Controversial software vendor Napster, recently under attack by the music industry for promoting music piracy through its MP3 distribution, now includes a button to link users to e-commerce music site CDNOW, to allow users to purchase legitimate copies of music that they receive over Napster.
The move comes 10 weeks after Bertelsmann, owner of record label BMG, announced a strategic alliance with Napster. At the time, Napster committed itself to discovering legitimate MP3 distribution revenue models.
"Just 10 weeks ago, when Napster announced its strategic alliance with Bertelsmann, we promised innovations that would confirm our commitment to the evolution of a new business model consistent with our belief that Napster users love music and use the service to sample new music that they in turn purchase," comments Napster CEO Hank Barry.
"This is a step forward for the alliance, and another example of how Napster`s lasting impact on music and the Internet can work for music lovers and the creators and producers of music alike."
Andreas Schmidt, president and CEO of Bertelsmann eCommerce Group (BeCG), says: "We are pleased through our alliance with Napster to offer CDNOW`s popular online retail experience to Napster`s thriving community of music fans. We at BeCG are developing new ways of connecting content, community and commerce across all technological platforms."
Bertelsmann announced that it had developed a business plan for Napster last year, and was approaching other record labels, including Sony and EMI, with the new model.
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