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Napster Pre-Paid Cards
G4Outcast writes "According to this CNN Money article, Napster will be offering pre-paid cards costing $14.85 at several retail locations. I guess the iTunes gift certificate and allowance idea is catching on."
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The Napster Card will cost $14.85, entitling the user to 15 downloads -- in line with prices of newer rivals -- and will be available at 14,000 locations in mid-November at such major retail chains as Best Buy (BBY: down $1.17 to $53.64, Research, Estimates), CompUSA, Safeway (SWY: down $0.35 to $21.16, Research, Estimates), Rite Aid (RAD: down $0.06 to $5.68, Research, Estimates) and Duane Reade (DRD: down $0.30 to $13.50, Research, Estimates).
It's kind of odd how the stock prices are down for every company that is planning on selling these pre-paid napster cards.
How long will it be until we see Howie Long and Hulk Hogan singing a duet about an online music service?
"A dollar! Why, you can get a song up to 20 minutes long for just NINETY-NINE cents! Just dial 10-10-NAP-STER!"
*bangs head on desk*
I cranked up Kazaa yesterday to see what the numbers looked like. I saw 4.1 million.
Well, back when I used to check in more frequently a few months ago I rarely saw it that high. I tried some searches and it seems it's all more or less back where it was.
So, this shock and awe thing seems like a memory already. I mean what even happened to the first batch. As far as I can the majority settled for a few grand and then a whole bunch decided to fight. Well, where's the shock and awe in that? Obviously people are going to wait to see what happens in the courts. But in the mean time they're going to forget about it.
It would have been one thing if it started as a hundred suits followed by a thousand and then by ten thousand. That would have done something. But this 200 every two months is not all that shocking or awe worthy.
But of course that would also have provoked even more congressional attention. So either way they were fucked which is what evrybody said from the beginning and now it still seems to be true.
The sheer brilliance of iTunes continues to echo across the computer and entertainment industries.
Apple has proven what shareware authors have known for years: good service and convenience are more valuable than the data itself.
Now that there is a valid business model, everybody wants to be as cool as Apple.
Business isn't willing to pay for products, innovation and careers, so we get brands, mortgage commercials and layoffs.
...but shouldn't a gift certificate to steal things be free? :)
~ "When I'm of that age I'm just going to live up a tree."
Sort of depends on what you're trying to do and what your priorities are, right?
:)
I have an interest, but not an overwhelming interest, in downloading free music. My priorities, however, are:
A) Be able to reasonably use the music I get (download to my work system, my notebook, my home desktop; burn CDs; listen on my iPod) and not feel as though I have to go "God damn this DRM!"
B) Get the music I want without having it bundled with crap (requires the ability to purchase songs rather than just albums);
C) Get a single song for a decent price ($.99 is reasonable; $3.49 for a CD of a single isn't);
D) Be able to get the song I want;
E) Be able to get the song I want easily;
F) Be able to get the song I want quickly
G) Reasonable sound quality (which is important, but given that my ears don't seem to have a problem with 128Kbit MP3s isn't really an issue)
Based on these priorities, FOR ME ITMS is a really, really good match. I've not yet felt hampered by its DRM (though admittedly, the first thing I do is burn a CD of my protected AACs and rip it); its prices are reasonable; downloads are wicked-fast; and one of these days I'll be able to access it from work though our password SOCKS proxy. I hope.
Here's an example of what I have to go through right now:
I wanted to get ATB's "Let You Go" yesterday. The first thing I tried was ITMS, but they have no tracks by him; so then I tried Kazaa, where there were three copies of the song, but all downloads were stuck at 'searching for more sources.' Finally, after a thirty minute search on the net I was able to find the MP3. Would I have paid $.99 to get this song from ITMS? In a heartbeat.
And that's why Kazaa is -- again, for me -- a backup to ITMS for any music I *really* like. I still use it for music I essentially get because it's free and wouldn't pay for, but that's less important to me. If I could get all my music from ITMS and could get only porn from Kazaa, I'd still be a happy camper (though with a few less mp3s on my hard drive).
Napster will be offering the public a new, improved failed business plan.
