Turns for the Worse

Desperate people can be driven to do desperate things. Every now & again I’m reminded of how true this can be.

Charlotte roads are known for being two things: confusing and constantly under construction. The same road may change names several times in the course of a few miles, and most likely will either be closed or littered with orange & white construction barrels blocking the lanes. I’ve lived in Charlotte for close to a decade, so I think I’ve got the names down - but the construction still gives me trouble.

The other day I was late for a meeting, and as I approached the building I was dismayed to see the road was closed due to construction. I followed the detour signs and found myself positioned down from where I needed to be on a one-way street. The only way I saw to get to the building was to take an illegal left turn and dash into the parking lot before oncoming traffic approached. Convinced there had to be another option, I searched again. Unfortunately I ended up in the same situation: confronted with taking an illegal left turn. I felt like I had exhausted every avenue, so finally in desperation I just took it.

I feel the same way about finding music online. I understood when record companies shut down Napster as a free music downloading site*—but still was angry. It makes sense to me that the industry does not want people stealing music that is available in the stores to purchase. It is not fair to the artist, the label, or the vendors. Unfortunately, I was using Napster to obtain music that was out of print. Much of what I was getting was from obscure 1980’s acts (Vanity, Apollonia 6, Donna Allen) that have been out of print for years. This is music I remember from my teenage years that holds very fond memories for me. If the record companies would make it available to buy, I would buy it. But it’s not available.

The other day I was looking for another of these obscure songs: “When Love Surges” by Jules Shear. No reason why you would know it. I searched Amazon, iTunes and even eBay for a digital version of this song- nowhere to be found. Completely frustrated, I Googled it. It showed up on one of those Napster offspring websites. There it was, dangling right in front of me like the apple that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. I had tried to buy it legally, but it wasn’t available. All it would take was a push of the “Download Now” button. Convinced there had to be another option, I searched again. Unfortunately I ended up in the same situation: confronted with taking an illegal download. I felt like I had exhausted every avenue, so finally in desperation I just took it.


*Blender magazine, in their April 2008 issue talked about the history of music downloading. Before the 1980’s, consumers had the option of buying a hit single, or if they preferred, an entire album. Once cd’s came out in the 1980’s, the music industry got greedy. They figured if they discontinued singles, consumers would be forced to buy the albums (which cost more). It worked for a while, until technology in the 1990’s enabled consumers to share music as digital files. Consumers had found a way to circumvent a system built around greed and get the singles they wanted.

Rather than learn from their mistakes and try to reach a compromise that would work for everyone, the music industry shut down Napster and began suing people caught illegally downloading songs (including a single mother of two, with a yearly income of $36,000, for $222,000). It was a publicity nightmare, and by shutting down the ONE site where everyone was going (rather than try to work something out that would benefit everyone) they encouraged users to scatter and create innumerable copy-cat sites. Today there are scads of these sites available, and no conceivable way to stop or control them. When one is shut down, another surfaces to take its place. Napster was restructured as a pay-per-download site, but it was too late. Most Napster users had moved on to these other websites.