Despite all the gossip (mainly spread by us, but anyway) suggesting SonyBMG were about to do a deal with the new company set up by Napster founder Shawn Fanning, insiders now say the Universal Music Group has become Snocap's first major label partner.
Through Snocap, Fanning has been developing something he desperately wanted to achieve at the original Napster before its bankruptcy - a legitimate P2P model the major record labels could endorse.
Reports suggest Snocap isn't intending to compete with the established P2P networks, rather provide a system which would enable the major labels to work with key players like Grokster and Kazaa. Insiders reckon that if Universal is on board, it may only be a matter of time before the other majors follow, especially given SonyBMG boss Andrew Lack's apparent enthusiasm for the Snocap proposition.
Of course if the majors do get involved with Snocap, they will be going into business with Grokster et al just as the Supreme Court reviews their appeal against an earlier court decision that ruled, much to the annoyance of the record labels, that the P2P companies were not liable for copyright violation committed using their software.