However, both EMI and Warner have issued statements saying that conditions were not yet in place to forge a full music content deal. The conditions attached to the deal mean that the record labels will not permit their content to be carried on to Napster until it has transformed itself into a non-infringing service. In its statement, Warner Music says:
“Our music will not be available to Napster as part of the MusicNet service until we are reasonably satisfied that Napster is operating in a legal, non-infringing manner and has successfully developed a technology that accurately tracks the identity of files on the service.”
Bertelsmann has declined to comment, but its BMG music division has said that the lawsuit it is currently pursuing against Napster remains in place. BMG is quoted by Reuters as saying:
“In the interests of our artists, BMG remains a party to the Napster lawsuit which concerns the existing unsecure Napster service and does not pertain to a new service”.
Napster has seen a sharp decline in users since it began attempts to bar the swapping of copyrighted songs in March. The new business model is likely to anger Napster’s millions of fans who had hoped it would continue its battle against the recording industry.