Napster Relaunches as a Web-based Service

Digital music service Napster is relaunching itself as a Web-based music service which enables customers to play their music on any computer without additional software.

The digital music service Napster is relaunching itself as a Web-based music service that enables its users to tap into their music from any Web-enabled computer without having to download and install client software. Dubbed “Napster 4.0,” the idea is to make Napster’s music service more flexible by being compatible with a wide range of Internet-enabled devices—with the hopes that, in turn, will attract more paying customers. Napster also hopes the move will appeal to consumer electronics manufacturers looking to offer direct integration with a music service, as well as third-party Web sites looking to offer music capabilities.

Under the new system, Napster users would still pay a monthly subscription fee (ranging from $10 to $15 a month) to access music from the company’s library of over 5 million tracks. The difference is that now they can tap into that music—along with their playlists, radio stations, and Napster’s music charts—from any Windows, Mac, or Linux system running Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox 1.5+, and Flash Player 8+. Users will also be able to access Napster’s track recommendation service (based on music users have said they enjoy). However, if users still want to be able to load music onto a portable music player, they’ll need to use Napster’s desktop application, which is only available for Windows XP/Vista, and which doesn’t support the most popular line of music players on the planet: the Apple iPod.

Napster is hopeful that it will be able to offer DRM-free music in the future—EMI and Universal are already offering DRM-free tracks via iTunes (in EMI’s case), Amazon’s online music store, and other outlets. With DRM-free music, Napster would be able to offer at least Windows-using iPod users an option for moving music onto their portable devices. Until then, the company plainly hopes that being able to tune into streaming music from a wide variety of Web browsers will encourage its 770,000 or so subscribers to stick with the service.