“Attorney-turned-interim CEO Hank Barry promises to make
money, not war, for the beleaguered music-swapping
service.“
“For Napster, things are happening on true Internet time. It was
less than a month ago that I interviewed then CEO Eileen
Richardson, as the little company with a huge fan base faced
several high-profile lawsuits and the challenge of surviving on a
shoestring budget. But just like that, Napster suddenly has $15
million in its back pocket, and a new CEO who’s not only determined
to make the service profitable but appears ready to use his
prestigious legal background to befriend the recording industry,
not fight it.”
“[Q:] What, if anything, are you going to do
differently?
[A:] In terms of big differences, I want to
build a bridge over to the record companies and to all the other
constituencies to see if we can find a way to all work together.
… I’m going to focus most of my time and energies on making sure
we have a model that works. We’re also facing a lawsuit where we’ve
got the largest law firms in the United States lined up against us,
and we need to respond to that.”
“[Q:] As long as you’ve brought up the business
plan, what exactly is it?
[A:] Well, most businesses that are successful
have revenues. So we need to have revenues.”