Napster will soon announce a deal with a new service called MusicNet, according to a recent report at CNet’s News.com entitled Napster to sell major labels’ music. According to News.com’s sources, the deal could be announced tomorrow or Wednesday.
MusicNet is a service created by RealNetworks, Warner Music Group, EMI Recorded Music and BMG Entertainment. Under the terms of the arrangement, Napster would be able to sell music offered by MusicNet, presuming the music sharing service can demonstrate that it has taken adequate steps to stop music piracy on its service.
News.com said that according to the terms of the deal, Napster users would have to first subscribe to the company’s basic service, which supports independent labels and self-produced music. Users could then pay a fee to download a number of MusicNet songs.
News.com said that Napster is rapidly losing users as more and more music is forced off the service in an attempt to comply with a federal court order issued earlier this year. The company has managed to create a few odd alliances, including a partnership arrangement with BMG Entertainment to create the new subscription-based version of Napster.
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