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Napster and its Success Story
Napster was created by Shawn Fanning in 1999 and it changed the way people used the Internet.
Napster was a P2P network that facilitated sharing ofmusic . The software provided by Napster allowed users to
sharemusic stored on their computers through a central directory . Though therewere other file sharing services
like IRC (Internet Relay Chat), Hotline and USENET (USEr NETwork), Napster became popular as it facilitated exclusive
file sharing ofmusic throughMP3 files and allowed users to downloadmusic fromawide collection of songs...
The New Venture – SNOCAP
Fanning started working on a new website named SNOCAP one week after the closure of Napster in 2002. Founded
inSeptember 2002, SNOCAPis an automated central registry and clearinghouse for onlinemusic files.Observing the state
of themusic industry and the need for a service likeSNOCAP, Fanning said, “There is still a great divide and consumers are
caught in themiddle.There are some good authorised onlinemusic services but they have limited content and a comparatively
small number of users. There are unauthorised services that have content and users orders ofmagnitude higher, but the
service they provide is inferior and they are at odds with rights holders. SNOCAP is themeans to bridge that divide for the
consumer...
Can SNOCAP Replicate Napster’s Success?
Unlike Napster that provided software to users to download and trade songs illegally causing trouble to copyright
owners,SNOCAP provides a platformfor transfer of legally authorizedmusic and helps the copyright holders tomanage the
sales of their songs. Napster’s success was based solely on the users availing its service while that of SNOCAP relies on
everybody in the eco-system comprising of users, copyright owners and other file-sharing networks, and online retailers
participating in the service.Anothermajor difference between Napster and SNOCAP apart fromtheir completely different
modes of operation is in terms of legality of the site...
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