Napster relaunch set back by months

Napster, the Web service the music industry sued for copyright infringement, has said it will delay the launch of its new service.

The delay is due to difficulties in getting major record label content - a complaint raised by other online start-ups and the focus of a U.S. government anti-trust probe.

"The biggest hurdle Napster faces is obtaining content," said Konrad Hilbers, Napster's chief executive officer, adding that the company's new service would now launch in the first quarter of 2002 - months later than originally planned.

Earlier this month, a recording industry association confirmed the U.S. government had expanded its antitrust probe into Pressplay and MusicNet, two online music ventures backed by the major record labels.

Napster attracted nearly 60 million users at its peak by enabling people to swap songs for free. But the service has been idle since July due to technical glitches it faced while trying to comply with a court order barring it from offering the trade of copyrighted material. The big labels first sued Napster for copyright infringement in December 1999.