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MARCH 2, 2001

Today could prove to be final judgment day for a company which has provided music lovers worldwide with free, high-quality versions of their favorite songs.

The California company known as Napster is back in federal court today, hoping US District Court Judge Marilyn Patel won't shut users out of their music-trading service. But with last month's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling handing a victory their record industry foes, it looks like Napster's days of unbridled trading are over.

Over, that is, for the Internet users who don't want to pay for the MP3 files which led to the entire controversy in the first place. Napster has secured deals with a number of record companies who have agreed to supply their artists' music -- for a price.

In the days where the best things in life are still free, it may be hard for Napster to keep its estimated 64 million users from wandering away. Exact fees to offset the costs of Napster's million-dollar industry deals haven't yet been finalized although unlimited access is expected to cost around $9.95.

For those who balk at $17 CD's, that price might be more than reasonable. But users are quickly finding alternatives to their legally burdened friend. OpenNap, Rapigator, and Gnutella are among the numerous file-sharing services and protocols which threaten to take Napster's place should it be shut down.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is already taking steps against one of these protocols and is asking internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent their paying customers from using OpenNap, which enables users to turn their own computers into an Internet jukebox ready. Former Montana Governor Marc Racicot on Tuesday joined RIAA's fight as the organization's outside legal counsel at the Washington, DC, law firm of Bracewell & Patterson.

Napster last week offered music labels $1 billion in exchange for their artists' creative works. Claiming Napster hurt record sales last year, industry executives roundly rejected the settlement.

Patel must now write a court order consistent with the 9th Circuit's findings. Napster can't allow users to trade copyrighted music and without rights to the music for a large number of artists, millions of files now available would conceivably be removed.

In anticipation of last month's ruling, use of Napster more than doubled from September to January, according to research firm Webnoize. Over 96 million files were transferred on February 12 alone, the day of the ruling, says Webnoize.

Citing sources at the court, the Massachusetts based company today reports Patel will not issue a court order immediately.

Get the 9th Circuit Ruling:
A&M RECORDS, INC. v. NAPSTER, INC. (No 00-16401, 00-16403 9th Circuit February 2001)

Relevant Links:
Napster - www.napster.com
The Recording Industry Association of America - www.riaa.org
OpenNap - opennap.sourceforge.net
Rapigator - www.rapigator.com
Gnutella - gnutella.wego.com

Related Stories:
Napster limited by ruling (Tech 2/13)
Decision could shut down Napster (Tech 2/12)
Appeal saves Napster from shutdown (Tech 07/28)
Napster deadline approaching (Tech 07/28)