WHERE MUSIC LISTENS TO YOU
mollifire
mollifire
Add To My Trusted Moggers

Napster Offers 6 Million Songs As DRM-Free MP3s, Drops Monthly Fee

Posted about 1 year ago
Napster took a flying leap onto the DRM-FREE wagon today, by making its 6 million tracks available as play-anywhere mp3s. The tracks are high-bitrate 256kbps mp3s without restrictions and can be played on any mp3 player. Individual tracks cost $0.99 (79p in UK) while full albums cost $9.99 - comparable to iTunes' pricing for similar tracks. iTunes, on the other hand, only offers around 2 million tracks without the restrictive DRM encoding. Apparently, the DRM-free iTunes tracks are not playable on Windows Media Players because they are in an incompatible AAC format. So this gives Napster a huge edge over iTunes for sure! I don't know how many such tracks Amazon offers or how it compares to Napster's newly improved selection.What's more, the new Napster service does not require a monthly membership fee, as the previous service did! According to a report in PC Mag today, "The [Napster] Web interface works on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux running Firefox 2.x or Internet Explorer 7.x (which is recommended)."There is LOADS more info in that report on PC Mag. A highly recommended read for anyone interested in digital music developments."Napster Starts Selling DRM-free MP3s" on PCMag.comNME also reported on this event, with a statement from Napster's top dog, Chris Gorog, stating:
"It's great that we have finally gotten here. It is really the beginning of a level playing field, which I think is essential for Napster, but also for the health of the digital music business in general."
[[This is the Napster room at the Block Hotel in South Lake Tahoe; I stayed here last time I went snowboarding this year:They gave me a free energy drink and a PBR when I checked in!]]
0

Comments (14)

  1. Spike
    Spike says I just went to the Napster website, and it didn't say nothin' about no stinkin' DRM-free no-monthly-fee deal. The article says it's here now! I'd like to download "Red Dirt Song" by Jimmy LaFave from his Texoma CD, but I guess I can just wait here in the dark.
    Permalink posted 05/20/2008
  2. vannatta
    vannatta says Thanks for the heads up mollifire...
    Permalink posted 05/20/2008
  3. Scotch
    Scotch says I was considering going to the iTunes store for some music as a thank-you to a friend, but now I'm going to give Napster a whirl. Oddly enough, I've never even been to the Napster site. Yeah, I'm a late bloomer...
    Permalink posted 05/22/2008
  4. mollifire
    mollifire says haha! i just went to the Napster site for the first time ever, so we're both late-blooming Scotch! i had to see for myself if they were offering the 6 millie mp3s or not - & they are! the right sidebar has a NEW sticker and sure enough you can download mp3s that play on any music device. However - i did notice the fine print (on the next page) states that the Napster-On-The-Go feature is for Windows/PCs only and it costs $15 bucks a month. Of course, you can get the mp3s (with high-res album art) without the "Go" subscription. It looks pretty similar to Rhapsody and other EMCDs - the first one's free. After that it's ass gas or grass...
    Permalink posted 05/22/2008
  5. Scotch
    Scotch says So I finally got around to checking out napster. The very first artist I looked up, Donny Hathaway, wasn't available for purchase. Lovely. The search for the perfect music service continues...
    Permalink posted 05/27/2008
  6. hesiod
    hesiod says scotch have you checked out rhapsody, i have both services & what rhapsody doesn't have napster does & vice versa
    Permalink posted 05/27/2008
  7. Scotch
    Scotch says I will. For some reason, I keep forgetting about that one. Maybe because it's a Microsoft thing? I dunno. Anyway, I bought my tracks at iTunes, but I hate going there. Next time I'll try Rhapsody. I wish emusic just had more stuff I want to grab...
    Permalink posted 05/28/2008
  8. hesiod
    hesiod says I keep getting free coupons for emusic but have never went I'm pretty happy with rhapsody and now that napster has mp3's also they have stuff that rhapsody doesn't, you should check it out especially if you love music it's like a giant record store where you can listen to everything
    Permalink posted 05/28/2008
  9. Scotch
    Scotch says So let me know if I've got this straight - I have to pay $14.99/mo if I want the priviledge to pay .89/track? Can't get behind that.
    Permalink posted 05/28/2008
  10. hesiod
    hesiod says but you pay 14.99 to listen and download anything you want to listen to and then if you like it you can buy it anywhere if you want, but to have access to over millions of songs of every artist and genre for serious music lovers I think it's the greatest I listen to new artists or discover new artists and if I like them I'll buy them where ever if I just think they are ok I can still listen to them whenever without actually buying their cd
    Permalink posted 06/01/2008
  11. Scotch
    Scotch says That's true. I keep thinking that I can do that with youtube. Of course, I can't always play the music I want there. I see the value in Rhapsody, but it's not for me. At least not now. FWIW, emusic costs me .25/track, and that's not in addition to any other fees.
    Permalink posted 06/02/2008
  12. mollifire
    mollifire says i'm pretty hooked on Rhapsody now. i think it is only available in the US, but i don't think it has anything to do with Microsoft. I could be wrong, i've just never seen anything relating Rhaps to MS. It is a Real Network (Real Player) product though, is that exclusive to MS? i have to admit, i haven't bought a single tune from Rhapsody and i don't think it has inspired me to buy anything new. but as a music reporter, i find it's an invaluable tool for researching bands i am covering. you can stream full albums or the top rated tunes of all time by nearly every band i looked for. when i need to learn about a new band, for any reason at all, i log onto Rhapsody and look them up. within 2 hours, i have a pretty solid grasp on their musical history and what they excel at. of course, i have a higher need than most for researching bands' music, so i understand perfectly if others feel it's not worth the monthly fee.
    Permalink posted 06/04/2008
  13. Scotch
    Scotch says I don't believe that it's exclusive, only that they are very close and have agreements. I dug this up, but only skimmed. It seems to indicate that they are still seperate, but pretty tight. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/oct05/10-11MSRealPR.mspx Certainly if I were in your position, I'd subscribe to Rhapsody, too. It makes quite a bit of sense there. And I can see the value in Rhapsody, just not for me, not now. Oh, I already said that...
    Permalink posted 06/04/2008
  14. hesiod
    hesiod says at first I was skeptical about paying and all that but once I started and got a rhapsody mp3 player to where you can take the music with you along with all it's radio channels and personalized radio station, I don't even listen to radio anymore except shoutcast.com station: musicology genre: rock I'm hooked now I'm getting people at work hooked on it buy a subscription compatible player and take all you want with you on your mp3 player.
    Permalink posted 06/04/2008

Comment on this Post

Login using email and password below.

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?
Join MOG. It's Free!

Top Artist Radio

Top Albums

Top Songs

Top Artists From A to Z

Our Daily Picks

RSS

Featured Playlists

All Featured Playlists

© 2006-2010 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved