| Sumario: | On April 2, 2001, software firm RealNetworks and three big record labels—Warner Music, Bertelsmann Music Group, and EMI—announced a joint venture, called MusicNet, that will make it possible to create many types of paid music-subscription services. The two other big music companies—Sony and Universal—are to offer similar services, called Duet; and from July, Napster, which is a free file-swapping service, is to turn itself into a secure membership-based service, with the help of Bertelsmann. What becomes of these services will determine not only the future of the music industry but that of its underlying technology as well. All of these services will include a “cop protection” scheme that will limit what users can do with files they download. There are risks associated with this, in that the trend toward restricting access could ultimately curtail existing rights, such as the right to make copies of music for personal use.
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