Pay for play

When Napster — the Internet music file-sharing community — created a partnership with German media giant Bertelsmann last October, it appeared the end of free trading of MP3s over the Internet was imminent.

Since then, however, the millions of registered Napster users — including the thousands of dedicated members on the Princeton campus — have continued to download MP3s with reckless abandon all year.

But the source proved to be finite last week, when Bertelsmann announced that it plans to introduce a subscription service by early summer.

Under this new subscription model, customers will be required to pay a fee for downloading music. The fee may range from a charge on each song to a general payment for the service.

Bertelsmann, the parent corporation of record company BMG, had been one of a number of record companies suing Napster for copyright infringement until it dropped its suit as a condition of the partnership.

The reasons for the partnership were twofold: Napster aimed to save itself by pairing up with a powerful force in the music industry, while Bertelsmann wanted access to Napster's technology and user base in an effort to create a subsciption service for MP3s of songs published under the BMG label.

Napster, however, noted on its Website that it will still offer a free service, giving customers the option of joining an advanced service which will include a fee.

"We are committed to creating a system in which users can choose to participate without paying money," the Napster Website said. "However, for a small membership fee we feel that we can facilitate an enhanced service that you'll find even more valuable." In a press release Jan. 29, Bertelsmann predicted the subscription-based membership model will be introduced early this summer.

However, in the same press release, Napster Chief Executive Hank Barry denied any deadline has been set. Neither company could disclose what will be the price of the service.

As for the effect this new plan may have on campus, the decision to pay the fee for many students rests on the cost of the service.

"If it's $5 per month, I thought, that's not too bad. I spend more than that on [food and] other stuff," Napster user Stephanie Westcot '03 said. "But then I thought that's $60 a year and I could use that money to buy something better."

Some students do not plan to continue as paying Napster members. "I'm going to try to download everything I can before they start charging," Whitney Karfeld '04 admitted.

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Chris Connolly '04 agreed, "I'll just use another service. There are plenty of alternatives."

Many students also believe that no matter what payment plan Napster and Bertelsmann offer, there will always be subversive options of sharing music for free online.

Soyoung Oh '03 said students already have other alternatives available to them. "People can send MP3s through e-mail as an attachment," she said.

Oh also noted that students at Princeton have the option of sharing music through the University's network neighborhood and therefore do not depend on Napster for free music.

Even though Napster and Bertelsmann plan to charge a membership fee this summer, there are many other alternatives for downloading free music through the Internet, especially for students. As Connolly observed, "There's no way anyone can stop it."