Shawn Fanning created Napster in his dorm room at Northeastern. It was the fastest-growing application in the history of the Internet. We changed the world but failed to achieve business success. Here is a glimpse into that story. Napster started out as a free download tool for college students. Later the goal was to make …

At a news conference Tuesday in Paris, Apple CEO Steve Jobs criticized the music industry for considering a hike in the price of digital downloads, according to a Reuters story. “If they want to raise the prices, it means that they are getting greedy,” Jobs said. “If the price goes up, (consumers) will go back to piracy, and everybody loses.”

India portal Rediff.com has debuted a music download service that is powered by Akamai Technologies’ delivery platform, the companies announced Monday. Rediff meshed its payment gateway with Akamai’s secure delivery and download service, they said. “The demand for media of all types–music, movies, games and more–is enormous and growing rapidly. However, there are many challenges to successfully monetizing media assets …

The case between the Australian music industry’s antipiracy unit and Internet service provider Swiftel Communications has been settled out of court. Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) had alleged that Swiftel’s employees and customers created a BitTorrent file-sharing hub to host thousands of pirated sound and video recordings. Michael Kerin, MIPI general manager, would not reveal if a financial arrangement was …

Students at Stanford University will get a year of free digital music, thanks to a gift from an anonymous donor to the college. Beginning next week, Stanford will join a growing number of other colleges around the country in promoting or providing free access to online music subscription services, aiming to draw students away from legally risky file-swapping networks. Unlike …

European consumers are being forced to pay usage rights on legal copy-protected music downloads multiple times because of outdated private copy levies, according to a study. The Business Software Alliance issued a report Thursday urging that the extra taxation that most European countries have added to music downloads be scrapped. The BSA said the rise in online content protected by …

For years, RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser has led his company through a process of constant reinvention, struggling to keep ahead of Microsoft’s competitive steamroller. On Tuesday, he and Bill Gates finally shared a stage, jointly announcing an end to RealNetworks’ $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, and an ambitious joint marketing and development program that will see substantial integration …

One of the most important turning points in the relationship between RealNetworks and Microsoft may initially have had little to do with Microsoft at all. In early 2004, RealNetworks Chief Executive Officer Rob Glaser made several appeals to Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs, asking him to make the popular iPod compatible with other companies’ music services. In a private e-mail …

High prices and digital rights management incompatibility are slowing the take-up of online music services in the United Kingdom, according to analyst firm IDC. Jason Armitage, senior research analyst at IDC’s European consumer devices unit, said that despite the rapid increase in the number of iTunes-style stores, the United Kingdom has yet to benefit from more choices or cheaper pricing. …

WASHINGTON–A California senator has suggested that because file-sharing networks continue to house illegal files, they should be shut down. Intellectual property protection “can’t function in a country where the high-tech services become such that you can’t protect copyright,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said Wednesday at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. The session centered on the landmark Supreme …

Warner Music Group and MTV Networks will work together to create short music videos from Warner’s existing collection and distribute them on cell phones and other mobile devices. Under the license agreement, announced Monday, MTV has access to Warner’s global catalog to create and distribute shortened versions of videos. The selection will range from the record label’s stable of emerging …

The music and movie industries are giving people who have swapped songs and other copyrighted material over the Internet a new way to repent for their illicit ways. A free program released Thursday, called Digital File Check, will uninstall or disable file-sharing programs on people’s computers. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a London-based affiliate of the Recording …

A correction was made to this story. Read below for details. LONDON–Napster President Brad Duea has criticized cellular operators that use the popularity of mobile music to exploit their customers. Speaking at Mobile Content World, Duea said consumers should only be charged once for their music–for whatever hardware they transfer it to. “Some operators want to force consumers to buy …

Sprint cell phones can now double as digital music players for select podcasts or radio programs, thanks to a deal expected Monday between RealNetworks and the mobile company. The two companies plan to introduce Rhapsody Radio, an offshoot of RealNetworks’ online music subscription service for Sprint phones. For $6.95 a month, people nationwide with a Sprint phone (specifically, with Sprint …

French online music store Virgin Mega has filed a complaint against Apple Computer, claiming that the company’s refusal to license the copy protection technology used in its iPod is harming competition. The action was filed with the French Competition Council in June and disclosed along with several other legal matters on Thursday as part of Apple’s quarterly filing with the …