(May 4, 2001) GAVIN -- Napster and Microsoft are in discussions that may lead to Napster using technology from Redmond, WA to help create a new version of its song-swapping service that is able to protect the rights holders. Napster has in the past six weeks severely limited the number of songs that are available on the site, but record companies continue to say that the company is not yet doing enough to prevent the sharing of copyrighted materials. According to Webnoize, the number of songs downloaded through the Napster service fell by 36 percent in April as the company’s filtering process became more effective. A total of 1.59 billion songs were downloaded during the month, compared to 2.49 billion songs in March and down from a peak of 2.79 billion in February.
The addition of Microsoft copyright-protecting security technology may be enough to comfort the labels and encourage the music industry to supply songs now being denied. The company has already employed technology from Gracenote and Relatable to help weed out copyrighted materials from its offerings. Microsoft and Napster have reportedly been in discussions for several weeks about inking a deal, but thus far none has happened. Microsoft’s recent announcement that it would begin to offer expanded online music services through MSN may impact the company’s decision whether or not to work with Napster.
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