“Ed! Thanks for returning my call.”

“Think nothing of it, Billy. After all, I am your manager. What’s on your mind?”

“Well, I’ve been going over the sales figures for my last CD.”

“You mean, Puppy In A Blender?”

“Right. And I think we would have sold more copies if it wasn’t for Napster.”

“We can’t prove that Billy.”

“But, Ed, the RIAA claims that Napster impedes CD sales. And they represent the major labels which have some pretty big artists, like Pearl Jam and Deftones, so they should know.”

“But you’re not on a major label.”

“All the more reason us small, indie artists have to take care of things ourselves. Those artists on the major labels, like Busta Rhymes and Bon Jovi, have people looking out for them, but us indies have to watch out for each other. Now, back to the figures. How many copies of Puppy In A Blender did we sell?”

“Uh… none.”

“Exactly. Because of Napster, we didn’t sell a single CD. And how about the single from the album?”

“You mean, ‘Kitty Down The Toilet?'”

“Right. How many singles did we sell?”

“Uh… zero.”

“Well, don’t you see? Because of Napster, no one bought my music. And I don’t have much hope for my next CD, Canary Sucked Up By A Hoover, either. You know, Napster isn’t just about the big acts like Beck, Alice Cooper or Tracy Chapman. It’s about small acts like me. Independent artists who have to struggle for every CD sale. How soon can we file the papers?”

“Slow down, Billy. It takes a lot of time and effort to sue someone. First, we have to hire legal representation. A good lawyer doesn’t come cheap, you know.”

“Listen, Ed, even as we speak, Napster users are probably downloading my stuff. I hate to think how many people have already downloaded my upcoming EP, Hamster And The El Toro Mower. This is my career we’re talking about! If I don’t sell some music soon, I’ll have to try to go back to my day job.”

“So? A lot of struggling musicians work day jobs.”

“I know, but I don’t think the pet store is hiring.”