Napster itself is also hoping to resurrect its services on the legal subscription model, provided it can secure the necessary deals.
At the height of its popularity, almost 80 million people took advantage of Napster’s centralised swapping network to download MP3 files for free. The centralised index made it easier for users to find and then download music stored on the computers of all its members.
The proposed subscription services involve music being downloaded direct from the service provider and there will be a monthly charge.
Does this signal the end of free music? Although many non-charging service providers lack the range or indexing abilities that Napster had, there are still many on-line services available if users want to avoid paying subscription fees.
While some work in the same way as Napster once did, the majority operate as decentralised swapping networks and do not rely on a single index held on one computer - which makes them much harder to shut down. Although the choice of MP3 files is not as extensive and may be more difficult to locate, these services are free and recent reports suggest that people are not ready or willing to pay to download music from the internet for as long as the free sources exist.
A report by the digital research company Webnoize suggests that 62% of US college-aged users will continue to access MP3 music files for free using illegal web sites. It is thought that the new commercial services will have to offer something above and beyond what can already be downloaded for free. It seems that consumers are not going to pay merely for easy access to a wide range of music, but will expect exclusive access to on-line concerts, pre-released songs or discounts for CDs.
If the music giants are to win the battle against the illegal downloading of MP3s, they must be prepared to utilise their resources to make on-line subscriptions far superior to what is currently available.