Q: Why are transfers suspended?

A: There were problems with the databases upon which the new file identification technology relies, and those problems were decreasing the effectiveness of the technology. The problem was not with the identification technology. We made the decision to clean up the database before resuming file transfers.

Q: How long will they be suspended for?

A: Napster's goal is to reactivate file transfers as soon as possible but we don't yet have a sense of a precise time. This is a brand-new technology that is still in the process of maturing, and we're still fine-tuning all the parts. Napster's engineers have been hard at work on resolving the database problem. Once this is worked out, file transfer capability will be restarted.

Q: Was it a legal decision?

A: Napster has been developing and implementing our technology on a schedule overseen by the court and the court-appointed technical advisor. This decision was made on the basis of what we believe makes the most sense for the company at this time.

Q: What does this mean for the new service?

A: This will have no impact on the new service. Napster is working very hard on the completion of the new service, which will launch later this summer. File identification technology is an essential element of the new service - it will ensure that artists and rights holders get paid based on the files that are actually transferred through the system. It's important to get it right for both legal and business reasons.

Q: Explain "upgrading the database to support file identification."

A: There are now over 800,000 musical works for which Napster has received notice from record and publishing companies. The filtering databases had to be rebuilt to support the new file identification technology, and when you’re dealing with such large numbers, things are bound to be complicated. They are further complicated by the fact that a complete reference database of audio fingerprints for noticed works just doesn’t exist, so there continue to be several types of filters in place. Our own testing indicated that the database was allowing files to be shared that should have been blocked from the index, and the best way to fix that problem was to suspend transfers while we make corrections to the database.

Q: Does this have anything to do with Thomas Middelhoff's statement that Napster would be launching its new membership based service on July 1?

A: No. Napster, with the full support of Bertelsmann, is hard at work on completing construction of the new system for the launch of the new membership service this summer.