Geraldo Rivera Covers the Napster Court Fight
Even handed, balanced review of fight between Metallica and Napster on prime time cable
Does Metallica Really Want to Attack 335,000 Fans?
Limp Bisket is Surprise Beneficiary of Telecast
May 5, 2000
Last night (May 4, 2000) Geraldo Rivera finally brought the Napster/Metallica battle to prime time television on his very popular talk show. In a surprisingly even handed report, Geraldo brought together attorneys for Napster and Metallica along with a fine panel of attorneys, Internet experts and musician Rap star Chuck D from Public Enemy, who has recently publicly sided with Napster.
This legal battle has long been the hottest topic on the Internet with dozens of articles every day on every important Internet news and opinion provider. But it hasn't moved off the Internet except in highly specialized publications. Last night non-techies got an education in the esoteric art of downloading music off the net.
Geraldo Rivera himself downloaded songs "live" during the show. Surrounded by some of the nation's toughest lawyers he needed an artist that wouldn't sue him for downloading their songs. The "winner" was Limp Bisket, a leading Napster supporter. Geraldo downloaded two Bisket tunes and played parts of each on the air.
The impetus for the television feature was Metallica's unprecedented attack on individual fans who use the popular Napster program to trade music. On Wednesday, May 3, 2000, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and the band's attorney, Howard King, delivered to Napster 30 cardboard boxes filled with names of 335,000 Napster users who Metallica believes might be illegally trading music. They are demanding that Napster cancel all 335,000 accounts and ban these users from the service.
The program clearly showed that while Metallica and the RIAA may hold the legal high ground, public sentiment is clearly on the side of Napster and individual fan's rights. More importantly, the Internet experts felt the battle was unwinnable for Metallica et all. The technology is changing so fast that artists need to work with the technology, not fight it.
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