Napster was the first popular peer-to-peer file sharing service. It introduced a generation to MP3 files and digitally swapping music. Created in 1999 by two teenagers, Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, Napster would go on to upend the music industry and kickstart the online music revolution. But its success would be short lived. The first incarnation of Napster was forced into bankruptcy by legal challenges just a couple of years after its birth. In this episode we discuss Napster's origin, its importance, and the technologies that enabled it to work.

Show Notes

• Napster via Wikipedia
• Shawn Fanning via Wikipedia
• Sean Parker via Wikipedia
• Ali Aydar via Twitter

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