From all I've read, Apple makes very little from the selling of songs. iTunes DOES promote the iPod, which is a cash cow.
If the new (hechem.. fake) Napster is selling songs for about the same price, how are they going to make enough money to stay in business?
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
To make a compilation, or to give as a gift to your bratty nephew because you don't know what kind of heroin induced crap he's listening to this week.
Take your pick.
Most people still identify napster with getting free if not illegal mp3s. I think trying to keep the name was a bad marketing idea. Most people won't be able to figure out why they should buy downloads to something they thought was free. Keep the technology, change the name.
slashdot, news for crazed liberal socialist zealots
I think what we'll see next is a prepaid card that a lot of online retailers choose to accept. Oh wait, that's a check-card. Well, expect to see more teens with more check-cards in the future.
And check this out from the Privacy Policy:
AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION
Napster Client. After you register for the Napster service, you will be prompted to download our Napster Client software application. In order to make sure the Napster Client is functioning at its best, from time to time we may send the Napster Client automatic fixes, support files, etc. Napster employs software that is used to protect the copyrights associated with the tracks you listen to or obtain. In order to make sure that artists and copyright owners receive applicable royalties, this software identifies and counts the songs you have obtained and/or accessed. At the aggregate level (i.e., not tied to the personally identifying information of any user), we use this data to report and pay royalties, for internal analysis and we share this data with certain Partners for their own analysis. We do not share your personally identifying usage data with any third parties. We may use your personally identifying usage data for a variety of service-related purposes.
From time to time, the security on the Napster Client software may be upgraded by our supplier, which is currently Microsoft. Microsoft advises us that for security upgrades, your player will connect to an Internet site operated by Microsoft and will be sent a security file, along with a unique identifier, which does not contain any personal information about you and is not used to personally identify you or track your activities. Microsoft uses this information to prevent security breaches that could affect you. For more information, please feel free to read Microsoft's privacy policy at http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/windowsmedia/soft ware/v7/privacy.asp#_Security_Upgrade_(Individuali zation).
Further, when you access the service through a Partner and download the Napster Client, we will add certain of your registration information (such as your member name and, if applicable, the Partner or promotion through which you registered) to the registry settings on your computer's hard drive, so that we can recognize which of our Partners or other sign-in pages to send to you when you log on to the service.
Microsoft?? No wonder they were less than enthusiastic about iTunes for Windows.
I guess the iTunes gift certificate and allowance idea is catching on.
Gift certificates have been around for as long as I can remember. It's only natural for places of commerce to offer gift certificates nowdays. Why this is being credited to iTunes is rediculous. If a poster had said "Microsoft's gift certificate idea" I would have read 100 posts about it by now. I'd say it's pretty likely that using a gift certificate/allowance would have happened with, or with out iTunes.
"To lead the people, you must walk behind them"
Sorry could not resist.
iTunes is lacking in a brick-and-mortar placement. It might show up on a magazine cover or something, but by Napster having these cards at the checkout of a grocery store line, it opens up marketing potential (people just seeing it helps it be regonized) and also people tend to throw additional things in their cart while they wait to check out. Why do you think they have both sides of the checkout isle lined with various "convenience" items. It isn't uncommon to grab a pack of gum, candy bar, lighter - whatever.
Granted we are talking about ~1 dollar instead of ~15, but still this could definitely be a good business move for Napster.
osViews.com has an interesting survey which asks its readers which of the paid music services people the plan on using to buy legal music. The results are very interesting.
You mean you don't enjoy the hidden software which installs itself and facilitates the targeting of advertisements at you while you browse the web? For me this not only alleviates the guilt of sharing files, but also helps me realise I really do need to order a tiny web cam sold by women in provocative clothing.
Back in the day, before Napster died, you would have to download 3 versions of the same song before you got one that was encoded well and/or a complete song. If you get 15 downloads, what happens when you get a bad mp3? What if its a live version instead of the studio version? If its still a music swapping service, all these are possibilities. I won't pay almost $1 for half a song.
"Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the life-long attempt to acquire it." -Albert Einstein