Despite its short-lived and illegal lifespan, Napster generated a lasting legacy around the consumption of music by creating a widespread shift in the shared practices and expectations around online music sharing services.
Users now expected that they would be able to download music straight to their computers, rather than purchasing it from a store; and that they would be able to access vast online catalogues which also included unreleased recordings and older songs.
These practices were adopted and developed into commercial products by other companies and, without Napster, Apple would not have been able to develop its own music downloading service, iTunes (Flowers 2008).
Other peer-to-peer music sharing services were also set up in the wake of Napster’s demise, including LimeWire and Kazaa—as one industry commentator noted, record companies may have won the battle against Napster, but they lost the war against online music services.