Vitaminic signs on to Napster

Digital music provider Vitaminic has signed a deal to license 250,000 digital tracks to Napster's upcoming subscription service. Under the deal, Napster will pay royalties to Vitaminic, which in turn will pay each of its licensors for tracks transferred through the service. Founded in April 1999, Vitaminic provides a digital platform for promoting and distributing music over the Web and other electronic networks such as broadband or wireless systems. The company has been expanding its reach this year, partnering with Sony Music Entertainment and acquiring the Internet Underground Music Archive. In April, Vitaminic launched an online music subscription service. Napster also has been searching for new allies, partnering with Bertelsmann and forthcoming subscription service MusicNet. Still, the file-swapping company last week postponed the launch of the legal, for-fee version of its service until the first quarter of 2002.