Napster
CulturalDiscover More
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
A lot of people around my age might read those words and be instantly thrown back to the days of dial-up internet, MSN Messenger and Napster.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026
Many companies have tried in vain to rebuild Napster for modern music tech, including retail outlet Best Buy and streamer Rhapsody.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025
Neither side was entirely happy with this ruling, but the record companies believed—rightly—that it would allow them effectively to shut Napster down.
From The Public Domain Enclosing the Commons of the Mind by Boyle, James
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.
