Reuters reports that the Napster song swapping service will be relaunched by the end of the year as a legal, subscription-based music business, according to its new owners. Roxio, which bought Napster’s intellectual property for US$5 million in November, said on Monday that it is in discussions with the five major music labels — Vivendi Universal’s Universal Music Group; Sony Music; AOL Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Music Group; Bertelsmann AG; and EMI Group Plc — to license their music. Roxio has also hired Napster founder Shawn Fanning as a consultant to the service, according to a company spokeswoman.
