Promotion of a new Dave Matthews Band [ tickets ] single began this week on the Napster homepage, and the latest version of the file-swapping company's software incorporates links to the CDnow website. The moves apparently are the first attempts by Napster and its new major label partner Bertelsmann to develop Napster into a viable commercial endeavor.

A link to the new Dave Matthews Band single “I Did It”--through which Napster visitors can download the song for free--first appeared on the site’s start-up window earlier this week. Matthews, who has spoken out in favor of Napster in the past, records for the Bertelsmann-owned label RCA. A high-quality MP3 of the track is also available for download via the official Dave Matthews Band website.

Officially, at least, the promotional deal was struck directly between the band and Napster, without the involvement of Bertelsmann or its North American distribution arm, BMG Entertainment.

"The group has always allowed taping of its concerts and encouraged fans to trade tapes,” a Matthews representative told Inside.com. “This goes along with what they've always done."

Meanwhile, on Thursday (1/12) Napster unveiled a new version of its software that features a button that allows for the easy purchase of music through the Bertelsmann-owned Internet retailer CDnow.

"We are pleased to offer the Napster community the opportunity to easily purchase music they discover on Napster," Napster COO Milton Olin said in a statement. "The CDnow integration brings instant online-purchasing convenience to the largest aggregation of music fans ever assembled."

Napster officials have argued that the file-swapping service is good for the music industry because it allows people to sample music and then buy it.

Bertelsmann and Napster aligned last October when the German conglomerate agreed to lend the company $50 million--and promised to drop a copyright infringement lawsuit against the embattled file-sharing site--if it develops a membership and fee-based business model.