Dr. Dre (aka Andre Young) sent Napster a list of 935,000 recordings of pirated copies of his music offered by computer users in MP3 format through the company’s MusicShare service, and demanded that Napster block or remove the songs.
In April, Napster conceded to a demand by Metallica to remove 300,000 usernames from its service. However, on Tuesday this week, Napster said it would restore access unless Metallica sued each user individually.
In April, the US cable company Cox@Home banned the use of Napster on the grounds that it effectively turns the user’s machine into a server and that running server software is against its terms of service.
BT has confirmed it has no plans to block its users from using the service. Internet manager of BTopenworld, Bob Foster, said “The model of Napster is indicative of how the internet will grow. We don’t want to stop people using the Napster and other innovative applications like it.”
These comments raised concern with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). It hopes other service providers will follow the example of Cox@Home.