Best Buy picks up Napster for $121 million
Napster and Best Buy have entered into an agreement that will result in Best Buy paying $121 million for the online music retailer. It's been a while since Napster's really been the big name in online music (you know, like since the company started charging for music), but Napster currently has about 700,000 subscribers, which ain't exactly nothing.According to the press release, Best Buy has no immediate plans to move Napster's LA office or its 140 employees. Best Buy will use Napster's "capabilities and digital subscriber base" to offer customers additional ways to find and purchase music. The acquisition is expected to go through by the end of the year.
It'll be interesting to see if Best Buy builds some sort of bridge between its bricks and mortar stores and the online music service. Perhaps you could buy a CD and download a free MP3 version of the album. Of course you could always just rip the CD yourself, but I'm just thinking out loud here. What would you like to see Best Buy do with Napster?
[via Silicon Alley Insider]
Three little letters, about a year ago, had a death-grip on the music industry: DRM. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? DRM limits the unauthorized copying and sharing of music. We can see that argument. It also limits what music can be played on certain devices. Should you get a new computer or device and need to transfer your licenses, all we can say is -- good luck with that. We speak from experience.
If you've seen one music matching service, you've seen them all, right? Think again. The Goombah music service doesn't just throw general recommendations at you that are loosely based on genres you select. This cool tool scans your iTunes library and makes realistic suggestions that are actually, you know, good. Don't use iTunes? Not to worry, other music players will be supported shortly. In the meantime, check out the Napster Play Button to stream music right to your desktop.
After spending the better part of an hour on 
