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Article: The 2-percent solution: A subscription-based philosophy will kill napster. (Tracks).
- Article from:
- Computer User
- Article date:
- April 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 ComputerUser.com, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In mid-February, Napster offered $1 billion to the recording industry to settle the copyright-infringement suit that had threatened to shut down the free Internet song-swapping service. Under terms of the proposal, $150 million would be paid annually for five years to Sony, Warner, Bertelsmann Music Group, EMI, and Universal. An additional $50 million would be divided between independent labels in each of those five years.
The ultimate goal of the proposal was to provide a distribution avenue, via Napster, for the labels' online music files--and to provide a way for Napster to stay afloat. But-the charmed life Napster has led so far seems to be coming to an ugly ...