No Rock And Roll Fun

MORE ON THAT NAPSTER BRAND: So, as we reported in pop papers yesterday, Napster is desperate to try and convince people that it's like the old Napster, only legal. That unlikely proposition took another blow when the download company tried to stop Ohio University from surveying its students to see how many would be interested in paying a USD3 a month charge to allow them to access Napster. It seems Napster got jittery about prices being mentioned and has demanded Ohio removes any reference to the likely cost - although that would make the survey utterly pointless. It's not clear if they're unhappy that Ohio are putting a price out, or that its making public that the company is fleecing the general public by charging over three times as much.

Not that the Ohio deal would be so sweet - students would have to cough up an extra dollar to burn a single track to CD or MP3 player (remember, a lot of students will be downloading in libraries or labs), and the songs expire when they leave university. No wonder Napster wants Ohio to shut up about the actual terms.