Napster lives on...

The music industry continues to believe that the Napster trend, carried on now by the likes of Kazaa, Grokster, and Morpheus, is fundamentally about piracy and that litigation and regulation are the best responses (see this piece in Fortune.) To the extent they acknowledge a massive shift in consumer behavior and interest, their strategy is to forestall competition and trickle out their own offerings. They are perhaps right to fear change and perhaps it is in their self-interest to focus on preserving the status quo rather than taking chances, but MusicNet and Pressplay won't cut it and it is time the industry really got to thinking about new business models.