Most rock and Top 40 stations get paid to play the songs they spin by the companies that manufacture the records. Yes, radio stations do pay copyright fees for the right to broadcast music over the airwaves, but the music industry kicks it all back and much more to promote the CDs they sell through record stores. The industry of course leaves this information conveniently out when they scream how Napster is ripping them off. Napster may indeed be forced to close, but it will be through court order. As optimistic as Bertelsmann may feel in terms of converting Napster users to Snoopster, there is a lot of competition that will soon be fighting for Napster's 60 million and such a transfer will not go unchallenged.
Excess profits breed ruinous competition, and more Napster clones are inevitable.
Still, the original Napster service has the brand name, a significant competitive advantage that other services including Snoopster will be hard pressed to duplicate. There is too much value there and if Bertelsmann can save Napster and a healthy part of its user base, the 15 week deadline should come and go. This doesn't mean Bertelsmann won't significantly alter the service, it just means if they don't make it by summer, they will probably just extend the deadline date. That is providing a big fat monetary judgement doesn't go against Napster early this summer. Then the bean counters take over.