Napster

DMW Vlog: Napster COO Chris Allen On The New MP3 Store

Authored by Jay Baage on May 20, 2008 - 4:30pm.

DMW's Jay Baage interviews Christopher Allen, COO, Napster, regarding the launch on Tuesday of the company's new MP3 store with 6 million tracks from major and independent labels. In the interview, Allen also talks about his views on piracy, what the consumer is willing to pay (he is not willing to budge on its 99-cent per song pricing) and what he believes is the future of the music business.

Napster Launches MP3 Store with 6 Million Tracks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 20, 2008 - 9:06am.

Los Angeles - Napster (NASD: NAPS) on Tuesday announced the launch of its new, DRM-free MP3 store, which it claims is 50% larger than any similar store, at 6 million tracks, with the largest major label MP3 catalog and the largest library of independent music. "Music fans have spoken and it's clear they need the convenience, ease of use and broad interoperability of the DRM-free MP3 format, and they want to be able to find both major label artists and independent music all in one place. Napster is delighted to deliver all of this and more with the world's largest MP3 catalog," said Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog.

tags: Music | Indie | DRM | Napster | Amazon MP3 |

AT&T Mobile TV Coming in May; Mobile Music Services Debut

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 27, 2008 - 12:54pm.

San Antonio, Texas - AT&T (NYSE: T) said on Thursday that it will launch its delayed mobile TV service with partner MediaFLO USA, a unit of Qualcomm (NASD: QCOM), in May. The service will initially support two handsets: the LG Vu and Samsung Access. Separately, AT&T launched two new mobile music applications, and said it will expand its Napster Mobile (NASD: NAPS) over-the-air downloads. The company now offers mSpot's Make-UR-Tones and Remix, which lets users create custom ringtones from their phones, and download songs from their PCs to their phones, respectively. AT&T also said its Napster Mobile service will be available to more than 12 million customers, beginning this summer.

tags: Mobile | Mobile TV | TV | Music | AT&T | Napster | mSpot |

Artist Managers Consider Suing Over Unpaid P2P Settlements

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 29, 2008 - 9:19am.

New York - Managers of top recording artists are considering legal action against major record labels, saying that Universal, Warner Music (NYSE: WMG) and EMI are dragging their feet in distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from copyright infringement lawsuits against file-sharing firms like Napster and Kazaa, the New York Post reported. "Artist managers and lawyers have been wondering for months when their artists will see money from the copyright settlements and how it will be accounted for," attorney John Branca, who has represented Korn and The Rolling Stones, told the Post. "Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don't get paid soon."

Napster, Ericsson Launch Napster Mobile Service in Chile

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2008 - 12:53pm.

Los Angeles - Napster (NASD: NAPS) and wireless partner Ericsson on Monday announced the launch of the Napster Mobile music service in Chile with wireless network operator Entel PCS, marking its first availability in Latin America. Entel PCS claims over 5.5 million subscribers.

Napster Mobile Service Launches with Telecom Italia

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2008 - 1:19pm.

Los Angeles - Napster (NASD: NAPS) and Ericsson on Monday announced the launch of the Napster Mobile music service with Telecom Italia, which claims over 35 million subscribers. The premium service offers a catalog of more than 5 million songs, thanks in part to a raft of new mobile licensing deals announced by Sony Ericsson today.

tags: Mobile | Music | Ericsson | Napster |

Napster Music Download Store Going MP3-Only

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 7, 2008 - 11:30am.

Los Angeles - Digital music service provider Napster (NASD: NAPS) announced on Monday that it will begin selling songs exclusively in the MP3 format beginning in the second quarter.

tags: Music | Microsoft | DRM | Napster | Retail |

Napster Increases Music Subscription Service Prices by 30%

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 4, 2008 - 11:52am.

Los Angeles - Napster (NASD: NAPS) has increased the subscription fees for its digital music service by about 30%, from $9.95 per month to $12.95 per month, the company said in an e-mail to subscribers.

tags: Music | DRM | Napster | Retail |

Social Network Cornerworld to Offer Napster Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2007 - 12:36pm.

Dallas - Cornerworld, a business management and social networking platform, announced on Monday that it has partnered with Napster (NASD: NAPS) to offer full access to the company's catalog of more than 5 million music files. The deal is an extension of a deal that gave Napster the non-exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute to its subscribers original content created by Cornerworld members.

