Napster

            With technology advancing faster each day, the world markets are forced to deal with the implications of such innovations upon their economies. When a program developed by Shawn Fanning, called Napster, came into existence, it turned an entire music industry upside down. More importantly, it asked society to re-examine several aspects of the free-market system, bringing up the questions of entrepreneurship and private property.
             The program itself causes a software shift from a central network, to P2P connections. The implications of this mean that Napster itself, never has any music present on their network, but rather it creates an index for others. Firsthand, the program was developed as a solution to the problem of finding MP3's online, rather than with an entirely entrepreneurial focus. The creators never thought they would make millions of dollars (or be sued for millions at that), but rather set out to create a free service to help those within the MP3 market locate files. But what are MP3's? MP3's are music files. Who creates music files? Artists that spend hours of dedication and hard work within a studio to compose and record their own sounds. So why is Napster such a problem? People are stealing private property by not paying for the music files that others created. .
             The radio is an interesting comparison to the MP3. Both formats play music. Both are free to listen to. The difference lies in the fact that the radio plays music, which in turn causes the listener to face a decision. Do I like the music and want to go purchase a recording so I can listen it to any time I want? Do I just go download Napster for free and steal it and then listen to it at any time I want; perhaps even burn a few MP3 CD's so I have an entire musical collection of stolen goods of which I robbed several artists of? By choosing the right decision, the consumer is not only satisfied with the music he purchases, but supports a wide variety of industries, and ultimately our economy.