The universities were charged with allowing the free trade of copyrighted songs. When IU and Yale agreed to block Napster access, Metallica dismissed them from the suit.

A statement issued by USC declared it would continue to allow students access to Napster “for demonstrably legal purposes from designated University personal computers and University supervision.”

However, the school’s student newspaper, The Daily Trojan, reported that access had indeed been blocked from Ethernet connections in student dormitories.

Apparently, USC’s actions satisfied Metallica and its attorneys but there are undoubtedly more artists and companies getting ready to take a swing at Napster.

While a number of artists and companies have come out against the company, the Internet service has found a friend in Limp Bizkit. Napster will give the group as much as $2 million in sponsorship support for its upcoming free tour. It’s a perfect match for a band that thrives on controversy and a company that attracts a lot of it.

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst obviously doesn’t have a problem with MP3 swapping.

“We could care less about the older generation’s need to do business as usual,” he said while announcing the tour on MTV April 24. “We care more about what our fans want, and our fans want music on the Internet.”

Durst is an A&R executive at Interscope/ Geffen/A&M, and it will be interesting to see what, if any, influence his Napster endorsement has on the recording conglomerate and its numerous artists.