Napster Goes Offline to Prepare for Pay Service

Napster Inc.’s song-sharing service was offline as it worked to transform itself into a music company for paying customers.

Napster did not say when its computer servers would return online, and it was not clear how the down time related to Napster’s planned launch of a subscription service, promised for later this summer.

The company also has been upgrading its music-identification system to better comply with court orders that it prevent unauthorized music-swapping.

Napster representatives did not immediately return calls for comment.