Downlaoded : Napster Documentary Review

Synopsis

DOWNLOADED focuses on the advent of digital media sharing, including the rise of game-changing company Napster and its controversial online pioneers Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The digital revolution ultimately created a technology paradigm shift and upended both the music industry and music artists, and changed the world. The film features insights from such well-known artists and figures within the music industry as: The Beastie Boys’ Mike D; Noel Gallagher; Henry Rollins ...

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My Thoughts

I admit I'm old fashioned. I still prefer CDs over MP3s. I knew about Napster. I even used it in later years as sort of a radio. I vaguely remember hearing on the news about lawsuits over illegal downloads, but I never thought much about it. I never knew the war that went on just under my nose, but this documentary shows you just how intense things got and how, in essence, Napster was the stepping stone led to all the social media outlets we use today.

Napster started out simple. It was a few kids offering people a chance to exchange information about things they loved. To this day, they insist their intention was never to harm the artist, but to introduce more people to music so they would in turn buy CDs. Of course, the internet is a big place and its easy to lose control. People were sharing copyrighted music illegally, sometimes even before it was released. The big record labels didn't like this and neither did many of the artists. I found it interesting to learn that Metallica actually came to their office with boxes filled with usernames of people who were sharing their work for free.

A war between began between the big labels and this little company. A war that cost millions and left these kids bankrupt. But there is another side of the story not so widely broadcast. Smaller bands rose to fame because of Napster. Others who were taken advantage of by big labels saw more profits on their music then ever before. So who was right and who was wrong? This documentary shows you both sides of the story, so you can decide yourself whether Napster was the death or the rebirth of the music industry.


 ***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I did receive a sample of the product to try in order to write a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. ***