Music sharing service Napster will prevent users from sharing 6,500 copyrighted songs that the Recording Industry Association of America has said are being downloaded illegally by Napster users.
Napster’s decision has been made as it fights for its life in U.S. District Court this week. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel is considering modifications to an injunction that would essentially force the service to shut down. Patel was ordered by an appeals court to revist her original injunction placed against the service last July — a three judge panel asked Judge Patel to redraft her injunction to identify which copyrights are being violated by Napster.
Napster is now free of charge, but the company plans to put a fee-based service into operation this summer. Napster offered a settlement with record industry labels this past week that would have provided publishers and songwriters with a guaranteed revenue of US$1 billion over the next five years, but Napster’s offer was rejected.
Napster CEO Hank Barry said that if the record publishers get their way, Napster will be shut down for good.
“We proposed a workable injunction that follows the 9th Circuit ruling and keeps the Napster community together while we are working to settle this case and transition to our new membership-based service,” said Barry.
“… We are working hard and fast to implement our new service. Napster, in alliance with Bertelsmann’s eCommerce Group, TVT, edel and many other independent labels and artists, has been working for months to put in place a new membership-based service that has a solid business model and secure technology,” said Barry. “We will continue to press forward in our effort to reach agreement with the other major recording companies, whether they accept our offer of $1 billion over the next five years or a payment model to be negotiated among the parties. We believe that this matter could and should be successfully resolved by the mediator appointed by Judge Patel.”