[Carol Lin, Cnn Anchor:] On the day the Grammy Awards are handed out, the recording industry must also deal with a settlement offer from Napster. For the latest in the dispute between the record companies and the online music service, let's go to CNN science correspondent Ann Kellan in Washington Ann.
[Ann Kellan, Cnn Science Correspondent:] Good morning. Napster, the online record-sharing Web site, is offering to pay a billion dollars over the next five years to record companies. In exchange, it wants the record companies to drop the lawsuit charging Napster with copyright violations. Now, Napster made it possible for people to download music free off the Web. Now Napster is offering to turn its popular Web site into a monthly subscription service. People would pay from $3 to $10 a month to download music. Napster is offering to pay major record companies like Sony, BMG and EMI $150 million a year for the next five years as a settlement. And it would also pay independent labels would get $50 million a year for five years. Napster CEO Hank Barry says it's a way to keep Napster alive.
[Hank Barry, Ceo, Napster:] This is a community of 60 million people, 60 million people who really love music. And there ought to be a way that we can, working together with the record companies, find a way to let those consumers enjoy this thing that they really love, which is this Napster community.
[Kellan:] Now, Barry is confident people will pay a monthly fee to download music even though there are other downloading Web sites out there.
[Lin:] Ann, so, what has been the reaction of the record companies? Are they going to go for it?
[Kellan:] Well, we're still waiting to hear from the record companies right now. Sony and EMI really have had no comment yet, but AOL Time Warner reportedly is downplaying this offer, saying why should we give Napster money when you know, to settle this suit. So, we're still waiting to hear, but we're not sure that there's going to be a positive reaction to this. But we'll let you know when we hear more.
[Lin:] All right, thank you so much, Ann Kellan.