Napster revamps music website
2006-05-02 08:40
Los Angeles - Napster Inc. have launched a revamped music website that allows limited free, on-demand access to more than two million songs.
Visitors to the site can listen to many songs five times before having to buy a copy for 99 cents or subscribe to Napster's premium service.
The free service is supported by advertising on the Napster player. Songs purchased individually or as part of a subscription can be downloaded and transferred to portable devices.
As part of the move, Napster will add two new services.
NapsterLinks will allow users to attach song links to e-mails, instant messages, blogs and websites.
The other service is Narchive, a partly user-generated feature that includes personal stories, photos and other items contributed by listeners. Also offered are music history and material from music writers.
'Power in the hands of fans'
"Napster was born of the idea of eliminating all barriers to discovering, enjoying and sharing music and of putting the power in the hands of fans," Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog said in a statement.
Shares of Napster fell two cents to $4.61 at the end of regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market but gained four cents in after-hours trading.
Analysts viewed the offering favourably but said the key will be how many new members the service can add.
- AP