In the Eye of Napster's Storm

When college kids listen to music these days, they don't talk about how cool a band is. Sure, they may say Radiohead verges on greatness--and they may even go online to download a Radiohead B-side for the arty chick down the hall. But their true awe and admiration are reserved for the guys who made it possible to get that song, for the guys who invented Napster, a technology that captures the anarchic spirit of rock itself.

The story of Napster tracks a dramatic ascent--the type of overnight recognition that's rare in the business world. The company isn't just another harebrained, hype-driven Internet start-up. Napster is a cultural phenomenon in corporate guise. Founded in May 1999, the company had 38 million users by late 2000. It was the fastest-growing website ever. Even though Napster is a small company that has never made any money, its widely popular system of trading songs online sent the music industry into hysteria.

Analysts who had predicted the demise of the music biz as we know it finally had a clear vision of how that would come to pass. The rise of database shops that offer virtually any CD meant that record stores were already viewed as anachronistic. But Napster signaled the end of the manufacture and distribution of physical product--no CDs, no tapes, no UPS vans-- and, according to some rabid Napster detractors, the end of copyright. Take, for instance, the hyperbolic language of stopnapster.com, a lavish--and unironic--site built by a San Francisco band called the Tabloids: "If we disregard copyright protections because they're inconvenient, what's next, the Bill of Rights? Napster's users inherently believe an entire class of citizens--music professionals--have no rights."

Looking to protect the profits afforded by those copyrights, 18 record labels, including the Big Five conglomerates (BMG, EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner), joined an anti-Napster lawsuit in July 2000. A long list of bands and musicians, headed by Metallica and Dr. Dre, also spoke out against file-sharing. Some of them initiated separate lawsuits against Napster; Metallica famously managed to force the site to block more than 300,000 users who had traded Metallica files. (Some 30,000 of them served counternotifications to Metallica and were quickly reinstated under the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.)

Jordan Ritter, 23, left Lehigh University early to work in computers. He met Shawn Fanning online through a clandestine hacker group. Fanning was starting to hit snags in the writing of what would become Napster. Ritter came aboard as founding developer and witnessed the company's chaotic rise. During Ritter's tenure, Napster went from a secret bedroom project to the subject of congressional hearings. Together, founder Fanning, Ali Aydar (Fanning's first hire) and Ritter formed the core trio that sparked the Napster revolution.

Ritter left Napster in November 2000 to become vice president of technology at Round1, a financial services provider firm. "Shawn would go on these 50-hour coding stints--thank you, Red Bull--and just watching him would make anyone tired," says Ritter. "When coupled with 16- and 20-hour days from Ali and me, we'd reach a certain critical mass, and we'd all just go nuts and start goofing off. Shawn would play some old school Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg or Dr. Dre, and we'd all just start freaking out and doing wacky shit. Those were some fun times."

The matrix of music, technology and mayhem that makes up Napster is about as punk as modern corporate life has ever been. This is Napster's behind-the-music special.

[Q]Playboy: How did you get involved with Shawn Fanning and Napster?

[A]Ritter: By the time Shawn and I met online, he'd left college and moved to Hull, Massachusetts to work on Napster full-time. Shawn and I were involved in a very secretive, tightly knit underground hacker community called w00w00 Security Development [WSD, located at www.w00w00.org]. Since affairs were generally kept in close confidence, it was normal for folks in the group to solicit advice and help each other on projects. Shawn had been working on Napster since September or October 1998, so most everyone in the group knew about it. He was beginning to have difficulty with development, though, so he started to ask for help. I was one of the people he asked. I joined the Napster efforts full-time in June 1999. When I came onto the Napster scene, only 50 to 100 people used the service, if that. Even then, all I could think was, Jesus, this is so cool. Not many people knew what Napster was, yet we had already created a highly virulent demand for the service. Playboy: What was the earliest phase like? Were you just sitting around in a grubby basement writing code? RITTER: Actually, I was employed as a senior security analyst for Bindview Development Corp. at the time. So I wasn't that bad off. For me, it was sitting in my apartment overlooking Boston, listening to Kruder and Dorfmeister, or maybe Sasha and Digweed.

