Napster relaunching, again: $5 per month streaming plus five free downloads
Like subscription music services? You know, like Microsoft's Zune Pass where you pay $14.99 monthly and keep up to 10 tracks each month forever. Sure, renting music at $180 per year can be a drag for those stuck in a Classic Rock phase, but for those who like to explore, what if we told you that Napster was about to cut that price to $60 per year and let you keep a handful of tracks forever on the side? Well, it's true. Starting tonight, Napster will unleash its new $5 per month deal that gives subscribers unlimited, on-demand streaming access to Napster's full library of music stuffed with 7 million tracks from major and independent publishers. To sweeten the deal, Best Buy's music service will even let you keep up to five unrestricted "CD quality" MP3 tracks each month. Honestly, what's keeping you? Wouldn't you rather have this than a $5 Mocha Frappuccino? Full press release after the break.
Napster Unveils Latest Digital Music Service
Napster Offers MP3s With its Popular On-Demand Streaming Service for One Low Monthly Price
LOS ANGELES – MAY 19, 2009 – Napster, the pioneer of digital music, today unveiled its latest music offering combining the freedom of MP3s with the discovery benefits of a high-quality streaming music service – all for one low price. For as little as $5 per month, Napster users get five unrestricted MP3 downloads, and unlimited access to Napster's award-winning on-demand music streaming service.
Music fans now have the best of both worlds: MP3s to keep forever, play, transfer and burn as much as they like, as well as unlimited music listening from Napster's catalog of more than seven million tracks. "There's no need to settle for 30-second clips to decide if you want to buy a song," said Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster. "For five bucks now you can have access to our entire music catalog and get five MP3s to add to your permanent collection."
Napster users can now:
• Get five MP3s each month to download, with their choice of songs from the Napster MP3 library that covers all types of music from all the major labels and includes the largest catalog of independent artists available.
• Listen to any track, as often as they like, in CD quality from Napster's catalog of more than seven million songs.
• Choose from more than 60 commercial-free radio stations and more than 1,400 expertly programmed playlists.
• Discover new music and artists through personalized recommendation tools.
• Enjoy the top hits from more than 50 years of Billboard charts. Want to know what was popular when you graduated high school? Now you can.
• Play MP3s on any MP3 player, including iPod®, iPhone® and music-enabled MP3 mobile phones.
"A decade ago, Napster revolutionized the way people discovered and enjoyed music," said Julie Owen, senior vice president of entertainment for Best Buy. "The brand that started it all is shaking things up again with this new service that provides music lovers continued access to the entertainment experience they've come to expect of Napster and Best Buy."
The new Napster offering is now available for U.S. residents at www.napster.com.
