Was Napster the day the music died?

Fourteen years after Napster upended the music industry’s financial model, it may finally be time for record labels to start singing a happier tune. Sales are up, piracy is down, and new revenue streams may help the industry finally claw its way back to economic prosperity. Global recorded music revenues in 2012 increased for the first time since 1999, up 0.3% to $16.5 billion, according to a report by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Fourteen years after Napster upended the music industry’s financial model, it may finally be time for record labels to start singing a happier tune. Sales are up, piracy is down, and new revenue streams may help the industry finally claw its way back to economic prosperity. Global recorded music revenues in 2012 increased for the first time since 1999, up 0.3% to $16.5 billion, according to a report by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Former file-sharing renegade Napster has a new owner.US online music service Rhapsody announced on Monday that it has purchased Napster from electronics retailer Best Buy.The Seattle, Washington-based Rhapsody did not disclose the price it paid for Napster, which Best Buy acquired in 2008 for $121 million in a bid to break into the online music subscription space.Under the terms of the agreement, Rhapsody said it will acquire Napster's subscribers and other assets and Best Buy will receive a minority stake in Rhapsody.

Joel Waldfogel on the economics of Amazon's purchase of Goodreads:

THERE are less conspicuous ways to launch a business.

Eleonora Patacchini, Yves Zenou, 25 February 2011Most people agree that friends matter – not just for personal wellbeing but for achieving their goals in life. Several studies have shown this to be particularly the case in education but the detection and measure of such peer effects is often found wanting. Using detailed information on friendship networks of American high-school students, this column finds that the friends we make at age 15 to 18 have a strong and persistent effect on our lives.

SEATTLE (AP) -- Electronics retailer Best Buy Inc. is tuning out of Napster, a digital music service that has struggled to evolve from its renegade origins as a free file-sharing network that riled the recording industry....