Statement of Hank Barry, CEO of Napster, Following Today's Oral Arguments in Front of Federal District Judge Patel

REDWOOD CITY, CA - March 2, 2001

This is a case that should be settled.

We are fighting to preserve the Napster community and the Napster file sharing experience.

At today's hearing, Sony, AOL TimeWarner, Vivendi Universal and EMI pushed well beyond the dictates of the 9th Circuit decision in their quest to shut Napster down, insisting on an injunction that it would be impossible to comply with other than by shutting down the service.

We proposed a workable injunction that follows the 9th Circuit ruling and keeps the Napster community together while we are working to settle this case and transition to our new membership-based service. While we await the judges modified injunction and while we continue to pursue our legal case, we will begin later this weekend to block the transfer of file names we have previously received from copyright holders, consistent with the 9th Circuits ruling.

We are working hard and fast to implement our new service. Napster, in alliance with Bertelsmann's eCommerce Group, TVT, edel and many other independent labels and artists, has been working for months to put in place a new membership-based service that has a solid business model and secure technology. We will continue to press forward in our effort to reach agreement with the other major recording companies, whether they accept our offer of $1 billion over the next five years or a payment model to be negotiated among the parties. We believe that this matter could and should be successfully resolved by the mediator appointed by Judge Patel.

We must come up with a solution that works for consumers and pays artists. Let us never lose sight that the members of the Napster community are the worlds most passionate music fans and the industry's best customers.