Upon reading Wednesday’s Daily, I was completely disgusted with the column by Jen Kistenmacher regarding Napster. What happened to journalists doing research before they write? I could not stop laughing when I read the column. I could not believe what Kistenmacher was saying. She advocates stealing and claims Metallica is “washed up.” That is where I drew the line. If people would stop following trends they would realize true music has meaning. They wouldn’t have to complain about buying lackluster CDs that “aren’t worth their $15.” If you really need to listen to a CD before you buy it, you can go to Amazon.com and listen to samples legally. The answer is simple: don’t follow trends. By not jumping on the bandwagon you can save yourself a lot of money and gain some pride. Kistenmacher’s column showed she doesn’t understand who benefits from CD sales. Profits go to the band, the record producers, the stores, and numerous other people associated with the CD production. Furthermore, bands like Metallica gain a majority of their money from going on tour and putting on live shows, like only Metallica knows how to do. The one truth I did see in the column was that Napster helps newer bands get their music out. It should be the artist’s decision whether or not they want their music to be readily available on Napster. If people would stop bad-mouthing Metallica and Dr. Dre, they would truly realize who is at fault. Many months ago, Metallica asked Napster to take off their songs that came from their albums, in return giving them countless bootlegs. Napster had other plans though. Napster has made their bed, now they have to lie in it. I hope Napster is broken up. If fans of Napster have a problem with that, they should just go to their local music store and steal CDs. Stealing, not sharing, is what Napster is all about. The Napster column should have been called “Napster good for stealers,” or “Napster good for followers.” Rob Hansen

Freshman

Mechanical engineering