This should be interesting

[BarTopDancer]

Napster is offering unlimited downloads for $15 a month. They are taking on iTunes store which offers downloads for $.99 a song. They have a special section talking about how Apple won't allow them to be compatible but unless I'm missing something I don't see why you can't import the music into iTunes. My first thought was you download music directly into your MP3 player but further reading dispells this theory.

Very curious to see what Apple does... It would be very cool if they offered some sort of unlimited download service for a monthly fee.

[blueerica]

Oh, I would be SO down with THAT!

[BarTopDancer]

Oh, I would be SO down with THAT!

YOU?! Download music? Neeever..............

[FEJ]

Me too..but I doubt it....
I still prefer the iPod over any of the othere players that I have seen.
If you read the fine print, "*It is necessary to maintain a Napster subscription in order to continue access to songs downloaded through the Napster service."

So if you stop using the service, you lose access to the songs....so I gues you could spend $15, fill your player, then quit...

seems like a lot of trouble. for the amount I download, Ill pay the $0.99 a song.

[blueerica]

Yeah, i don't like that. I was just reading their site, and saw that little thing. Chances are, they want me to keep it in their little player. YUCK.

However, I would pay 20, make that even 30/mo for unlimited downloading of songs. Apple would be so sorry if they kept things the way they are.

That being said, I'll keep my .99 a song, and keep them forever.

[BarTopDancer]

So there is an additional subscription on top of the $15 to-go fee? Hummm... I don't get how this works. I want to, but at the same time I don't care enough to spend the time reading the site. So conflicted. I love my iPod, there's a reason I bought one to begin with and it wasn't to be a "fashion accessory".

[FEJ]

Yeah, i don't like that. I was just reading their site, and saw that little thing. Chances are, they want me to keep it in their little player. YUCK.

However, I would pay 20, make that even 30/mo for unlimited downloading of songs. Apple would be so sorry if they kept things the way they are.

That being said, I'll keep my .99 a song, and keep them forever.

yeah. a lot of that will come down to record companies/royalties also.

[blueerica]

I realize that I need to clarify my earlier statement.

Apple keeping things the way they are now is fine.

Apple, if it charged anything less than 30-40/mo for unlimited would be sorry, because I can download an awful freaking lot. I totally misspoke earlier. I meant this: "If Apple were to do that and continue it, they would be very sorry!"

Make more sense now?

I need to make sure I have a brain before I type from now on..

[Cadaverous Pallor]

So there is an additional subscription on top of the $15 to-go fee? No, no. You pay $15 a month for the access to their library. If you decide to quit paying $15 a month, you can't listen to the stuff you downloaded anymore. You lose them. So all that money is down the drain unless you stay with them forever.

I predict they aren't going to make any money with this - people are going to want to keep their songs.

[BarTopDancer]

Oh wow. That blows big cookies. :rolleyes:

Thanks CP!

Afterthought: You can't just burn your stuff to a CD? (Yea, royal PITA but a way to keep it).

[Kevy Baby]

I did a little research (out of curiosity). Here's what I found:

Expanding on what CP said, another way to look at it is: with iTunes, you BUY the songs (just like we used to when we purchased a 45 record). With Napster TO GO, you are renting the music (like selecting to play a song on a juke box - except in this case you are paying a monthly subscription to listen to all the songs on the jukebox as often as you want) and can only play it on certain MP3 players. Without getting into major code-writing, you cannot burn an MP3 rented from Napster To Go onto a CD. You have to use a client downloaded from Napster to manage putting songs onto your MP3 player.

From one story I read on the topic:Napster to Go uses Microsoft Corp.'s Janus digital rights management technology, which can signal compatible player devices if a subscriber's account has lapsed. If it has, the music goes away.

Note that Napster DOES have the ability to PURCHASE music. However, they still charge a monthly subscription fee just to use their service, then you have to pay to buy the music.

Without getting into a side-by-side comparison, it looks as though iTunes and Napster have the same basic song lists.

One other comparison: Napster uses MP3 technology while iTunes uses AAC technology. AAC is a MUCH better (and lossless) compression technology with a much better sound than MP3. While I will note that I am a HUGE fan of Apple, this opinion is shared by many educated music and audio technology aficionados and professionals, regardless of "platform preference. (Also, you can choose to encode your tracks to MP3 if you prefer.)