Compare And Contrast Of Napster Essay, Research Paper

Two More Sources to Cross Off the ListMany people believe that the Internet file sharing service called Napster will destroy intellectual copyright laws. The theory is that artists will start losing money and eventually it will not be worth their time to continue producing new material. Two articles recently published on this topic are Harvey J. Lieberman s Free & Easy published in the August eleventh issue of Commonwealth and Paul D. Winston s Copying This Article is Strictly Prohibited published in the September fourth issue of Business Insurance. Lieberman s article is about how he found out about Napster and how to use it. It also just brushes on that he believes something needs to be done to stop the free sharing of music files (Lieberman). Winston writes about how he can t believe the courts would even consider Napster s side of the ruling, He also states how Napster destroys the copyright laws that protect not only music, but also the book and music industries (Winston). Both of these articles were recently published and written for the general public, and they deal with the topic of my research. However, each has its own reasons why I probably won t use it as source for my final paper. Being published in August and September both of these articles are very recent. Lieberman s however, shows no evidence of its recentness. The main topic of his paper is over exactly what Napster is and that something needs to be done to compensate the musicians for their work. Which could have easily been written back in January or February when the technology was just gaining speed. He also mentions his ability to personally burn music to a compact disc, which has been commercially available for over three years (Lieberman). Winston s article is not only more recent in its publication, its information is much more up to date. He talks about the recent Metallica vs. Napster lawsuit. Which is trial where the band Metallica is suing Napster for copyright infringement. He also explains what the possible outcome of the trial may cause, showing that he has some insight into the topic and its effects (Winston). Even though both articles were published in the last three months, Winston s piece contains much more recent information. Another similarity among the articles is that are they are both targeted at the general reading public. However, it seems that Winston believes his readers are more informed then does Lieberman. Lieberman s main point is what Napster is and how a user uses it. He goes in to detail over the process of using Napster and how convenient it is. Then he describes how a CD can be made with downloaded songs. He also explains that it wasn t until he actually used the software that he realized how easy songs were shared and pirated (Lieberman). Winston s article on the other hand only gives a brief description of what Napster is. Then, goes into more depth of the Metallica vs. Napster lawsuit and how he can t believe the courts are even considering ruling for Napster in this trial. Saying Napster s plea of fair use is a joke, because only artists, who can not make money off their music to start with, would allow people to share their music freely (Winston). Both these articles are aimed at the general reading public, but they seem to have different ideas on what the general public knows.

A major difference in the articles is each of the author s stances on the issue. Lieberman takes on the subject as if he was a new comer and tells about how he discovered his children using it one day and they taught him how it works. He then goes on how he began to enjoy making his own CD s of old music that he use to listen to. Then in the end he says one day he saw how bad it could really hurt the music industry so he stopped using it (Lieberman). It almost seems as if he feels behind the times on this topic and is just stating what he has learned from his kids. Winston on the other hand comes across as having strong disliking for Napster. He states, I believe, however, that the Napster dispute has the potential to destroy current copyright protection for any material-including this column-and wreak havoc on free market economies. He then talks about how not only will the artists be hurt by file sharing, but also the record companies and record stores. He also believes that it would eventually ruin other forms of media protected by copyright laws, such as books and movies (Winston). Winston shows much more opinion in his writing then does Lieberman, who just seems to be stating what he knows about Napster. After comparing both of these sources I have realized neither one will be very useful to me in writing my final paper. Lieberman s article is way to general, stating nothing more then what I consider common knowledge on the subject. Winston s article has more specific information, but it states the author s opinion way too strongly. It is almost as if the article is trying to scare the reader into siding with the author.

Winston, Paul D. Copying This Article Is Strictly Prohibited. Business Insurance 4 Nov. 2000: 21. Expanded Academic Index. Online. 5 November 2000.Lieberman, Harvey J. Free & Easy. Commonwealth 11 Aug. 2000: 14+. Wilson Web. Online. 5 November 2000. Meta-AnalysisOverall, this assignment probably took me four to five hours to complete. The first step in the writing was to find two sources to use. I used online databases to find both of the ones I used. Next I read each of the articles two or three times to form my own opinion of the piece. Then I choose to use the point by point format for writing a comparison and contrast, so I decided on three points to use for my body paragraphs. Next, I figured out a thesis statement and worked on writing the body paragraphs of my paper. Once I had completed the body of my paper, I worked on the introduction and conclusion. When I had finished a working draft of the paper I revised and proofread it, and came up with my final paper. The intended effect on the reader is to show them the two different types of writing over the same subject and also display why I probably wouldn t use either one for my final research paper. The strong parts of this assignment include the introduction, the points I choose to compare, and the quality of the writing. If I had more time, I would probably work on my comma placement and also more on the five C s of style.