boycott-riaa.com - Article: Napster Looking to Settle

Napster Looking to Settle

Posted by Heidi Chambers on June 24, 2000 at 5:04 AM (printer friendly)

Now that Napster has recently hired high profile lawyer Dave Boies, it looks like some of the advice they are getting is to settle with the RIAA and record companies. Back in December of 1999, the Recording Industry Association of America and 18 music labels filed suit against Napster for copyright infringement, alleging the company is operating as a haven for music piracy on the Internet. Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, who has given Napster Inc. $15 million in venture capital, is also urging the company to settle.

In the past, Napster officials have always said they want to be able to compensate artists and the labels for music that is downloaded through their services. To have this happen, Napster must first be able to turn a profit itself. This means they need to start charging people for something, at some point. A monthly subscription fee or single download fee is an idea that seems to always surface. Another possibility is giving record labels a share in Napster, which would allow the labels to gain or lose financial freedom depending on how well (or not well) Napster was doing.

User Comments (These do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of this site)


Anonymous	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 8:54 AM Fuck. You obviously got this news from somewhere. So link to it. I doubt that a PR person sent this directly to you but if they did I apologize. If not you guys deserve to be sued. Its one thing to copy an article's text and link to it eg "Read the full article here". But its another to downright steal it. Any comments? `Kevin kevin@kevinity.com ** I would use my own account but I forgot my password and there is no forgot password link

Heidi	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 10:28 AM I have to disagree. All of the topics that are noted in the above article are things that DMusic has covered before. 1. David Boies 2. The RIAA'a Lawsuit 3. Hummer Winbald Venture Capital 4. Napster Compensation 5. Napster Service Fee So we have already discussed those things and it was just a matter of summerizing them for people who weren't aware of what was happening. The new part is that Napster's legal advisors are telling the company they think it is their best interest to settle.

Anonymous	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 11:52 AM RE: Idiot. If the article is merely restated in the authors own voice, the facts surrounding the original news item are public domain and subject to fair-use law. Fair-use law states that the facts of a news story can be disseminated by anybody, providing the text itself is changed. Which means nobody did nuthin' wrong, dummy.

Anonymous	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 2:23 PM Yeah! ASS!

Gwusu	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 5:09 PM what gives you the right to say the article was stolen? do you have any proof? don't go around saying things you can't back up.

jark	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 6:29 PM Kevin: relax...please try and realize that we're not here to shortchange you by not providing links. Not all stories are derived from works already created by other newsworthy agencies but, as Simon stated, created as original works by the DM news crew. We are not some small time news operation, like that of many MP3 sites in their infancy, but a full fledged news source, similiar to any other site that you would consider a news source (like ABCNews, Yahoo!, etc...). --[ jark ]-- P.S. I'll fix the lost password thing. In the meantime, you can use the one from CT, at http://www.cybertropix.com/account-password-retrieve.phtml as a DM account is a CT account, and therefore will get you the same thing.

Anonymous	Date: June 24, 2000 @ 10:31 PM Napster is doing nothing illegal. all they do is provide software to search for something. Would this be a big fuss if the searches were for song lyrics? napster does not do the sending and recieving of the music itself, thats between the users. This is stupid. Napster is no way responsible for this law suit. Should I sue Yahoo because I can find Warez gamez and appz through their search engine? Why not. Free money. SAME DAMN THING. This law suit is fucked up.

Anonymous	Date: June 25, 2000 @ 7:11 AM ok well the idea of charging ppl will surely be out of the picture i think because ppl will stop using Napster because of the charging fee. ppl will move on to Gnutella or something. i think they should let the record companies into their share. that way we wont hafta pay and since Napster is doing very well capital wise, it wont exactly go down now will it?

Anonymous	Date: June 25, 2000 @ 10:28 AM Napster will go down eventually if they don't find a way to turn a profit. Venture capitialists generally want a return on their investment. And in response to the previous note, that Napster is _in no way_ responsible for the copyright infringement it is being sued for.. well If the courts decides that Napster's sole use is to provide a means of locating and distributing copyrighted material, the courts will find against Napster. Now, how many people reading this have used Napster for anything else?

Anonymous	Date: June 26, 2000 @ 1:14 AM the music people can't stop mp3. Napster shuts down and something else will pop up.i was able to "try out" music on many many places on the web even before napster plus mp3 quality is not cd either. people will still buy cds or borrow and burn their own. its nice to have the cover and lyrics and the original anyway. its just groups getting more money for what ever reason they can come up with. greedy yes but i dont know if i can blame them.

Anonymous	Date: June 26, 2000 @ 6:04 AM My experiance with Napster is also that I have found "fellow" music lovers and been able to get interesting information about artists and their songs that I did not know about before. Moreover, by getting contacts with people all over the world, I have also got interested in music and artists from other countries that is really good. That should, I guess, benefit the record companies since I am now also buying more music from other places I did not know about before. Maybe something to consider in that lawsuit... Any comments ? CoolCat

Anonymous	Date: June 26, 2000 @ 6:50 AM To be quite honest i dont know what all the fuss is about... like i read above.. Napster arent doing anything wrong.. there in another way just a search engine for MP3s.. like the person said above.. should he take Yahoo to court because he can find warez through there engine.. no.. so why take Napster for finding MP3s.. its bloody pathetic if you ask me.. just record companies and musicians etc getting greedy. If you ask me Napster hasnt done a thing wrong.

Anonymous	Date: June 26, 2000 @ 10:50 AM If it wasn't for Napster, it would be for something else. The logic behind suing Napster is flawed, at best. Why don't the RIAA sue Qualcomm for making Eudora, an email program that allows me to attach MP3's to my emails? If not that, something else, it's ALWAYS something.

Anonymous	Date: June 26, 2000 @ 12:09 PM was yahoo created with the sole purpose of finding warez? nope. was eudora created with the sole purpose of emailing mp3s? nope. was napster created with the sole purpose of sharing mp3s? you betcha ass it was.

Anonymous	Date: June 26, 2000 @ 4:07 PM Sure, for sharing MP3s, but not specifically copyrighted MP3s.

Anonymous	Date: June 27, 2000 @ 5:02 AM Napster isnt just an Mp3 program.. look how many people use it to chat ?? those MP3s are there anyway regardless of what program finds i just think its another case of .. we want more money & we'll do anything to get it.

Anonymous	Date: June 28, 2000 @ 3:40 PM If the RIIA had a giant library and I could find singles like collecting 45's in the 60's, I would gladly pay a buck or 2 to get a single I wanted. Napster provides this service. I wouldn't know where to look to find songs I love that I have on 45's I collected as a teenager but can't play anymore. The RIIA is missing the boat.