apple news/media reports
02/20/2004, 7:50am, EST
Friday, February 20th
Napster faces plenty of problems
Napster had struck a deal with HP shortly before its launch that would have seen the music service arrive pre-installed on HP computers, but "HP suddenly -- and without explanation -- returned Napster's $250,000 check and canceled the agreement," reports The San Jose Mercury News. HP, of course, would later partner with Apple. This is just one of the blows that Napster 2.0 has suffered since its inception. The company lost $15 million in its first two months of operation, has seen several executives depart, and the latest data shows Napster 2.0 only holding 12 percent of the online music business, compared to Apple's 56 percent.
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Everyone else has had the kiss of death with the software
(RIPE Wannabee)
iTMS is the new music for the people. Legal downloads without all the bullshit. (The RIAA still sucks ass because of what they do to artists, but until we can find a way to bypass the RIAA without breaking the law, iTMS will have to do.)
I've tried and like both services actually... Napster subscription of $10 per month to listen to full versions of over 500K songs is great. Excellent choice at work where I have to use a PC. I've found lots of great new music for the price of one album. To do the same on iTunes you'd have to pay $500,000, and yes... I understand... then I'd own those tracks... but I don't want to own all those tracks for $500,000... I want to pay only $10... so don't just drink in Steve's kool aid without thinking it through. Subscriptions are not so bad.
Everyone knows that "execs leaving" is a another way of saying... "execs were going to be fired" so execs leaving/cost cutting/whatever you want to call it, is not always a bad thing.