[Q]Playboy: Were there moments when you worried about the seed money drying up, or when you couldn't get along, or when the coffee ran out at three in the morning?

[A]Ritter: We weren't too worried about seed money drying up. At least I wasn't. We were almost always isolated from investors, so that was never a concern. All I cared about was the technology, and the revolution we were inspiring. I was in a daze, and there really wasn't much that could hold my attention beyond our work. There were times when we didn't go home or shower for days. All we cared about was the idea. Most times we didn't care about anything else. We were on a mission. As for caffeine, Shawn's uncle, John Fanning, somehow hooked us up with Red Bull as an authorized distributor. It came in by the caseload, delivered to the door!

[Q]Playboy: What were you listening to? RITTER: My musical tastes really transformed at Napster. I love all kinds of techno now, not just because it's stylish and groovy, but because it worked well for focusing my energy toward my work. Some days I would play Farley and Heller's Late Night Sessions II over and over on my Sony MDR-700s. I would just zone in on the code. Much of what I did technologically at Napster is a direct result of the synergy I formed with fast-paced techno music.

[Q]Playboy: Can you think of a band that makes a good comparison for the structure of the company?

[A]Ritter: Not really. Napster is its own breed of beast. I compare my tenure at Napster more to a collegiate experience--you wake up the next morning from your hangover, slap your aching forehead and grin stupidly. Man, what a trip.

[Q]Playboy: With all the time spent working, was there tension? Were there fist-fights at the end of long days?

[A]Ritter: No tension, no fistfights. We were a great team, and we enjoyed one another's company immensely. For me, the greatest thing about Napster was the camaraderie among the people who mattered. In the absence of time to actually live our personal lives, we were able to share experiences together and live almost like family.

[Q]Playboy: At what point did you realize you were going to have a huge impact? RITTER: You know, I rarely use Napster. It's unfortunate on so many levels, not having time to enjoy what you worked hard to create. But once in a while, I'd boot it up and search for rare material. Live Radiohead performances, for instance. What I'd get back would just boggle my mind. It would make me sit there in silence and stare at my screen like an idiot. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd download some esoteric live UK performance and listen to it several times, all the while screaming over my shoulder to Shawn or Ali, "Jesus Christ, man, do you have any fucking clue what we've got here?" over and over. Then I'd snap out of it, look out our San Mateo office window at the bay, sigh, and get back to work. I've had this epiphany several times. But I never really had any idea of the magnitude of impact the system would have, and frankly, I don't see how anyone could. Who on earth would have figured those adoption rates (i.e., 38 million users within a year)? We didn't have to market the product, no advertising, nothing. Who could have predicted that? Shawn always knew it would be big, and I believed him. But I'm fairly sure even his own expectations were blown away early on.

[Q]Playboy: Once Napster became a household name, was it easier to get laid? Could you walk to the front of the line at clubs?

[A]Ritter: That's actually a funny question. For Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, being on MTV probably got them more attention with the younger generation than 50 covers of Business Week. Funny story about clubs, though. My favorite club in San Francisco is 1015 Fulsom, and I go there from time to time to let loose and have a good time. The first time I flashed my business card in the VIP line, the bouncer looked down at me and said, "Oh, yeah, you guys come here all the time. How are ya?" I was stupefied. Who was coming to this club all the time? I never figured out who it was.

[Q]Playboy: What did Sean Parker do at the company? Is it true that he just sort of materialized one day out of the blue? RITTER: I don't think anyone knows, (concluded on page 152) Napster's Storm(continued from page 138) really, what Sean did for the company. I believe he left college early (as did most of us), though I'm not sure if it was for Napster or for other reasons. And for me, yes, he totally materialized out of the blue one day. He always had a lot of great ideas, but none of them ever materialized. Shawn had business cards made for Sean, right before Sean left the company. The title read Pretend Founder.

