For those of you logging on to Napster over the past several weeks you may have heard something startling: Silence.

On July 11, a federal judge ordered the music file-swapping service to remain offline until it can prove that it can effectively block access to copyrighted works on its network. This ruling came more than a week after Napster began a self-imposed blackout while researching new audio fingerprint technology to filter out unauthorized music from its service. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel made it clear that if Napster can not find a way to more effectively block copyrighted songs, "maybe the system needs to be closed down."

Yet the sound Napster wants you to hear may be pirated Rocky theme music because, down but not out, Napster is attempting a comeback. Much like a cockroach during a nuclear winter, this pest to most artists and musicians refuses to die.

Napster recently announced a settlement with Metallica and Dr. Dre, two of the site’s most outspoken opponents from the beginning. Agreeing to block unauthorized copies of the artists’ music, Napster is now working with both parties to develop a better business model for its site. In addition, Napster recently announced that it began using new digital encoding technology to power a subscription-based service it plans to launch later this summer.

Touting the new technology, Napster’s interim CEO Hank Barry bragged that Napster is at the "forefront of using some extremely advanced rights management and security technologies in a file-sharing environment." The burning question we, and we’re sure countless artists and musicians, want to ask is: "What the heck took you so long?"

For too long, Napster slid by on the notion of "keep doing it until you get caught." Their judgment day finally came in Judge Patel’s courtroom. It will be interesting to see if Napster’s new subscription-based model will work among those who simply wanted something for nothing.

UPDATE:

On July 18, 2001, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Napster a short reprieve, allowing the company to temporarily restart its song-swapping service online. The ruling stays Judge Patel's earlier decision ordering the company to block all song trading through its service, unless it could block 100 percent of the songs identified as copyrighted.