Napster Creator Signs Deal with EMI

[moneoa]

Record company EMI has signed an agreement with Snocap, a legal music file-sharing company created by Shawn Fanning, who also created Napster, the most famous illegal file-sharing system.
The agreement allows London-based EMI to use Snocap, a program that allows sharing but identifies copyrighted music files and prevents them from being traded unless the user pays a copyright fee.
Sharing Music Legally "This sends a signal to music industry critics who claim we are technophobic," said David Munns, chairman and chief executive of EMI Music North America. "We are embracing technologies like Snocap, which allow the peer-to-peer community to share music legally."
Snocap has already signed similar deals with Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG Music Entertainment in New York and Vivendi Universal S.A. of Paris.
One-Time Payment EMI would not disclose the terms of the deal with Snocap, but a person close to the transaction said the record company had made a one-time payment to Snocap for the right to use its technology.
The original Napster was shut down in 2001 after a U.S. court ruled that its centralized servers, which contained directories to thousands of copyright songs, made it legally liable for contributing to copyright infringement.

[.:sp00ky:.]

pshhh talk about selling out...but who can blame him id probley do the same. its all about the moola!

[Burd]

The whole purpose of sharing is to SHARE. If you have to pay, it's not sharing. Therefore, "legal filesharing" is an oxymoron and only a moron would buy into it.

[ivand67]

Shawn Fanning may once have been a hero, but now he is a total pussy and a sell-out.

And Burd, you could not be more right about this.

Why do I care about sharing the files if it's just like iTunes??! Not paying is exactly why you share the files in the first place.

[serrebi101]

never thought of it that way, but think about it! It makes sence.

[zachary1]

traitor...... :bom:

[MrCoggy]

The irony of this is just sick making. The creator of Napster which started the first cultural change in file-sharing is now the music industry's darling who instead of having his life destroyed by debt and legal wrangles caused by media pigopolists litigation is instead their poster child for a system whereby we will have to pay for the privilige of distributing "their" content for them.

Thanks, but I'll pass.