By
Emily Severson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Musicians have mixed feelings about Napster, but all use Web for promotion
Some UA and local musicians say that Napster's recent payment proposal is ineffective.
The music-file sharing service provider proposed last Tuesday that they would start charging for their services to get them out of legal trouble.
The money that Napster would make off of the service fees would probably not go to the artists anyway, said Amber Jade, a local pop singer and songwriter.
A UA student band, Stuck in a Groove, is planning on putting some of their songs on Napster within the next few days. It is a good idea for bands who want to get out there, said Tom Weinert, a singer and guitarist of the reggae, funk and ska band. They do not currently have a distribution deal, so he does not think that putting up songs on the Web would hurt their sales at all.
"People who want to buy CDs will always buy CDs," said Weinert, a communication senior. "The sound quality is not as good on Napster anyway."
Stuck in a Groove already uses the Web for self-promotion. They have a Web site and are featured on a service called cornerband.com, where local bands can put their songs online with other regional bands.
Weinert said that it would be advantageous for his band to put songs on Napster, because more people access the Web site.
Steve Gilmore, assistant director for Residential Education, said he supports local musicians using Napster.
"I think that using Napster for self-publishing is one of the best uses for it," Gilmore said. "Putting music on the Web is a great way of getting music out to people."
"The Internet has created a wonderful opportunity for bands without labels," he added
This use of Napster does not necessarily cause a bandwidth problem for the University of Arizona, because it is not generally downloaded in big chunks, Gilmore said.
However, some musicians think Napster has hindered their record sales.
People do not realize the time, effort and energy that goes into making a product such as a CD, and they are stealing it very easily on Napster, Jade said.
"Making a CD takes an amazing amount of time and work to get to the finished product, it takes a culmination of years of effort," Jade said. "Your passion goes into it, it is hard to write 15 songs that are good enough to be on an album."
She does not want her songs to be published on Napster, despite the fact that some of her friends rely on it.
"Napster is great for people who don't have CDs out, but I make money selling my CDs," Jade said. "If people download my songs from Napster, I don't make any money."
After a recent concert, Jade was dismayed to find out that one of her fans had downloaded a song of hers off Napster.
"It is a hard line to draw, I want to share my music, but if I share it freely, it can affect the money I could make," Jade said. "It hurts the fans too - a CD is a whole product - when people download things off of Napster, they are getting a thin slice of the product, and they are not getting the whole experience."
She said Napster is not a good form of publicity either. She relies on the radio, fliers, e-mails and networking with other musicians to promote herself.
"If I want to stay in the business, I have to approach it like a business, which includes a source of income," Jade said.
She is considering making announcements about her preference not to be on Napster at her next show.
Jade has created her own Web site where her music is available. It is possible to listen to her CD samples on her Web site for free and to download entire songs or her CD for about the same price as a CD in a store.
"Putting music on the Web can be an awesome way to market yourself," said Rick Paz, a singer in the local acoustic rock band Sunday Afternoon. "With a distribution contract, a musician may get about eight to 13 percent of the profit."
However, he said if musicians put their music on the Web, people will pay to download it, and they can make up to 50 percent of the profit.
"MP3s are a great technology, but Napster is taking money out of people's pockets who need it," Paz said.
