An attempt to sell the company to German media company
Bertelsmann failed, apparently due to a dispute between two
directors of Napster. According to an e-mail sent to the company, a
copy of which was seen by CNet News, Hilbers wrote: “Unfortunately,
the board has chosen to not pursue the deal... I am convinced that
not pursuing the offer is a misake, and it will lead the company to
a place where I don’t want to lead it.”
As a teenager, Shawn Fanning wrote the Napster software which
brought peer-to-peer computing to the world’s attention. Until
yesterday, he worked as the company’s Chief Technical Officer.
Fanning was among others, including the company’s general counsel,
who, according to reports, resigned with Hilbers.
The Wall Street Journal reports unnamed sources who say that the
company is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection.
At its peak, Napster claimed to have around 60 million
registered users. Its service was shut down in July 2001. The
current champion of P2P file sharing is KaZaA. The site claims that
its P2P software has been downloaded more than 78 million
times.
