NY Times: Can Price Cuts Save Napster?

$5 Per Month

Will $5 a month work for music subscriptions when $13 a month failed?

SAUL HANSELL blogs in THE NEW YORK TIMES that "BEST BUY, which bought the NAPSTER service last fall, is introducing a new version with a great deal more value than its predecessor. Now for $5 a month, you receive the right to download any five songs in mp3 format. In addition, you can listen to any of seven million songs anytime, on demand, on your computer.

"We’re saying 'Come for the MP3s and stay for NAPSTER,' said NAPSTER CEO CHRIS GOROG.

"Until now, NAPSTER charged $12.95 per month to listen to music on a computer. You could download tracks, but all used digital rights management so you couldn’t play them if you stopped paying your bills. And you couldn’t play them at all on an iPOD. The mp3 files in the new service have no such restrictions.

"The new plan from NAPSTER is a sign that the music industry is becoming more flexible in its pricing. Indeed, the new NAPSTER offer seems to be rather attractive, for someone who is at least a moderate music fan."

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