XM, Napster Forge Alliance

NAPSTER and XM SATELLITE RADIO have rolled out a beta version of their XM + NAPSTER INTEGRATED MUSIC SERVICE, which allows users to access, purchase and download music that they heard on XM. The service, which allows users to stream over 70 XM music channels online, seamlessly links XM subscribers to NAPSTER to instantly find songs played live on the air. The software also allows listeners to build playlists, get in-depth information about artists, and discover new music through customized music recommendations provided by Napster's programmers.

It takes the promotional impact of radio and puts it on steroids.

"XM + NAPSTER takes XM to a new level in terms of exposing people to music and enabling them to buy the music," said HUGH PANERO, XM President/CEO. "It takes the promotional impact of radio and puts it on steroids. XM + NAPSTER greatly enhances the discovery aspect of XM by letting people instantly purchase and download the music they hear on XM RADIO ONLINE from NAPSTER's catalog, dig deeper into artists' digital music collections and use NAPSTER's programming expertise to discover related artists and genres. It's a 360-degree music experience."

Songs and albums purchased from XM + Napster can be played on a variety of portable MP3 players. Upcoming XM/MP3 players will let subscribers listen to XM live when the players are docked in the car or at home, mark the titles of songs played on XM for easy reference in XM + Napster, and also store content.

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