Kids talk back

-- Interviews and photos by Stefanie Frith

We asked seventh- and eighth-graders at Ensign Intermediate School in

Newport Beach: What do think about the court decision to block Internet

song-swapping service Napster Inc.’s 1 million copyrighted songs and

about other similar services deciding to charge fees?

“Napster has been on for a long time, and even though I don’t use it

much, my brother does. I think that the bands are getting mad because

it’s free, so maybe instead of getting rid of songs, they should charge

per month or something.”

SHANE SWANBERG, 14

Newport Beach

“I think you buy a CD with 13 songs that costs $13. On Napster, they

should charge $1 per song. It’s a good idea to have something around like

this because you can get the songs you want without buying the whole CD.

The artists work hard to put out these songs. They should be paid.”

ERIC LICATA, 13

Newport Beach

“I don’t really use Napster because I don’t have the right programs,

but I would use it. What Napster should do instead of getting rid of the

whole program is to take the bad songs with the bad words off so little

kids can’t access it. And there should be a fee to use the whole thing.

Then this wouldn’t have started.”

KENNY RAKESTRAW, 12

Newport Beach

“They shouldn’t charge to use things like Napster. It would be too

hard to keep track of, and it would be too hard to decide how much to

charge. And they shouldn’t take songs off. And, you should have to be a

certain age to use it or have permission from a guardian.”

TAYLOR GRIMES, 13

Newport Beach

“I like Napster. You get to see if you like a song before you buy the

whole album. But it’s mostly kids using it, so they shouldn’t charge

because you are already paying for the Internet. Or maybe they could

charge per song, because if you pay per month and weren’t home or

something, that wouldn’t be good.”

JACLYN BELIDA, 13

Newport Beach

“I download songs about once a week, but it would be OK if they

charged because I can see how record sales might be going down. It would

be easier if they charged than to take those million songs away and the

whole thing just starts to disappear. But if it goes away, I will

probably just find another service to use.”

AMY LEWIS, 14

Newport Beach