"Hi, I'm Shawn Fanning. Welcome To McDonald's"

brian_igo · #1 06-03-2002, 04:02 PM

Napster filed for bankruptcy protection this afternoon in Delaware. Bertlesman is expected to buy the remaining portion of the company for $8 million and eat $91 in loans they had made to Napster.

Brian

**Joubert**[$] · #2 06-03-2002, 10:22 PM

Brian, I still have tears of laughter in my eyes over your thread's title. Brilliant, sir.

Of course, Morpheus and the others are going to be shut down fast too, but Shawn at least made a name for himself. What's interesting is that one of the business mags (I think it was Fortune) just profiled BMG & laid off their investment in Napster.

That was a bone-headed move that deserved the reporter finding someone to call it such and quoting often.

Not that anyone from Fortune has an agenda, mind you.... (cough)

brian_igo · #3 06-05-2002, 10:14 AM

Thanks, but I felt horrible writing it. Fanning is actually a hero of mine, and I think Napster will be remembered as second only to the original Netscape browser as the most important internet software ever written.

What I want to know is, who at Bertlesman had their lips on the crack pipe when they bought into Napster in the first place? There is a meeting I would have loved to been in on...how the hell do you pitch a business plan for a product that lets you get something for free?

"But it has the highest name recognition on the entire internet!"

Brian

**Joubert**[$] · #4 06-06-2002, 09:17 AM

Couldn't agree more on all counts. I think BMG was trying to figure out how to push their new content (since they keep buying music companies) and build a continuity business. Someone somewhere believed that a subscription model would work.

One day - with convenience and a host of other factors built-in, micropayments for content should work. But it wasn't going to work last year or this. Frankly, I buy far too many CDs after downloading a cut or two or five on Morpheus to think that it's bad for the entertainment industry in the long run.

kurt_messick · #5 06-06-2002, 10:47 AM

I'm sorry to see these services go. I've never used any of them, but was reassured by the idea that I could probably always find a song I wanted to hear on one of them.

CurtisEdmonds · #6 06-06-2002, 10:51 AM

Quote:

I'm sorry to see these services go. I've never used any of them, but was reassured by the idea that I could probably always find a song I wanted to hear on one of them.

Still a ton of them around. I use Audiogalaxy and LimeWire.

poseidon · #7 06-06-2002, 11:21 AM

Gee I'm curious now if BMG Music Service is going to be pestering me via e-mail and snail mail with an ad that says, "Take any 12 CDs for $0.01" and then explain in the fine print that shipping and handling is now $39.95 per CD to make up for a boneheaded investment...

kurt_messick · #8 06-06-2002, 02:24 PM

Of course, I forgot to mention how disturbing headlines like this are to me personally.

I wonder if I can wear my collar to work at McDonalds...