Napster Offers 6 Million DRM-Free MP3s

The music service's massive new DRM-free catalog puts it leagues ahead of both AmazonMP3 and iTunes, the former leaders in DRM-free music.

Making good on the promise it made earlier this year to deliver DRM-free MP3s, Napster launched its new Napster Store on Tuesday, which it claims is the largest of its kind in the world. Without DRM, the technology that limits how users can share and play music, its MP3 downloads will be compatible with nearly every type of media player, including the iPod and iPhone.

Although its promise of 6 million tracks for download puts it roughly on par with iTunes’ DRM-protected offerings, making those tracks available without DRM undoubtedly makes Napster the largest DRM-free retailer. By contrast, iTunes offers about 2 million songs in its DRM-free “iTunes Plus” format, and Amazon’s completely DRM-free catalog includes roughly 3 million tracks.

Keeping with the industry standard, individual songs cost 99 cents apiece, while most full albums go for $9.95. The MP3 downloads are encoded at a high-quality 256 kbps bit rate, and include high-resolution album art.

Napster will continue to offer its all-you-can-eat-style subscription service, which runs between $12.95 and $14.95 a month depending on options.