Record Label and Napster S Strategy Essay Example

Record Label and Napster S Strategy Essay Napster, developed in 1999 by Shawn Fanning, is a program that allows music to be traded over the internet. People were able to share high quality digital copies of music recordings over the internet using Napster. Napster did not store the recordings, however. It allowed its members who were logged onto the service to choose from an index of songs. Napster was one of the most popular sites on the internet. The site had some 15 million users in a year’s time. Many college students downloaded so many songs that many colleges had to block the site from their system. A year after its launch, Napster was sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The RIAA represents major recording companies. The RIAA claimed that copyright laws were violated by Napster for allowing users to swap music recordings for free. The RIAA sought to stop the downloading of copyrighted songs, as well as damages for lost revenue. Song swapping had cost the music industry more than $300 million in lost sales. A few months later, Napster was sued by a heavy metal band, Metallica, and rap star Dr. Dre. They were suing Napster for copyright infringement. In 2000, a judge granted the request of the RIAA and ordered Napster to stop making copyrighted recordings available for download. This would have shut Napster down. Napster was granted a last-minute reprieve until the lawsuits could be tried in court. Despite its many claims, Napster was found guilty of direct infringement of the RIAA’s musical recordings. The company was ordered to stop allowing its millions of users to download and share copyrighted material without properly compensating the owners of the material (Ferrell Hartline, 2008). Napster later offered $1 billion to the recording industry to settle the lawsuit. We will write a custom essay sample on Record Label and Napster S Strategy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Record Label and Napster S Strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Record Label and Napster S Strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Napster also agreed that $150 million would be paid annually for the first five years to Sony, Warner, BMG, EMI, and Universal, and $50 million annually was allotted for independent labels. The recording industry refused the offer. The industry wanted Napster to shut down for good. Napster tried many times to compromise with the recording industry, but to no avail. Napster filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in 2002. The company also tried to reach a deal with Bertelsmann AG, their strategic partner. A few months later, a Delaware judge blocked the sale of the company to Bertelsmann. Napster then laid off nearly its entire staff and proceeded to convert its Chapter 11 into a Chapter 7 liquidation. Many music labels were dabbling in online music distribution. Napster had clearly beaten them to it and had done so efficiently, which was the main problem for the company. It was obvious to the record labels that online distribution was here to stay. Napster’s name and assets were purchased by a company called Roxio. Roxio was a company known for its CD-burning software. Roxio had intentions to relaunch Napster as a fee-based service. Napster was renamed Napster 2. in 2003. Apple was one competitor for Napster, holding 70 to 80 percent of the online music market. Rhapsody holds 10 to 15 percent of the market, and Napster holds 5 to 10 percent of the market. The remaining portion is divided among several different companies (Ferrell Hartline, 2008). Napster’s strategy focuses on being a subscription-based revenue model. Computer users could download as mu ch music as they wanted for a fee of $14. 95 per month. Napster created partnerships with BellSouth, Ericsson, and XM Satellite Radio as a means to connect with untapped markets. Napster partnered with Tower Records Japan and launched Napster Japan in 2006. The company also began a partnership with Japan’s largest mobile phone company. About 90 percent of music downloads in Japan occur through wireless phones (Ferrell Hartline, 2008). Napster has shown interest in being acquired by another firm. Napster hired UBS Investment Bank to help with the sale. A SWOT analysis structures the assessment of the fit between what a firm can and cannot do (strengths and weakness), and the environmental conditions working for and against the firm (opportunities and threats). The SWOT analysis for Napster would consist of the following (Ferrell Hartline, 2008): Strengths †¢Large music library †¢Convenient and easy to use †¢Strong brand name and reputation Weaknesses †¢Lack of compatibility †¢Pricing †¢Limited areas of differentiation Opportunities †¢New technologies †¢Decline in illegal file sharing †¢Rapidly growing market Threats †¢Powerful competition †¢New technologies †¢Potential for disintermediation Looking back at the weaknesses listed in the SWOT analysis, one point that should be worked out is the pricing of Napster services. Napster is set up on a subscription-based model. If the price per subscription was cheaper, more customers would subscribe to the site. Napster offers the same basic services as some of the other big names in the online music distribution industry. Another area to refine would be the lack of compatibility. Napster is not compatible with all MP3 players, especially the iPod. Those with an incompatible player will not want to purchase the service. New technology is emerging every day. Napster should work on creating avenues that will allow music to be downloaded to wireless devices, such as the smart phone, PDAs and other handheld devices. Napster should put forth efforts to keep existing customers happy while also trying to expand the customer market. Keeping existing customers happy should always be a company’s top priority. Having a solid core of customers to build on is very important to the stability and success of the company (Business KnowledgeSource. com, 2010). By keeping the existing companies happy, Napster could offer a free one month subscription for those members who have been loyal to company for a certain amount of time. Flyers or inserts could also be placed in the packaging of MP3 players. This advertisement would entice users to connect with Napster for all of their music downloads. With this deal, new users could download up to five songs for free before having to sign up for a subscription. Napster could offer discounts to new users for a certain period of time. For instance, a new user could get the first three months at a discounted rate before paying the regular price. There are many ways for Napster to expand their customer base. Finding out which plans work and which plans do not work is the key.

What Are Moral Essay Topics?

What Are Moral Essay Topics?As an essay writer, one of the things you have to be careful about is avoiding moral essay topics. In the world of essay writing, morals tend to be subjective. What you may consider to be a moral issue to someone else may not be considered moral to you. Hence, you have to consider if your topic is actually relevant to you before you dive in head first.As a rule, moral essays are better when it comes to those that relate to your life and the people around you. Your essay needs to reflect the reality of the situation. You need to identify your perspective on the issue and take into consideration how the topic relates to the people you are writing about. This will give you more of a perspective on how the topic relates to your writing.If you feel that the subject of your essay is too complicated for you to address, it may be time to take a step back and find out more about the subject. Maybe there is something you should look into and take into consideration. You can even consider hiring a ghostwriter to do your essay for you. This will be cheaper and easier. After all, you can ask him to do more than just write the words.Moral essay topics are usually very specific. So, while you are researching on subjects that may relate to you and the people you are writing about, you can also compare different types of topics that would make more sense for you. Perhaps you will like the topic better and not feel guilty about it after all.When you are searching for the appropriate information, you need to keep in mind that there are some topics that are inappropriate to be brought up in essay writing. There are many good reasons why these topics are not appropriate such as, subjects such as political issues, religion, animal rights and sexual orientations are only a few of the topics that should be avoided. The good news is that you have so many options out there. It doesn't matter what you want to write about, or what you feel strongly about.Theref ore, if you feel strongly about a certain topic, it may be a good choice to go with a less controversial topic instead. This way, you will be able to avoid having your opinions questioned and even offended.Although moral essay topics can be tricky to come up with, it is an important part of essay writing. In fact, if you can come up with an idea that you think is relevant to the people you are writing about, it will most likely be successful.