Napster moved into damage control mode today after a university gave some idea as to how much a RIAA music tax will add to student costs. Ohio University has put up a survey site to see if students are willing to pay $3 per month for the Napster music service. The $3 figure is the first concrete number given by any school indicating how much Napster and its RIAA bully force are looking to muscle out of students. Ohio University believes it will need 5,000 students to pay the $3 fee to make Napster a break-even proposition for the school. Napster has demanded that Ohio University stay silent about the price before anyone catches wind of the cost.
“Napster called us today and said we should not publicize the details or discuss our contract,” said Sean O’Malley, spokesman Communication Network Services at OU. “The price was an idea they had suggested early on.”
So far, Napster has refused to provide exact details as to how much Penn State University and the University of Rochester are “paying” for the company’s service at their schools. Napster bills the public $10 per month for its service, but both Penn State and Rochester have admitted to getting steep discounts.
Napster and the RIAA have billed Penn State and Rochester as “models” to follow, if schools hope to avoid lawsuits by offering a legal music downloading service. The model concept, however, is a tough sell given the secrecy being employed by Napster. Universities across the country would end up shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars if they paid full price for Napster.
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