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his skin. “Oh my God,” he thought. “What in the world is going on here?” The RIAA, which had been prepared for any outcome, handed out copies of a statement to reporters in the hallway. Barry scribbled out a statement on the spot, and the company’s public-relations staff told journalists that he would read it to them in the lobby. Instead, the Napster crew evaded the media horde, climbed into a Lincoln Town Car, and drove off.

A dozen record-industry lawyers went to celebrate at the restaurant Jardinière. Recording Industry Association general counsel Cary Sherman found a piano and spontaneously sat down to play jazz. An associate at one of the San Francisco firms happened to sing in nightclubs, and she lent vocals to the occasion, getting extra appreciation for a Gershwin number—“They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Afterward, Sherman told her that given their audience, if she couldn’t get a big-label contract that night, she probably never would.

Inside Napster, Eddie Kessler sent out an unemotional e-mail relaying what Barry probably would have read to reporters: “Hi all. I just got a call from hank and milt. We are surprised and disappointed that the judge has apparently decided to issue some form of injunction, we may have to shut down all or parts of the service within 48 hours. Obviously, we will comply with the court’s order and move forward. We haven’t seen her order and we don’t yet know what it says. You are invited to tune in to the webcast at 7 pm.” Parker was in Virginia and called the office to find out what had happened, reaching Barry’s assistant, Alicia Morga. “It doesn’t look good, Parker,” she told him, recounting the decision. “And she talked a lot about your documents.”

Boies and his team threw together an emergency request for a stay from the Ninth Circuit pending a full appeal. Work at Napster pretty much ground to a halt as the forty-six employees wondered what would happen to them—if they would be laid off when the system shut down or kept around to rework it into something that complied with the injunction. The severity of the situation was glaring. In a rare e-mail from Napster recruiter Inga Kulberg to the whole staff, she urged them to hang tight: “Hi everyone. I know you have been bombarded by recruiters, and staffing managers, but don’t jump ship yet! We will work it out together.”

When it aired, the webcast showed a grim-faced Shawn and Barry.