Quakester2000 and GristyMcFisty both reported to us that Roxio's
Napster will announce a partnership this week with the retail chain Dixons in
the UK. By teaming up with the stores Roxio hopes to increase its market
profile ahead of the anticipated British launch of the music service this
summer:
 Napster presumably hopes to profit from such a deal through
in-store promos and pre-loaded links to its website on PCs sold by Dixons.
Dixons may use Napster to help push not only PCs but digital music players
compatible with the online service.
It could even offer music itself through a re-branded
Napster front end. Napster has shown itself to be keen on such a deal,
which mirrors HP's tie-in with Apple's iTunes Music Store.
Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster parent Roxio, last month
said the song service was still on track to launch "before the end of
summer", despite difficulties experienced in licensing the content it
needs from the major labels.
That launch will pitch the company not only against a
number of home-grown services, but the likes of Apple and Sony, which will
open the doors on its Connect online store in
June. |
Source: The Register
