Dr. Dre (aka Andre Young) sent Napster a list of 935,000
recordings of pirated copies of his music offered by computer users
in MP3 format through the company’s MusicShare service, and
demanded that Napster block or remove the songs.
In April, Napster conceded to a demand by Metallica to remove
300,000 usernames from its service. However, on Tuesday this week,
Napster said it would restore access unless Metallica sued each
user individually.
In April, the US cable company Cox@Home banned the use of
Napster on the grounds that it effectively turns the user’s machine
into a server and that running server software is against its terms
of service.
BT has confirmed it has no plans to block its users from using
the service. Internet manager of BTopenworld, Bob Foster, said “The
model of Napster is indicative of how the internet will grow. We
don’t want to stop people using the Napster and other innovative
applications like it.”
These comments raised concern with the International Federation
of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). It hopes other service
providers will follow the example of Cox@Home.
