Seagram, others comment on Napster/BMG deal
BY SUE ZEIDLER
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All of the big music companies said Tuesday that song-swap company Napster Inc.'s
alliance with Bertelsmann AG (BTGGga.D) was a positive step toward protecting copyrighted music online.
But they all appeared to stand by their lawsuit against the company.
Bertelsmann AG, parent of BMG Entertainment, said it would drop its copyright infringement lawsuit against Napster
once the song-swap company implemented a secure, membership-based service. Napster and Seagram said they formed
an alliance to further develop Napster's service and invited other music labels to participate.
All of the world's major record companies, which include Seagram Co. Ltd.'s Universal Music, Sony Corp.'s
(6758.T) Sony Music, Time Warner's (TWX.N) Warner Music Group and EMI Group Plc's (EMI.L) EMI Music, as
well as BMG, have been embroiled in a months-long bitter legal battle to shut down Napster, which they claim is a
haven for music piracy.
Seagram Co. Ltd.'s (VO.TO) Universal Music said on Tuesday it was pleased that Napster, in its deal with
Bertelsmann, had acknowledged the rights of copyright holders, but it said the announcement does not affect its
lawsuit against Napster.
``While we are concerned that Napster still has no solution to ensure security and proper payment, we are encouraged that they are attempting to resolve this issue and
develop a legitimate business,'' Universal, the world's biggest music company said in a statement.
``The current Napster model, however, continues to infringe and, as such, today's announcement does not affect the lawsuit.''
Sony Music said it welcomed any development that could lead to Napster creating a legitimate service that respected artists' rights and copyright law.
``However, this alliance does nothing to address the millions of past acts of copyright infringement by Napster, or those being committed by the company on an ongoing
basis,'' Sony said.
Time Warner said in a statement the Napster/BMG announcement seemed to be a positive step for the industry.
``It demonstrates a couple of things very clearly,'' Warner said. ``One, that the industry is rapidly moving toward adoption of a subscription model and two, in the online
world, artists and intellectual property rights will be protected.
``It is clear consumers want access to music in a way that is safe, secure and easy to use,'' the company added.
EMI said it was supportive of initiatives that allowed legal file sharing that respected the rights of artists, record companies and others. |
