From Launch.com:

Friday February 16 11:00 AM EST

Prince Site Delayed--Is Napster Ruling To Blame?



(2/16/01, 10 a.m. ET) -- Prince held a private concert Tuesday (February 13) to launch his new pay-service website, the NPG Music Club. Although the event was a success, the site is still not up and running. Prince apologized for the delay via his current site (npgonline.com), saying the provider, Tekadence, "is very sorry 4 the delay it has caused all those waiting 2 sign up 4 this xperience!" He added, "We here at the Park r as anxious as U r 2 gett underway. There is much jelly 2 deliver! Pray 4 Tekadence, u'all!"



Also influencing the launch of the site is Monday's (February 12) federal appeals-court ruling that Napster must stop trading in copyrighted material. Moments after the decision was handed down, Prince asked visitors to his site, "If NPG Music Club has a subscription service and Napster houses some of the files, is this copyright infringement or not?"



Although he champions using new technologies to get music out, he strongly believes artists should get paid for their work. When asked if he believed Napster and other music-swapping technologies mean that we are moving toward a time when all music will be free, Prince responded, "Well, money's gonna have to be abolished first, you know? I mean, whether music ends up to be free or not, I mean, I think the question is money, and how...that's how we deem what is most valuable."



-- Bruce Simon, New York and Chad Dougatz, Los Angeles

newstips@launch.com



http://www.launch.com/mus...53,00.html