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napster posts

Filed under: Audio, Internet

Napster just became relevant again, with dirt cheap music plan

NapsterIt wasn't that long ago that Napster was the dominant force in online music distribution. Of course, at that point, Napster didn't have a business model, nobody (including the record companies) was making any money off the service, and while the peer to peer network was extraordinarily popular with users, it was soon sued into oblivion. The Napster music service that eventually emerged out of the ashes was never quite as compelling, even after launching a DRM-free MP3 store last year.

But a funny thing happened today. Best Buy (which snapped up Napster last year for $121 million) came up with a business model that actually sounds pretty good. Here's how it works. For $5 a month, you can download and keep five DRM-free MP3 tracks a month. That might not sound that impressive, but here's where it gets interesting: On top of those free downloads, you get unlimited streaming access to Napster's library of 7 million tracks.

In other words, if you subscribe for a year and pay $60, you get a year's subscription to a pretty decent on-demand music service. You also get access to 60 commercial-free internet radio stations and 1,400 "expertly programmed playlists." And when you cancel the service, you'll get to keep 60 songs... which probably would have cost you about $60 anyway if you'd purchased them from Amazon, iTunes, or another online music store.

The only down side is that the streaming music service is no use on the go. You'll need a computer, not an MP3 player to listen to the streaming audio. But if the model proves successful, I wouldn't be surprised to see mobile Napster apps for iPhone, Windows Mobile, or Google Android show up. in the meantime, you can still sign up to Napster's older "Napster To Go" service which lets you download DRMed tracks to portable devices.

[via Engadget]

Filed under: Audio, Internet

Best Buy picks up Napster for $121 million

NapsterNapster 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]


Filed under: Audio, Internet, Web services, web 2.0

Napster's DRM-free MP3 music store launches

Napster MP3

Napster has launched its anticipated MP3 music store, bringing the service a bit closer to its roots. But you know, without the piracy.

Now Napster customers have two options. You can sign up for a subscription based service that lets you listen to any of 6 million songs for a monthly fee. But if you stop paying, your music disappears. Thanks DRM. Or you can individually purchase any of those 6 million songs in the DRM-free MP3 format.

Napster's content partners include all four major music labels and a huge library of tracks from independent artists and labels. Each song carries a 99 cent price tag, comes with album art, and a relatively high bitrate. Most songs are encoded at 256kbps or higher.

[via Crave]

Filed under: Audio, Business, Internet, News

Napster reborn: Another nail in the coffin for DRM

Napster screenshotThree 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.

Recently record labels and at least a few online music sellers have moved away from offering DRM-laden music. And today, Napster announced it was making the move to DRM-free downloads. (The company's subscription service still includes DRM) Napster, the service that once offered DRM-free songs (illegally), and then legally sold DRM'd songs, has been reborn into the service it should have been all along -- legal music, DRM-free.

Moving to the MP3 format opens up Napster to a wider array of devices, including the ubiquitous iPod. We're not financial gurus, but we sense this can only mean good things for Napster, and for the music industry as a whole. Music that we can play on any device we might have, on any computer we might have? We might break our music boycott. We might even have the heart to upgrade the circa 2004 Zen Touch to something new. You know, now that we can actually own our music, and not just rent it for the life of the device.

[via Reuters]

Filed under: Audio, Internet

Napster to launch web-only music service

NapsterNapster has redesigned its subscription music service and the company is launching favor of a web-based service.

Napster 4.0 lets you listen to your music collection on any internet-connected computer. The advantage to web-based software is obvious. Suddenly Napster is compatible with every Mac, Linux, and PC machine on the market, without requiring you to download and install any software. You'll still need a Windows PC running the desktop client if you want to download songs, burn them to CD, or transfer them to a portable device.

The web-based service also includes a recommendation tool, playlists managers, and music discovery features.

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Web services

Goombah music matching service is your friend

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.

Goombah is a tool that's meant to be used in conjunction with other music services like Napster or iTunes. It's designed as a way to introduce music lovers to new music without relying on blind luck or random clicking at overloaded websites. Instead, your computer's music library is analyzed and compared to other members' lists with similar tastes so Goombah can make accurate recommendations. When you hear tunes you like, you're only a click way from purchasing them from Napster or iTunes.

Download Squad caught up with Goombah's CEO Diane Sammer to get a behind the scenes look at the service and find out where it's headed:

Read more →

Filed under: Audio, Internet, News

AOL ditches MusicNow for Napster

Napster and AOLAOL is trying to find a winning music service to feed to its users once again. AOL bought MusicNow from CircuitCity a while back, but apparently that wasn't working out so well. AOL is trying again, this time with Napster at the musical helm. Sure, Napster isn't perfect, but it is much better than MusicNow. AOL will do much better with Napster, and Napster is apparently pretty happy too, since AOL's move will put Napster in the number two spot for biggest music service by revenue according to PC World. Any current MusicNow users will be able to transition to Napster, but keep their accounts, as AOL plans to move all 350,000 accounts to the new service over the next 60 days.

Filed under: Google, Googleholic

Googleholic for September 22nd, 2006

googleholic
In this issue of Googleholic we cover:
  • Belgian News is out of Google
  • Yahoo and Ads by Google
  • Google Base update
  • CurrentTV did not partner with Google
  • Is Google.org a profitable business?
  • Should Google buy Napster
  • Google India Wordmasters
  • Google updates Spreadsheets
  • Google Send to Phone
  • Google bookmarks in Firefox
Continue reading Friday's Googleholic...

Read more →

Filed under: Audio, Business, Internet, News, Windows, Web services

Napster considers selling itself

Napster considers selling itself

It appears that Napster might be ready to say uncle, ZDNet is reporting. The company has stated they "do not have our heads in the sand regarding an M&A (merger and acquisition) transaction", which is more or less a nice way of saying they just might be licked. Over the march quarter their 512,000 strong subscriber base fell 7 percent as they transitioned to its free website model, but excluding 4,000 university subscriptions, their number of paid subscribers actually grew 26 percent year-over-year.

An analyst from Stifel Nicolaus & Co also cited in ZDNet's article said "Napster's still trying to find a working business model, which is bad from an operating standpoint", also noting that they see an increased likelihood that the company would sell, especially since the possibility came straight down from management.

Either way, things don't sound so good for the renegade-come-legit digital music service. Also of note is their website; it might be the fact that I'm on a Mac, but their site seems dishearteningly bare these days. not even a remnant of the hip Flash site they built when they offered the web-based free model. I guess time will tell what happens to the music libraries of all those subscribing users.

[via iLounge]

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