On the heels of Napster being ordered to shut down indefinitely, Metallica and Dr. Dre, the only two music artists to independently fight Napster over copyright infringement, have ended their disputes and agreed to a settlement, after an 18-month battle.
Napster has been offline since July 2.
"We respect what they've done and regret any harm which this dispute may have caused them," Napster CEO Hank Barry said. "Metallica has taken a courageous stand and a tough and principled approach to the protection of its name and creative output, and that of other artists."
Details of the settlement were not made public, but according to attorney Howard King, who represents both artists, "there is a payment that was made…and it certainly covers my clients' costs."
But King emphasized that wasn't the motivating factor. "The important thing," he said, "is that they got the absolute promise of Napster to not put up music without the artists' consent, and what they get is vindication and an apology."
Metallica and Dre have agreed to allow the sharing of some of their songs "once an acceptable model is in place that ensures payment to artists and publishers for the use of their works."
