msnbc.com
Napster set to offer
a paid service this summer
REUTERS
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 29 — Germany’s publishing powerhouse Bertelsmann said on Monday it was planning for an early summer introduction of a subscription service of Napster music downloads over the Internet.
I’M CONVINCED we can introduce in June or July of this year a subscription model, with a real working digital rights management system,” Bertelsmann Chief Executive Thomas Middelhoff said at the World Economic Forum here.
Bertelsmann shocked rival music publishers late last year when it said it would cooperate with Napster, which was being sued by over a dozen music publishers for breaching copyrights.
Napster software enables computer users to send copies of music files to each other over the Internet.
Since the announcement, millions of Napster users have waited for the timing of the Bertelsmann deal. They do not charge each other for sharing music files, but the Bertelsmann-Napster service means they will have to.
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No one from Bertelsmann or Napster could say what the price for the paid service was going to be.
In a separate interview with Reuters Television, Bertelsmann’s e-commerce group chief executive, Andreas Schmidt, said other major music publishers could be joining the Bertelsmann-Napster initiative within the next two weeks.
“We’re getting a very positive reaction,” Schmidt said. “We are keeping the opportunity open for their input and to join forces with us in Napster, and I’m very hopeful that in the next couple of weeks we will get some results.”
The world’s five music majors control 75 percent of the music market. Aside from Bertelsmann’s BMG music arm, the majors include EMI Group Plc, Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music.
Online Music Swapping Services
--select--GnutellaiMeshAimsterFreenet
Napster is by far the most popular online song-swapping service -- but it is not the only one. As the threat of a court-ordered shut down looms over Napster users, many have turned to alternative programs. Some of the other file-sharing technologies are even harder for the record and movie industries to control because they lack central servers - thus making lawsuits to shut them down difficult to pursue and nearly impossible to enforce. Click above to read more about some of these services.
-- By Jim Lynch
GNUTELLA
When alternatives to Napster are discussed, the first one that springs to mind is Gnutella. Originally released by Nullsoft, shortly after AOL had acquired it, Gnutella was promptly stopped by AOL executives who realized its potential copyright problems. By that time, however, initial versions had been posted online and the software was soon embraced and enhanced by the open-source programming community. Various versions of Gnutella now exist and tweaks continue to be made to the software.
What makes Gnutella so insidious in the eyes of the music and film industries is that it is a peer-to-peer file sharing mechanism, meaning that users do not have to access central servers the way they do with Napster. This makes very difficult for the recording industry to find targets for copyright lawsuits. When word got out that Napster was going to be shut down, users flooded Gnutella with download requests, temporarily shutting down the system.
Installing and using Gnutella is fairly simple and straightforward if you're a computer geek. Newbies might be confused by it and should probably consider an easier program. For the latest versions of the software and for more detailed instructions, visit gnutella.wego.com or About.com's Gnutella resources page.
IMESH
iMesh, from iMesh Ltd., is one of the newest file sharing systems. Like Napster you can easily exchange MP3 files, plus you can also exchange software, video and image files. And iMesh is very easy for novice users to get used to. Imesh's interface is straightforward and simple.
On the down side, iMesh simply doesn't have as many users as Napster and Gnutella, so the file selection can be somewhat limited in comparison. However, iMesh's user base has been expanding considerably as users search for alternatives to Napster, so file selection is bound to get better and better. This one is highly recommended for file sharing newbies that want more than just MP3 files.
Find out more and get the software at imesh.com.
AIMSTER
What do you get when you cross instant messaging and file sharing? You get Aimster, one of the first next-generation file sharing services. Aimster combines the file sharing capabilities of Gnutella with the most popular instant messaging software, AOL Instant Messenger. Aimster makes it easy for AIM users to exchange any kind of files with one another, including software, videos and MP3s.
While Aimster started out allowing access solely to the Gnutella network, newer versions have added the ability to connect to the popular Napster and Scour Exchange networks. An upcoming version of the software should also work with AOL's other popular instant messaging program, ICQ.
Unlike certain other programs such as MSN Messenger, Aimster does not seek to connect users to AOL's network directly. Instead it simply provides an interface that allows users to search various file-sharing networks. This makes it extremely difficult for AOL to block use of Aimster. Installing and using Aimster is pretty straightforward, even newbies should be able to do it with ease.
Aimster is available at aimster.com.
FREENET
Freenet, currently still in development, is a peer-to-peer file sharing service that was originally conceived by Ian Clarke. Like Gnutella, Freenet operates in a decentralized manner and provides users with relative anonymity. There are no central servers that can be shut down. Freenet also promises to make it much more difficult to forcibly remove a piece information from the network.
Freenet uses intelligent routing and caching -- allowing it to be more efficient and scalable than Gnutella. In practical terms it means that Freenet should route requests more efficiently, mirror popular data automatically and should make flooding of the network nearly impossible. To find out more about it, visit the official Freenet site at freenet.sourceforge.net.
Printable version
NAPSTER KEEPS MUM
But Napster Chief Executive Hank Barry told Reuters he was surprised about the Bertelsmann announcements.
“We haven’t decided on a time schedule at all,” he said.
He was equally non-committal on plans of other publishers to make their music officially available through the Napster network.
“We’re hopeful,” is all he would say on the matter.
Napster is currently one of the most popular services on the Internet, with 57 million registered users. On any given day, an average 8.5 million are using the service, and an average 1.6 million use the service at the same time.
Bertelsmann’s Middelhoff said he was confident that many users of the Napster software would be happy to pay for music.
An internal survey of 25,000 Napster users conducted by the group showed that 70 percent would be willing to pay for a subscription service.
Middelhoff said the company decided to work with Napster, rather than fight it, because the Internet was changing the music industry’s business models.
“The music industry was not ready to handle this new consumer behaviour. The publishers threatened to sue, but you can’t sue 100 million customers, because at the same time these customers are heavy buyers of music. They love music,” he said.
“We decided to speak to the company (Napster) and develop an legitimate business model,” he added.
Schmidt said: “I don’t think anyone will say they are against it. If you find the right terms and business model, I don’t think anyone will stay out of this peer-to-peer file-sharing network.” |
