So I'm checkin' out Napster with
my highspeed connection, and just diggin' it. If you
don't know, Napster.com is a search engine that allows
you to find mp3s people are sharing with the world.
It's like having a MILLION friends, and asking to
borrow their new Eminem CD. Obviously the artists are
pissed, and they do have a right to be...but
honestly...it's helping sales. It really is. You can
hear the songs before you buy the CD and with the
economy the way it is, someone will buy the disc well
before they take the time to downoad all the songs,
convert them to WAVS and burn them to a disc.
Nevermind the cover art and lyric sheets. And the
music sales are definitely showing that....they are
HUGE. New albums are breaking all-time records every
week. The genius behind all this is that Napster can't
be touched. They are not providing the mp3s. The kids
at their computers are just sharing them. It's like
suing lycos or yahoo for all the copywrighted pics
that come up when you type in Heidi Klum. Who knows
how the lawsuit will work out though. You throw an old
judge in there who hasn't been on the net, there could
be a problem. All I know is you can never stop
mp3 sharing. Ever. Forget about it. Learn to offer
more and you will reap the benefits.
So after I downloaded all the
songs I could think of, I put the name
"porn" in for the artist section and actually got mp3
clips of the SOUND of porn. You gotta laugh at
that. That some kid had the time to stream mp3s of a
porn tape just to share on Napster. And then of course
it hit me. Man if there was a napster for video. WOW.
Movies of every type imaginable being shared on the
net like Napster. So I type in mpgnapster.com
hoping someone jumped on the bandwagon. Nothing. I go
to Register.com and it's not taken. Good GOD. Well I
know that Napster is probably registered, so there's a
site you can go to before you buy a domain name to
make sure you aren't infringing on someone's
trademark. I put in napster, and good lord if they
haven't bought everything on the planet. Probably 150
Napster names. But not one with mpg in the title. (MPG
is a video format for the net)... whew.
Let me first say this domain name
buying thing is a bit stupid if you ask me. Like
someone bought bigbrother.com hoping to cash in, and
CBS called their site bigbrother2000.com - you
know? And with all the suffixes out there now. Those
outrageous million dollar and even tens of thousand
dollar figures for names just ain't gonna happen
now....on the other hand...what if? For only
$35....THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS. You can buy a
name and pray for a year. That's $3 a month. On top of
that, I'm just curious as to how many people will hit
it. Very simple. It's another opportunity, that just
may work.
There is a flip side to all this.
Actually making the site. Putting together a huge
search engine and sharing mpgs and avis...getting it
to catch on and such. I wouldn't know the first thing
about making a search enging, but I'm sure someone out
there does. All I know, is that it'd be cool as hell
to type in a movie genre, or an actor...or anything
and be able to download videos. And the movie industry
knows about pirating movies on the net, but they also
know they're NEVER gonna be hurt by it. They can bitch
and moan like they did when VCR's came out, but you
cannot replace a THEATER. And you're never gonna touch
the DVD/VHS buying market. MAYBE the rental
market...but the industry always finds a way to make
money. You can't feel too sorry for 'em.
So there's another opportunity to
see through. The best thing about it is, there's so
little to lose. Even if the trademark site was wrong,
and I cannot have the name, big deal. I lose $35.
That's a longshot though...a lot of napster domain
names have been taken that aren't owned by napster. So
others are on the same page. Anyway, I'm excited about
it. It could be very cool. If any of you have bought
some names and you'd like me to put them in the next
newsletter for you, I'd be happy to. It's kind of
exciting. But again, beware - the chances of making a
dime from this really are slim-to-none. You can check
out greatdomains.com
for a look at some of the domain names that have
garnered the big bucks. At this point in the second
half of the year 2000, I can't imagine getting more
than 4 figures for a name you think of now. Even 4
figures would be incredible. But, it's a fun gamble
for some of you.
So that's it really. OH! Almost
forgot. Found out that The Patriot Movie Minded will
be the first one for sale. I thaought before that it
would be too dated by the time it went up for sale
(sometime next week we hope...so much red tape BS to
go through), but because the format is now a parody of
the movie as well as a review...it lends itself to a
longer shelf-life. The Patriot will be good for months
rather than weeks. And we can even do things
coinciding with DVD releases and such. I'm so
pumped I can't even tell you. I'm finishing up the
full version of The Patriot Movie Minded, and it
should be done by Monday.
And another OH! (what a long entry
after just 2 days), I have gotten some more
server space that will enable me to put tons of mp3s
as well as all the videos, and much longer ones as
well. Scott Storck was a Late Show listener back
during the WTVN days. He's gonna allow me to use
part of his server. The only downside may be some
occasional problems with downloads, but for the most
part it should make 4tvs.com simply BLOW-UP. Can't
wait to get started on the mp3s. Imagine...mp3 clips
of every single Late Show Bit and Parody song.
GIDDY-UP. That'll be cool as hell.
Anyway, I made a
small video
presentation
for mpgnapster.com. If this doesn't get
you excited...nothing will. Feel free to
send it to some friends. Hopefully someone
out there sees the
potential...