Napster set for UK debut

net1

Online music download service Napster is to be relaunched in the UK as a paid-for operation. Rights to the Napster name were acquired in November 2003 by CD copying software company Roxio. Napster was forced to close down in July 2001 after the major record labels won an injunction requiring the service to remove all copyrighted songs. Napster 2.0, as the new service will be called, will offer over 500,000 tracks, and be compatible with over 60 digital audio devices currently on the market.

News of the UK launch, scheduled for the end of this summer, was revealed by Roxio Chairman Chris Gorog, speaking at the FT conference yesterday. Addressing the issue of digital piracy, Gorog suggested that the music industry, in fighting 'pirate' operations, had actually strangled fledgling legitimate services.

Cary Sherman, president and general counsel of the Recording Industry of America, told the conference that three elements were vital in combating piracy: licensing, education and enforcement. "We're in the middle of a tough, long ride and no-one knows where it's going. At the moment, protecting content in some manner is vital." Similarly affected was the film industry. Dara McGreevy, of the Motion Picture Association of America, claimed that piracy had reached "epidemic levels".

Fred von Lohmann, senior attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, advised delegates that Digital Rights Management (DRM) could present a new range of problems, and could be counter-productive, diverting customers to so-called pirate services such as Kazaa. "Don't drive your best customers to another model," he warned.