Another day, another foolish music download challenger looking to usurp the iTunes monarch and knock the market crown off Apple’s smug-yet-irresistibly-regal head. However, as Napster bravely drains its tankard of subscription-based experience and slaps Apple around the chops with a spiked per-track gauntlet, would iTunes be wise to worry this time around?
Is Napster ready to pose the first serious threat to iTunes? Image: Napster.
In terms of content choice and device compatibility, the answer to that question is most definitely yes, with Napster Inc. this week launching a new digital music store experience put forward as a direct challenger to the dominance of iTunes and lauded as “the world’s biggest MP3 download store.”
Fit to burst with more than 6 million songs, the online store covers content from all four of the music industry’s major players (namely Sony BMG, EMI Group, Warner Music, and Universal Music), along with “thousands of independent labels.”
And, from a playback point of view, where Apple limits iTunes usage to the iPod and iPhone, Napster’s new service delivers MP3-format tracks compatible with most of today’s digital multimedia devices and mobile phone handsets -- which notably includes both the iPod and the iPhone.
Further extending its user appeal and flexibility in the hopes of displacing constrained iTunes customers, Napster is also looking to offer users access to more content without the accompanying shackles of copy protection or digital rights management (DRM), which generally stops iTunes content from being transferred to non-compatible devices.
Of course, content choice and versatile usage, while attractive, will likely both account for very little should Napster’s download portal fail to compete with iTunes on the all-important subject of pricing.
According to Napster, the majority of song tracks available through its new service will cost $0.99 USD each, while complete albums will cost $9.95 USD. Apple’s single track price is also $0.99 USD, but general album prices tend to vary between $7.99 USD and $12.99 USD.
While fairly comparable to the music price points found on iTunes, and potentially (the first) serious contender to Apple’s crown, Napster still has its work cut out if it truly hopes to overhaul iTunes, which currently claims more than 70 percent of all digital music sales and has recently overtaken Wal-Mart as the biggest music retailer in the United States.
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