????像大多數偉大的音樂運動（比如，貓王在埃德?蘇利文秀場，帕蒂?史密斯在CBGB搖滾俱樂部的演出）的誕生歷程一樣，Napster反抗慣例，大聲揚言要顛覆既定規范。1999年初，這家來自馬薩諸塞州赫爾市的小公司一成立就幾乎立刻抓住了整個世界的目光。它的核心是一個聰明（如果有些原始的話）的軟件，這項所謂的“點對點技術”允許計算機之間通過網絡輕松方便地傳遞文件。它將互聯網轉化為一個大漩渦，決定性地證明了網絡所具有的創造和毀滅價值的力量。

????這家公司的創建歷程早已成為傳奇。創始人之一肖恩?范寧是馬薩諸塞州東北大學(Northeastern University)一位靦腆、認真的學生，他的叔叔約翰?范寧是一位企業家，在線棋牌游戲的首創者。另一位創始人史恩?帕克與肖恩相識于黑客留言板。Napster的服務儼然已經成為一種現象，塑造了文化詞典；“下載”成為一個家喻戶曉的名詞，“共享”已不僅僅是小學課程內容。當然，這項服務使得音樂產業一蹶不振，并最終導致了一場前所未有的知識產權官司戰。Napster公司在鼎盛時期擁有7,000萬用戶——鑒于消費者當時剛剛接觸寬帶互聯網服務不久，這的確是一個了不起的壯舉。即使在谷歌(Google)和Facebook時代，Napster公司依然被吉尼斯世界紀錄(Guinness Book of World Records)奉為有史以來增長最快的企業。近期發布的紀錄片《下載》(Downloaded)回顧了Napster公司的歷史，該片將于本月上線。

????在互聯網歷史上，Napster的故事是基礎性的。是的，這家公司現在已經不復存在。但大多數開辟新領域的先驅最終不都香消玉殞了嗎？事實是，即使在今天，Napster的痕跡依然清晰可見。本月初，蘋果公司(Apple)推出它的流媒體音樂服務iTunes Radio廣播，從中隱約可見Napster昔日的雄心壯志。音樂人依然與Pandora和Spotify等流媒體音樂平臺爭論版權問題。雖然Napster并不是點對點網絡的發明者，但這家公司讓它變成了主流。現在，一些最具顛覆性的初創公司，比如Airbnb，都是運行在點對點市場之上。

????2011年，Napster終于壽終正寢。它被粗暴地收購后，并入了競爭對手——音樂訂閱服務商Rhapsody。但Napster的光輝歲月是成立后的前三年，而它在10年前已經申請破產。接下來，許多親歷者將為我們講述Napster的興衰故事，其中難免有一些苦澀的情節。這些都是回憶；像所有的回憶一樣，一些細節性的東西或許不可靠。事實上，一些回憶相互矛盾。肖恩?范寧和史恩?帕克并沒有回應我們反復提出的采訪要求。約翰?范寧拒絕對此發表評論。

????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.