Napster can be very harmful to one artist and at the same time very helpful to another artist. First of all, for a well-known artist that has been in the market for some time, Napster would not be very useful. In fact, it can be very harmful to an artist when it comes to money. I say this because instead of the fans going out and buying the artist's CD, they'll just download all of the songs on Napster and when the fans don't buy the CD's, the artists don't make any money. In addition, if the artist has a new single that he/she is planning to release soon, it'll probably be old to most of the fans when it's released because of the exposure that it has received on Napster. On the other hand, for an up-coming and developing artist, Napster will be useful because it will expose them to the public and the greater the exposure the artist gets, the more successful the artist will become in the future.
If the fans listen to the artist's music and like it, then chances are that they'll probably tell their friends about this artist and they might even go out and buy their CD. There is probably no better way that an artist can get exposed and it's not even costing them a single penny. In conclusion, Napster can be a shot in the leg for a well-known artist but it also can be the boost that a new artist needs to take off and explore new heights.