(FORTUNE Magazine) – Forget the courtroom: Public relations is the latest arena for Napster fanatics and foes. No sound bite is too trite or dumb if it keeps the speaker in the spotlight between movies or helps him get jiggy with America's youth. Check out a few of the most egregious motives.

To reclaim the spotlight:

"The fundamental hypocrisy of the music industry...is that they r talking about copyright, intellectual property, and other such noble concepts when the only thing that they r actually trying 2 protect is the commercial value of their musical 'product.'"

--The artist once again known as Prince, in a three-page rant distributed by his New York City PR agency.

To capture the youth vote:

"We believe in Napster.... We believe in the power of the people to use the Internet. If you enjoy someone being your babysitter, vote Democrat."

--Representative John R. Kasich of Ohio, speaking to a gathering of the Republican National Convention's college-student volunteers.

To prove new job qualifications:

"Everyone is all freaked about Napster now. But the music industry would make the same amount of money if they just said, 'Okay, look. You 17 million people who are buying CDs anyway, you give us $200 as an annual subscription fee, and you can have all the music you want.'"

--Ben Affleck, actor and technological visionary, in Darwin magazine.

To elicit sympathy:

"For Bacon Brothers [Napster is] a good thing, because we don't have platinum albums."

--Kevin Bacon, Footloose star turned musician, in an E! Online celebrity Q&A.