and Bertelsmann Music Group teamed up with MusicNet. Again, both services struggled, hampered by high prices and heavy limitations on how downloaded files could be used once paid for. In the end, consumers chose instead to download music using illegal, free file sharing programs, which many consumers felt were more convenient and easier to use. |
Duet came out in 2002, so Napster was already toast by then.
Here is an article that I found by googling "digital music history napster"
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/artic...l-music/904234
-mp3 was invented in 1991.
-mp3.com was founded in 1997 (allowed users to access their music online if they had a "genuine copyright version" [kind of sounds like Apple Music now]
-eMusic was founded in 1998 and is called the first website to offer MP3 for download as well as a subscription service.
-Napster started in June 1999 by Shawn Fanning.
I had forgotten about mp3.com. Never heard of eMusic. MP3.com was shutdown in 2000, while Napster was shutdown in 2001.