SAN FRANCISCO - Napster's chief executive has resigned after founders of the troubled song-swap company refused to be bought out by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. <br>
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The resignation of Konrad Hilbers comes amid a long hiatus for Napster, which has vowed to come back online as a subscription-based music download service. <br>
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Further cost-cutting moves have also been announced. <br>
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A source close to the company says Napster is rapidly running out of cash and may soon file for bankruptcy protection. <br>
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Napster has been offline since last summer, after it failed to meet guidelines handed down by a federal judge requiring it to keep all copyright music from being freely traded over its network. <br>
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Since Napster's service went dark last year, the five major record labels suing Napster all have launched subscription services in response to the demand for music downloads that Napster created.
