Napster is back and while it may be fee-paying, it’s still a far cry from iTunes-like practices of paying per song.
In a press release dated for tomorrow, May 19, Napster announced that for just $5 a month, subscribers will get unlimited, streaming access to the Napster library, which boasts 7 million tracks from both major and independent labels. Along with your unlimited streaming, you’ll also get five “unrestricted” songs each month that you can burn, play and transfer as many times as you want.
Throwing in "60 commercial-free radio stations and more than 1,400 expertly programmed playlists," this is a pretty awesome deal for those of us who spend a large part of our lives hooked up to the web. Sure five songs a month isn't great but if you're online for several hours a day, every single day, this seems like a no brainer.
This whole thing brings us right back to Microsoft’s claims that it will cost you thousands to fill your iPod with iTunes versus the $14.99 a month it’ll cost you for Zune Pass. In other words, the benefits of a subscription-based service rather than a pay-per-tune service. Assuming we’re all legal, law abiding citizens who pay for the music (we’re giving you the benefit of the doubt here), what kind of service do you use? Are you an iTunes fan or do you prefer these all-you-can-eat services? Let us know in the comments below!
Stay away from the breadsticks. They fill you up faster.
I'm for the open subscriptions as well. You may not own the song but you still have instant access to it as long as you keep the service. Sure there's songs you'll want to buy but a lot of songs loose their novelty.
So most of the songs downloaded will be deleted after we listen to them? That's a great service.
It also sounds a lot better than itunes. Let's do the math. $5 for 5 songs you can actually keep. 5 songs from itunes at 99 cents each will cost 4.95. That's a whole lot cheaper than itunes, right? You only loose 5 cents.
My pirate ship seems to get songs at the lowest price though: free.
You're not downloading the content, you're streaming it. You can't delete something you never had to begin with. You're essentially paying $5 for unlimited streaming and get to download five songs as a bonus.
Who said you download the music? You get to hear all the songs you want at any time for the subscription fee + commercial free radio stations, which is really cool.
where is the $5
I'm also suspicious about the breadth of offerings from these services considering I only listen to melodic death metal...
Wow...did we book the same cruise? These pirate ship cruise deals do seem to offer the most substantial savings.
did someone make a mistake, or do i have to go to specific link or maybe this is not available yet...
I currently use Pandora for all my music needs. It works for me because I'm not someone who has headphones attached to my ears while away from a PC.
did someone make a mistake, or do i have to go to specific link or maybe this is not available yet...
ummmm......
I'm all for getting free unlimited streaming of songs with the purchase of 5 tracks, but being locked to a computer and Internet connection doesn't sound very practical. I mean, I can't install napster software on my work computer, nor can I bring in a personal computer, nor would I have access to the internet if I did, so basically, I can't use this service during the day when I might actually want to do so. In the end it sounds like I'd still be spending money on individual songs and only streaming content at nights or on the weekends (assuming I'm not out doing something).
Awsome! This is a pricing model I've vocalized on the web. I'm sure I'm not the only guy with that idea but I'm just glad its available. I was paying $15/mo for Rhapsody, only like two months after the initial subscription and decided it wasn't worth it cuz I didn't get to keep anything for my money. Yay!
I quit using pirate music for the same reason I quit using pirate software... too many "stowaways".