点对点拓荒者Napster公司的口述史

    像大多数伟大的音乐运动（比如，猫王在埃德•苏利文秀场，帕蒂•史密斯在CBGB摇滚俱乐部的演出）的诞生历程一样，Napster反抗惯例，大声扬言要颠覆既定规范。1999年初，这家来自马萨诸塞州赫尔市的小公司一成立就几乎立刻抓住了整个世界的目光。它的核心是一个聪明（如果有些原始的话）的软件，这项所谓的“点对点技术”允许计算机之间通过网络轻松方便地传递文件。它将互联网转化为一个大漩涡，决定性地证明了网络所具有的创造和毁灭价值的力量。

    这家公司的创建历程早已成为传奇。创始人之一肖恩•范宁是马萨诸塞州东北大学(Northeastern University)一位腼腆、认真的学生，他的叔叔约翰•范宁是一位企业家，在线棋牌游戏的首创者。另一位创始人史恩•帕克与肖恩相识于黑客留言板。Napster的服务俨然已经成为一种现象，塑造了文化词典；“下载”成为一个家喻户晓的名词，“共享”已不仅仅是小学课程内容。当然，这项服务使得音乐产业一蹶不振，并最终导致了一场前所未有的知识产权官司战。Napster公司在鼎盛时期拥有7,000万用户——鉴于消费者当时刚刚接触宽带互联网服务不久，这的确是一个了不起的壮举。即使在谷歌(Google)和Facebook时代，Napster公司依然被吉尼斯世界纪录(Guinness Book of World Records)奉为有史以来增长最快的企业。近期发布的纪录片《下载》(Downloaded)回顾了Napster公司的历史，该片将于本月上线。

    在互联网历史上，Napster的故事是基础性的。是的，这家公司现在已经不复存在。但大多数开辟新领域的先驱最终不都香消玉殒了吗？事实是，即使在今天，Napster的痕迹依然清晰可见。本月初，苹果公司(Apple)推出它的流媒体音乐服务iTunes Radio广播，从中隐约可见Napster昔日的雄心壮志。音乐人依然与Pandora和Spotify等流媒体音乐平台争论版权问题。虽然Napster并不是点对点网络的发明者，但这家公司让它变成了主流。现在，一些最具颠覆性的初创公司，比如Airbnb，都是运行在点对点市场之上。

    2011年，Napster终于寿终正寝。它被粗暴地收购后，并入了竞争对手——音乐订阅服务商Rhapsody。但Napster的光辉岁月是成立后的前三年，而它在10年前已经申请破产。接下来，许多亲历者将为我们讲述Napster的兴衰故事，其中难免有一些苦涩的情节。这些都是回忆；像所有的回忆一样，一些细节性的东西或许不可靠。事实上，一些回忆相互矛盾。肖恩•范宁和史恩•帕克并没有回应我们反复提出的采访要求。约翰•范宁拒绝对此发表评论。

    Like the birth of most great music movements -- Elvis on Ed Sullivan, Patti Smith at CBGB -- Napster was rebellious of convention, threatening to established norms, and, well, really loud. The tiny startup from Hull, Mass. launched in early-1999, grabbing the world's attention almost immediately. At its core was a clever-if-crude piece of software -- so-called peer-to-peer technology -- that allowed computers to easily send each other files over a network. It would transform the Internet into a maelstrom, definitively proving the web's power to create and obliterate value.

    The company was famously co-founded by Shawn Fanning, a shy and earnest student at Northeastern University in Massachusetts; his uncle John Fanning, an entrepreneur who pioneered online chess; and Sean Parker, a friend Shawn had met on hacker message boards. The service became a phenomenon, shaping the cultural lexicon; "downloading" became a household term, and "sharing" became more than an elementary school lesson. And, of course, it brought the music industry to its knees, eventually leading to an unprecedented legal battle over intellectual property. At its peak, Napster had 70 million users -- a feat considering consumers were only getting their feet wet with broadband Internet service. Even in the age of Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB), Napster is still enshrined in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-growing business ever. (A recently release documentary Downloaded traces the company's history; it will be available to stream online this month.)

    In the history of the Internet, Napster's story is foundational. Yes the company died. But don't most pioneers traversing new frontiers? The truth is, even today, Napster's mark is as visible as ever. Earlier this summer, Apple (AAPL) announced iTunes Radio, its own streaming music service, a faint echo of Napster's one-time ambitions. Artists continue to spar with the likes of Pandora (P) and Spotify over royalty issues. And though Napster didn't invent peer-to-peer networks, it introduced them into the mainstream. Now, some of the most disruptive startups, Airbnb to name one, run on peer-to-peer marketplaces.

    Napster finally fizzled away in 2011. It was unceremoniously bought and folded into Rhapsody, a competing music subscription service. But Napster's glory days were its first three years, before it filed for bankruptcy a decade ago. What follows here is the sometimes-bitter tale of Napster's rise and fall, as recalled by many of the players who lived it. These are recollections; like all memories, they may be fallible at the margins. In fact, some recollections herein contradict each other. Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker did not respond to repeated requests to be interviewed. John Fanning declined to comment.