[Q]Playboy: You mentioned looking out the window of the office in San Mateo. What was it like to move from the East Coast to Silicon Valley?

[A]Ritter: I really identify with Boston--I loved the young urban lifestyle, the historically rich culture, the realness of people I met there. Out here on the West Coast I feel a cultural void. Silicon Valley is so clichéd. Everything I read about it in books turned out to be true. Every other car on the road is worth over $40,000, the cost of living is astronomically high, and everyone thinks his idea is better than everyone else's.

[Q]Playboy: What do you do with your money--flashy cars, booze, drugs, computer hardware?

[A]Ritter: Contrary to popular belief, none of us has really made money off Napster yet. Except Shawn, of course.

[Q]Playboy: What's the least amount of money you've ever had in the bank? And the most?

[A]Ritter: No comment.

[Q]Playboy: What's your apartment like?

[A]Ritter: It's a swank bachelor pad that's adorned with black leather couches and cherrywood tables. The mood is lightened by an exquisite Harmon Kardon stereo and CD changer, superb JBL speakers and piles and piles of CDs. Most of my friends regard it as the bachelor pad of dreams.

[Q]Playboy: So when you have a girl back to your place, you don't listen to music on your computer?

[A]Ritter: MP3s are fine and dandy, but I can hear the difference, and being a serious audiophile I will always opt for the crystal clarity of my home stereo.

[Q]Playboy: Do you day trade? What service do you use?

[A]Ritter: I use Datek Online. Ali uses Etrade. I think Shawn used Etrade at one point, too, though I did my best to convert him.

[Q]Playboy: A lot of offices block certain sites--whether it's Napster for taking up bandwidth or Playboy.com because of the nude women. Was there anything you weren't supposed to look at on Napster's own computers?

[A]Ritter: No comment.

[Q]Playboy: Did people around the office use the service? What's your favorite thing to download?

[A]Ritter: No comment.

[Q]Playboy: What's your favorite website?

[A]Ritter: Google.com.

[Q]Playboy: Will Napster's subscription deal relegate them to being a distributor for the industry while Gnutella and Freenet and subsequent imitators take up the place once held by Napster?

[A]Ritter: The people who created Napster will keep the flame. As for Gnutella, it is insignificant and nothing to be worried about, especially since--mathematically--it's provably unable to scale. [The ability to scale has to do with how many people can simultaneously use a service.] Others have arrived at the same conclusion through empirical observation, as well. Freenet holds promise, but won't appeal to the masses because of its complexity and the fact that it requires you to understand the underlying technology.

[Q]Playboy: What was your first computer, and what's your favorite old school video game?

[A]Ritter: My first computer was a Commodore 64, though the first computer I started really programming on was an Epson 286/12. My favorite old school video game? Maybe Spy Hunter. I'm not that old school, I guess.

[Q]Playboy: Is there a generation gap between people like you and visionaries of the old economy?

[A]Ritter: That's hard to say, since I don't even know which generation to identify with. I can't even call myself Gen X or Gen Y. More like, Gen U for Unknown. I will say this: At Napster, the technologists really did lead the company--there were no product plans, no real organization or management. We would come up with cool ideas, spend a 20-hour stint coding it up without telling anyone, and then present it to the executive staff.

[Q]Playboy: What are some of the little things about working at Napster that you'll never forget?

[A]Ritter: I remember when Shawn had to go answer questions before Congress. He came to my girlfriend, Jessie, who is very fashion conscious, and asked if we could help him pick out a suit. Shawn, of course, did not own a suit. We took him over to Nordstrom--it was a few hours before his flight--and picked out a blazer, some shirts and ties. It was funny to see him before Congress on TV--Jessie would shout, "Hey! We picked out that suit for him!"