Roxio has aquired the assets of file sharing pioneer Napster a while back. The company hopes to use the established Napster brand in its own legal music downloading service and today the company disclosed more information regarding the new service that it is planning to launch by Christmas 2003.
Napster 2.0 as the new service is called will have to compete with Buymusic.com and Apple iTunes, services that do not require a monthly free and from which users can purchase individual songs. "Napster 2.0 will allow users access to up to 500,000 tracks any way they choose; by paying for individual downloads, by monthly subscription, via Internet radio, or in any combination", said Mr. Gorog, CEO of Roxio.
The company hopes to be able to get consumers ready for a new era, where it's normal to pay for music, instead of downloading pirated songs from filesharing networks. "Consumers want flexibility, and for the first time they will not have to choose between downloads or subscriptions. Napster 2.0 will allow music fans to do both, putting the power where it belongs, in the hands of consumers", adds Mr. Gorog.
Source: Roxio
