Both Listen.com and Centerspan have bid about $5 million, along with large blocks of shares in their company, to gain Scour's assets.

Because of the high price tag, both companies say they will take great precautions to avoid the type of lawsuit that have plagued Scour and Napster.

The five largest record labels all have small investments in Listen.com, relationships the firm hopes will allow it to build support within the music industry.

In a conference call yesterday afternoon to discuss their bid, Centerspan CFO Mark Conan said his company had been approached by two of the major labels to discuss content distribution deals.

Conan also said that he and CEO Frank Hausmann had met with lawyers of the RIAA to present their plans for C-star, and would continue to do so as development proceeds.

Both companies also promise major changes to Scour Exchange before it is re-released in any form.

"If we...get Scour," said Garrett, "It's not gonna exist in that form anymore."

Lawsuit Redux