I think the ethical considerations of using Napster is a no brainer. People have a tendency to do what is expedient and either ignore the fact that it is unethical-- or justify that use through sophistry and semantics. This problem also existed in the cable television industries with individuals pirating a cable signal through the use of a black box. You can easily get a descrambler which allows you to watch pay channels. This is theft, pure and simple. Another comparison would be the FM radio stations that play the entire album at midnight without interuption. This is a defacto distribution of a product with the intent of allowing the listeners to tape the album without paying for it. I believe that each of these are points on the scale of ethical consideration. The real danger to the artist is that technology allows the final listeners to control the distribution of the product without control from the distributor of the product. Is it ethical? No! Will it stop? Assuredly no! I made a decision that I would not use it. I have seen the process and heard music from Napster and was impressed by the technology, but I still believe that it is wrong to take advantage of the misfortune of talented people who can not be properly rewarded for their musical contributions.