Statement Regarding Napster Decision

NEW YORK and HAMBURG, Germany, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Today's Decision is another step in the process of accommodating the legitimate rights of copyright holders and the important interests of Napster users. Bertelsmann is committed to implementing a win-win strategy, one that secures and compensates the rights of artists, copyrights holders and the music industry, while also enabling Napster to provide music lovers with a first-class file- sharing system. That is why Bertelsmann did the deal with Napster in the first place and why we will redouble our efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory solution.

Andreas Schmidt, President and CEO of Bertelsmann eCommerce Group says, "File sharing is here to stay, and we will continue working to build a membership-based Napster service that will be supported by the music industry."/

"BMG remains committed to the development of secure file sharing services that compensate our artists and other rightsholders. BMG recognizes the strong consumer demand for file sharing and will work with BeCG and Napster in developing industry-supported services that bring fans closer to their favorite artists," said Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, President and CEO, BMG Entertainment.

SOURCE: Bertelsmann, Inc.

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