In an aim for Napster to further compete with iTunes in the UK, they have launched several pre-paid cards for sale in Dixons to purchase songs from its online service. The Pre-paid cards work much like a top-up card for a mobile phone using a scratch-off coating to reveal a PIN to use online. Napster has previously launched its pre-paid cards in the US across a wide range of retail outlets last November, although it is unclear how well they have sold.
They offer a selection of three Pre-paid cards. Two of them are for tracks costing £14.85 for 15 tracks and £56.95 for 60 tracks. The third one costs £25.95 for three months subscription. These cards will also go on sale in PC World, The Link and Currys in November.
Napster expects a strong demand for these cards during the build up to Christmas as well as opening up its service to a wide audience. Unlike paying for music directly online, these Pre-paid cards can be purchased without a credit card music like purchasing a CD in a music shop and can even be given be given to someone as a gift.
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Featuring the familiar Napster cat logo, the plastic card closely resembles a credit card. A scratch-off surface conceals a PIN that music fans can use to activate credits for permanent downloads and subscriptions from the Napster service. "The launch of pre-paid cards in the UK is a major development in the evolution of the online music market," said Napster vice-president and UK general manager Leanne Sharman. "Our partnership with Dixons Group broke the mould and gave online music a high street presence for the first time; now the introduction of pre-paid cards takes this one step further and increases accessibility to Napster. With the retail strength of the Dixons chain behind us, we anticipate strong demand over the holiday season and in the build up to Christmas." "Pre-paid cards are a great innovation for the music industry and open up Napster to music fans of all ages," said John Clare, Dixons Group chief executive. "Napster is a hugely credible, innovative service with mass market appeal and we believe pre-paid cards will encourage and accelerate further adoption." |
The only drawback I find with these cards is the cost. At the time of writing, it is about $1.80 to the £1, which means that each track still costs about 80% more than the US Napster and still about 20% more than iTunes in the UK. As a result, I doubt that many consumers would get pre-paid cards to get albums online since the consumer could just as easily pop into a music shop, get the Album CD much cheaper, with better sound quality and no time spent going online to download the tracks first. However, for singles and more difficult to find songs, pre-paid cards may be a better solution, particularly for those who do not have a credit card or refuse to use it online.
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Source: Music Industry News Network