AT&T to Sell Samsung Phone That Supports Napster Mobile

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2007 - 1:00pm.

San Antonio, Texas - AT&T (NYSE: T) on Monday announced plans to launch the Samsung SLM, the first handset to offer AT&T subscribers access to Napster's (NASD: NAPS) mobile digital music store, on Nov. 23. With Napster Mobile, users can purchase and download songs to their phones for $1.99 each, or purchase five-song bundles for $7.49. AT&T also offers a mobile song download store powered by eMusic. The company will offer the SLM for $149, after a two-year contract and $50 rebate.

tags: Mobile | Music | AT&T | Napster |

Napster Reports Narrower Q2 Loss; Loses 20,000 Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 2, 2007 - 7:49am.

Los Angeles - Digital music service Napster (NASD: NAPS) this week reported a narrower loss in its fiscal second quarter, while revenue grew by 24% to $31.6 million.

AT&T to Offer Over-the-Air Song Downloads From Napster Mobile

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2007 - 1:22pm.

San Antonio, Texas - Wireless network operator AT&T on Monday announced an extension of its relationship with Napster, and beginning next month will offer subscribers access to over-the-air downloads of songs from the company's catalog of over five million tracks.

tags: Mobile | Music | AT&T | Napster |

Napster Launches Web-based Version of Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 16, 2007 - 2:49pm.

Los Angeles - Napster on Tuesday launched a new version of its digital music subscription service that does not require the download of special client software, and instead lets users access their music from any computer via a Web-based interface. Napster 4.0 is compatible with PC, Mac and Linux platforms, and Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. Downloading of songs, burning CDs and transferring music to portable players must still be done through the downloadable Napster client. Napster, which says it counts 770,000 subscribers, charges between $10 and $15 for its subscription service.

tags: Music | Napster |

Survey: File-Sharing Down, Legal Music Services Gain Among U.S. Teens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 11, 2007 - 9:25am.

Minneapolis, Minn. - A recent survey of 980 U.S. teens conducted by Piper Jaffray found that 64% said they download music illegally, down from 72% a year ago, while 36% said they purchase music from online services, up from 28% last year.

Music Publishers Settle With Bertelsmann Over Napster Investment

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 31, 2007 - 6:21am.

Washington - The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), a trade association that represents over 700 U.S. music publishers, announced on Friday that it has settled its lawsuit against German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, over the company's investment in the Napster file-sharing service in 2000.

RealNetworks Creates Branded Rhapsody Music Store for Best Buy

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 16, 2007 - 11:02am.

Los Angeles - Electronics and media retailer Best Buy has partnered with RealNetworks to create a branded version of its Rhapsody digital music service, to replace a similar co-branded service created with Napster, Variety reported.

Napster Mobile Launches in Japan With NTT DoCoMo

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 12, 2007 - 5:02pm.

Los Angeles - Napster said on Thursday that its unlimited, over-the-air music subscription service has launched in Japan with carrier NTT DoCoMo. Napster Mobile is compatible with DoCoMo's line of 904i handsets, and allows customers to pay for music directly through their mobile bills.

Swisscom Mobile Taps Napster, Ericsson for Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 5, 2007 - 3:06pm.

Los Angeles - Napster and mobile developer Ericsson announced on Tuesday an agreement with Swisscom Mobile, whereby their co-developed Napster Mobile will become the Swiss carrier's exclusive mobile music service. Napster Mobile's more than 3 million tracks will be available for streaming and download by Swisscom's 4.6 million subscribers.

Live Nation and Napster Should Merge

Authored by Scott Goldberg on May 24, 2007 - 2:22pm.
Shaq-less Kobe Like Napster-less Live Nation Note: Ticketmaster could’ve replaced Live Nation, and Rhapsody could’ve replaced Napster in the headline.  The point is that concert promotion companies and digital music services need to join forces.  Subscribers to Napster and Rhapsody (and others) speak of a decent experience and all-you-can-eat fare that satisfies their music appetites like a Snicker bar.  But eventually it’s clear that something is missing, the way Kobe needs Shaq, or Apple needs Steve Jobs.  It’s hard to think of a pancake stack without syrup, and concert promoters are missing the boat by lacking a music downloading service, just as music downloading services are missing the boat without a concert ticket purchasing option.