Napster
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Napster became a symbol of the highly significant battle over the concept of intellectual property rights as it applies to the Internet.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The introduction of Napster in 1999, iTunes in 2001, YouTube in 2005, and music streaming services in the late 2000s greatly increased people’s exposure to music, old and new.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
When Napster and YouTube took college campuses and then the world by storm, Hollywood freaked out about piracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
In the 2000s, the song spread like wildfire on file-sharing sites like Napster and Kazaa but, until now, The Stones had refused to clear it for commercial release.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025
Napster, the former music pirating site and bane of major labels at the turn of the millennium, is today a minor player compared to Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2025
Still, Stallman does admit to learning a thing or two from the social side of the Napster phenomenon.
From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Sam Williams
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.