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consumers are being forced to pay usage rights on legal copy-protected music downloads multiple times because of outdated private copy levies, according to a study.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 …