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Napster - Music Subsciptions Are Overrated
kevinbr writes "Napster has concluded that PC-based music subscriptions aren't a growth business ... because it's retreating from its core business. 'Six months ago the subscription music service had 830,000 subs, three months ago it had 770,000, and now it has 750,000. The company says that last drop was expected, because kids stop using the service during the summer. But it's not as if those numbers will swell this fall: NAPS projects only a 4% revenue increase for next quarter. So instead of talking up its core subscription business, Napster is now pinning its hopes on the mobile industry. Music on your cellphone may one day be a real business, but hard to see why Napster is going to be the company that will capitalize on it.'"
Uh, no, sorry. You pay for the files you buy from iTMS only once. Yes, the majority of the files have DRM, but it's really light-weight DRM that doesn't get in the way most of the time. Apple even encourages users to backup their purchased files.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
I don't want to sound like a broken record but... imeem.com has gone one step further than #1 - centralized database *and* centralised data - all the mp3s get uploaded to the site and are instantly accessible to anyone else on imeem. as for whether it's popular, it's top 100 on Alexa but we all know those stats mean nothing.
The OP is perhaps mystified because he is expressing an opinion from 2005 as shown here. Clearly mobile is where the money is, as Steve Jobs can tell you. Their English compatibles page is not too exciting but take a look at NTT DoCoMo's lineup (Japanese). DoCoMo sells advanced phones in Japan with Napster built in. Actually, the brand seems on that page to be "Napster x Tower Records" which will make you either gleeful or sick.. like the RIAA is selling Napster or vice versa. Phones providing unlimited songs it seems are made by several manufacturers (list).
There are two more data points to note.
1. The monthly flat fee format is very popular at least in Japan. In particular, ring tones are a big business, but also all kinds of other media like games, weather reports, and what looks compelling to me is NaviTime which tells you the combination of train and other transportation to get you to your destination in the shortest time. Flat fees though are usually I think 300 yen per month though (for a subscription to downloadable Java games from a game manufacturer). Perhaps you can get more money if bundled when you buy the phone.
2. The HSDPA high speed data network rollout is marketed to people as the way to deliver songs to your phone. Personally I wanted to go to the Internet at high speed but it turns out (at least until sometime in the future) that this is only within the carrier's network, perhaps only to registered sites. So a Napster-like unlimited service is very useful for HSDPA rollout especially for carriers (all of them) who just want to stuff things down your throat and could care less about connecting you the rest of the world.
I should note two things: it may be possible to get out of the network but you will go broke, and also the docomo person told me they might come out with a pcmcia card or some such that could do it. Anyway I'm waiting for the model supposed to come out this month or so that can also do roaming (World Wind service) in the U.S. (the last country to be added it seems).
Oh wait, you don't have to play it on the computers on the same network. You can register up to 5 computers to your iTunes account. The restriction of playback on the same network is only for streaming. Moreover, with iTunes Plus -- DRMless AAC files -- there is no restriction at all.
Gee, what can you expect from someone who called himself Loco. It makes no difference whether you type your post on a Mac and listen to music on iPods. Being a Mac user doesn't change the fact that you are ignorant.
The original Napster didn't overestimate the value of its brand. Roxio, which bought the name from the sharing people overestimated the value of the brand. The people called "Napster" now have no relation to the "Napster" that allowed music trading.
The cake is a pie