Matti Robinson
20 May 2008 8:07
Napster has opened their own music store to compete with Amazon and Apple. Their music store is said to boast more than 6 million songs, more than Amazon or Apple's iTunes. All files are downloadable in MP3 format and are DRM-free, which makes them compatible with most of the music players, including Apple iPod and iPhone.
Changing directions from the previous all-you-can-eat subscription, the company hopes that it will grow interest amongst the customers who want to transfer their favorite songs to portable media players. Napster's service has an edge against iTunes with DRM-free files and larger catalog, but analysts don't see it topping iTunes mainly because of Apple's strong integration of iTunes into their PMPs.
The selection of 6 million songs includes music from all major and thousands of indie labels. Most of the songs will cost 99 cents and albums start from $9,95.
Chris Gorog, Napster chief executive still believes that their all-you-can-eat plan will eventually win over the customers. "We believe ultimately that consumers will be moving to an unlimited music model," he said.