Source: C|Net News
According to C|Net one of the 5 major music companies, Universal, won't join the deal that Bertelsmann made with napster...
Universal won't join Napster pact |
PARIS--Universal Music Group has no plans to join the alliance that Napster formed this week with Bertelsmann, an executive of the U.S. company told a French newspaper.
Napster users are unlikely to flock to the new service which will convert the start-up's free, song-sharing Web service into a subscription venture that earns money for the industry and artists, said Pascal Negre, president of Universal Music France, in an interview with Le Figaro.
''It's nothing more than a virtual juke box accessible by subscription,'' said Negre, adding that Universal already offers an equivalent product.
Negre indicated it's unlikely that Universal will drop a lawsuit against Napster, which he said should pay for ''stealing'' from Universal's music catalog for 18 months. Napster's Web site offers software allowing Internet users to share compressed music files stored on each other's hard drives.
The lawsuit, in which the music industry is pursuing Napster for allegedly facilitating the illegal swapping of music, ''raised their profile in a way that should never have happened,'' said Negre.
Napster, with 38 million users, has been sued by all five big record distributors and lost an initial round in that case, which is now on appeal. Bertelsmann said it will drop a lawsuit against Napster after the U.S. company offers music-sharing software that charges a fee, which Napster said may be about $4.95 a month.
So how long will the deal Bertelsmann & Napster survive? If all music companies cooperate, except Universal, then with the new 'pay version' of napster you won't be able to download music from bands who are under contract with Universal...
