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Best Buy and Napster: Dumb 2.0

Started by mathewi · 9 months ago

So Best Buy is acquiring Napster, the struggling music subscription service, for $121-million. That’s a nice premium for Napster’s shareholders — about 85 per cent over what the shares were trading for before the offer — but they are likely to be ... Continue reading »

4 comments

  • ianbetteridge

    9 months ago

    I don't think it's quite right to blame resistance to *streaming* for Napster's failure.

    I don't know if it's different in the US, but in the UK Napster has had a download store for years. However it used "PlaysForSure" DRM - so it would only play the songs you'd downloaded as long as you had a subscription. And it's the public's resistance to that "all you can eat for a monthly fee, until you stop paying" model which has stymied Napster.

    Of course, not being able to play any songs you buy/rent from it on the Number 1 portable music player doesn't help either... :)
    reply
  • mathewi

    9 months ago

    That's a good point, Ian -- perhaps it's not fair to blame a dislike of streaming for *all* of Napster's failure so far. I still think it has a lot to do with it, but you are right that DRM has had a lot to do with it as well.
    reply
  • mdoeff

    9 months ago

    I don't know if I'd describe Napster as a "streaming" music service. For example, Napster lets you download tracks to an MP3 player (sadly, not an iPod) and play music on that device as long as you continue to pay your monthly subscription fee. I don't think of that as streaming.
    reply
  • mathewi

    9 months ago

    You're right, Mike -- streaming isn't quite the right word. Although Napster offers streaming too, and "on demand radio stations" and so on, it offers downloads as well, although as you mentioned I believe they expire if you stop paying. I should have said "subscription" music services, I guess.
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