Napster Hearing Underway at Capitol

April 3 -- Congress is ready to rock.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently holding a hearing on online entertainment. And some prominent rockers and rappers — including Don Henley, formerly of the Eagles, and Chuck D, once a member of Public Enemy — are expected to ask for more freedom for Napster, the Internet song-swapping service.

"The exposure areas for music is far and few and Napster ... is a new radio," Chuck D said Monday night at a forum in Washington. "People want to become interactive with their entertainment. They don't want to be programmed."

But lawmakers will hear from some music makers, like rocker Ted Nugent, and music executives arguing that Napster should be shut down.

Show of Strength

Besides making its point to senators, Napster is asking fans to show their numbers in Washington and make a statement in favor of trading music online.

"Attending the hearing and contacting your Senators and members of Congress conveys that you care about the future of file sharing and digital music," reads a statement on Napster's Web site.

In lawsuits filed since December 1999, prominent members of the recording industry said Napster, an Internet site that allows music fans to swap digitized files of recordings, is infringing upon their copyrights.

"If the Napster community shows up in force for this hearing, it will help educate Congress on why it is important not to let the recording industry shut down music file sharing," reads another page on Napster's Web site. "You can give voice to millions of other Napster supporters by attending this hearing."

Napster is organizing a post-hearing concert for up to 1,000 fans tonight.

ABCNEWS.com's Michael James contributed to this report.