The results of a settlement between Napster and Bertelsmann will be felt by the end of the summer, when Napster launches its fee-based music file sharing software.

To California company announced this week that it will indeed launch a new fee-based service before the end of the summer.  It is unclear at this time whether the new service will coexist with the existing Napster software, which allows users to freely trade MP3 files.

The question remains, will users be willing to pay a small fee to access the Napster service, when similar software programs have emerged since Napster�s popularity exploded last year.

Critics of the record industry claim that the major labels are trying to stifle any and all means of music distribution online that they do not totally control.  With the recent settlement between Napster, MP3.com and the major record labels, some see a brighter future for music distribution on the Internet.  However, others claim that the record industry through its trade association, the RIAA, is attempting to put a stranglehold on online music ventures through the use of discriminatory licensing terms. 

Congress may in fact be the final arbiter in the matter, as Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee has publicly chastised the record industry for their arbitrary use of copyright laws to stifle perceived competition from online music companies. 

Hatch issued a implied warning to the music industry recently during his address at the Future of Music Policy Summitt in Washington D.C. 

�I do not think that it is of any benefit for artists or fans to have all of the new, wide distribution channels controlled by those who have controlled the old, narrower ones,� said the Republican Senator and musician. �This is especially true if they achieve that control by leveraging their dominance in content or conduit space in an anticompetitive way to control the new, independent music services that are attempting to enhance the consumer�s experience of music.�

It is hoped that an online distribution model can be conceived that will respect copyrights, adequately compensated musicians for their work, pay a reasonable royalty to the record companies and be at a price point that online companies can afford and still maintain a level of profitability.  Until then, we wait, watching the lawsuits and legal chess match continue.