OK, Sean, I accept that you would. And if you check on my previous posts on this issue, you would find that I care fuckall about the major labels. If this were about them, then I wouldn't have as much to say, although I would still be troubled by the perception that the taking of something without paying the cost for it is OK. But the real danger, in my mind, is to the Camsco's and the Folk Legacy's of the world. And right behind that is the small band doing an independent release. I think of the Jed Marum's, the Rick Fielding's, the Seamus Kennedy's, the Dan Milner's..............yeah, even the Conklin Céilí Band's of the world.

I believe that the folks at Napster blew a great opportunity. Had they marketed their service to small labels and artists at the outset, with them collecting the fees and taking a cut, building a market and momentum, the big labels would have had to deal with them. But when they went right out and created a way to steal the property of others, they played right into the powers that be. And this is not 20/20 hindsight on my part. I said as much before the decisions came down. Damn shame. Could have been a helluva tool.

All the best, Sean.

Mick