Napster has gone through so many changes that the mind boggles at whether it can survive another transformation, but this time around the streaming music model is being touted again, with some MP3 downloads tacked on for a monthly subscription plan.
Will it work for Napster? Who knows, but it sounds okay – for US$5 per month users can stream an unlimited amount of music essentially for free, if you write off the five dollars as a buck per song downloaded.
Additional MP3s can be downloaded at their regular price outside the subscription model, but this five bucks per month gives access to 60 commercial-free radio stations and over 1,400 programmed playlists, as well as the ability to listen to any and all songs from Napster’s eight million-plus music library.
The downloaded MP3s can be played on all media players including the iPhone and all iPods, but these are precluded from the mobile version of Napster, according to the website.
This new music service is currently only launching in the US, with Napster.co.uk still offering the £9.95 sterling model.
