3.30.01  Napster Users Can Chat To Chuck
(from NME website)
CHUCK D is to take part in a forum discussion on NAPSTER alongside the beseiged file-sharing site's founder SHAWN FANNING in WASHINGTON DC on Monday (April 2).

The pair are to host a 90-minute open forum at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center, on the eve of Tuesday's (April 3)Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing, which is to examine the phenomenon of music swapping through the Internet.

The Public Enemy frontman has long championed file-swapping on the Internet and has been a staunch supporter of Napster.

Napster is then sponsoring a concert by reggae-funk band Dispatch at the 9:30 Club in the city on Tuesday, for 1,000 people.

According to reports on www.billboard.com, Napster has also teamed up with cable TV channel Burly Bear Network - which broadcasts to over 560 US college campuses - and Palm Pictures to promote Irish rock band Skindive, who release their eponymous debut album on Tuesday through Palm. Their first single 'Tranquilizer' will be promoted through the website and advertised on the cable TV network.

As reported previously on NME.COM, the Recording Industry Association of America said that using archaic technology to attempt to filter unauthorised tracks from the site was an act of defiance on the part of Napster, who say they have blocked over a quarter of a million songs.