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150,000 less than a month later, at the end of 1999. The number of songs available quadrupled in roughly the same period, to 20 million. And the more songs that became available, the more incentive there was for new users to come. Napster was turning into the perfect technological snowball.

INSIDE NAPSTER, THE COMPANY’S haphazard start devolved into galloping chaos. “All of the resources on the technical side went to keeping the servers up and running,” Sean Parker said. “On the business side, everything was reaction. There was no time to recognize that there was something awry with the way the business was being run.” Before long, the dysfunction at the top began bothering many of the original crew. At board meetings, Richardson clashed so badly with John Fanning over strategy, funding, and other matters that shouts and curses were exchanged, leaving Yosi Amram trying haplessly to smooth things over. The result was often a paralyzing standoff.

Shawn and the others compared notes. They accepted the fundamental hard-line approach against the industry, but there was little progress toward getting new executives, serious funding, or big-business allies. For the kids, the power struggles and lack of direction combined with their desire to lead by themselves, Ritter said. “Shawn Fanning aside, everyone had delusions of grandeur. [Vice President Bill] Bales thought he was God. Parker thought he could do better. And everyone knew John Fanning was poison.”

Shawn, Parker, and Bales talked about quitting en masse and starting over, perhaps incorporating a new company as Napster.com Inc. All of them were for it. “There were threats daily,” Bales said. “Shawn was constantly resentful that he only had 30 percent.” Once, Shawn said of his uncle, “How could he do this to me?” But the revolt always died at Richardson’s door. It hurt Richardson to refuse Shawn, but she told him that he had turned over the rights to his creation, that legally he couldn’t leave and then do the same thing elsewhere. “Bill was a proponent, as was Parker. It was me that kept saying no,” Richardson said. “Ethically, I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t right.”

Shawn kept stoic about Richardson’s rejections, for the most part. “I