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Review : Napster 2.0 Online Music Store
Last night I got an email notice saying that I can now check out the new Napster 2.0 music store. This is not Napster of old but is a Microsoft Windows PC only Windows Media Player 9 extension service. The screenshots on Napster's press room do not really illustrate it's integration with Windows Media Player 9 and Windows XP Media Edition.
Calling a pay for play music store Napster is like using Chairman Mao to sell two hundred dollar basketball shoes. It is just not doing the brand justice. It has nothing in common with the first Napster except the name. This software has payment and copy usage controls built in from it's DNA. This is the "Napster" that corporate rock wants you to use. It is free to sign up and 99 cents per single song and $9.99 US per full album.
Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing.net said of it :
WMA + Win-DRM = ouch. Like a waiter serving you a hot, frothy, mouthwatering delicious cappuccino you've been craving all day - then, peeing in it.
That having been said it really is a better than average online music store just keep in mind that it is an legit online music store that is branding itself on the namesake days of digital pirate yore.
It is sort of like adding the iTunes Music Store built in functionality to Windows Media Player. Napster 2.0 music store is same price as BuyMusic.com and Apple iTunes and i look forward to the day that they get into a price war.
If you pre-registered for the service you automatically get five free download credits and I had a bit of fun picking out five songs to download. Of could I could have just used Kazaa Lite and gotten them for free but I am not adverse to paying for music. I just hate that some of the money that I lay down goes to the pockets of the Corporate Rock bastards at the RIAA. I am more likely to buy used CDs than shop online but I would much rather download a album for ten bucks than pay $17.95 at the CD store.
Signing up for the service was comparable to Apple's iTunes and there was less paperwork than BuyMusic.com. Once you put in your name, credit card number and rights to your immortal soul you can then browse the library of music, preview a streaming half a minute sample and then buy it. It is automatically downloaded and added to your Windows Media Library much like Apple iTunes. I really prefer using this over BuyMusic.com which can be a pain to set up and download multiple tracks.
There is lots of tunes in Napster 2.0. More than iTunes but it is hard to search and find. In an hour of using it I had yet to find a place where I could search for the name of an artist without having to go through categories and visually scanning. The interface is much better than BuyMusic.com but Apple is still easier to use. Usability is damn important since the quality and file format is the same as BuyMusic.com. Apple is doing there own thing with their own file formats which is cool but you can not play your Napster 2.0 music on an iPod and vice versa.
There is much more music than BuyMusic.com and iTunes. The selection is about as much music as a good music store much more than the lame music department at Wal-Mart.
I think that the competition should be good for Apple and the competition should eventually speed up the amount of available music. Just like Buy Music.com Napster sells Windows Media Player 9 Audio files with copy restricted DRM. You can play them on one PC and you can burn them to a CD and copy them to a DRM Windows Media Audio compatible digital device but you can not directly make Mp3s from them or email your songs to your friends. This can be a bit of a pain considering I have my PC at home and my PC at work and I would have to buy a song in both places. Or just burn it to a CD then mp3 or Minidisc. Apple has almost identical DRM restrictions on iTunes and I can live with it.
That is just what I did. After downloading my five free songs I burned a CD than ripped to Sony Minidisc and standard MP3s. I pick my five songs from Alien Ant Farm, KMFDM, U.N.K.L.E. and The Gorillaz.
Hypothetically it would work over a dial up modem but you really need a broadband Internet connection to really do it justice. It clocked in at over 300kps over my cable modem and a full song downloaded in under ten seconds.
The Napster brand is now owned by Roxio the CD burning software maker. They are partnering with Gateway, Microsoft, Samsung and Yahoo so this will probably have more exposure than BuyMusic.com and iTunes for Windows. Samsung is now making a spiffy hard drive based music player YP-910GS Samsung Napster Digital Audio Player (HDD) with a big old Napster logo on it. I am happy with my Minidisc but I would probably choose one of these over an iPod.
I like Napster 2.0 Music Store's selection and speed and I will use it more than BuyMusic.com and it will be a real challange to Apple's iTunes music store. But if Apple can get more good music it can put Napster 2.0 in it's place.
Jake at October 28, 2003 
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Comments
You can buy Napster prepay cards now.
Posted by: Matt at October 28, 2003 8:01 PM
That might work for a gift but it is quite easy to give your money directly to Napster and friends.
Posted by: Jake at October 28, 2003 9:31 PM
But still, like iTunes, not available for Windows 98 (which I stick with solely because it doesn't have DRM), so I am forced to still be a pirate. Arrr!
Posted by: Manda at October 29, 2003 1:23 AM
My theory is that this is just another elaborate way to make you bend over. 1 dollar a song??? it clearly does not cost this much to produce and not only that but their argument of "supporting the artists" is full of crap as whell since they get less than 14 percent of the profit.
Posted by: LaMiNaToR at October 29, 2003 7:50 AM
::gasp:: you mentioned napster and didn't put up the pic of Lars??? :(
again, i rather buy used CD's thanks...they can keep the "new" napster :P
Posted by: lilly at October 29, 2003 12:09 PM
Ok I added the Lars Pict
Posted by: Jake at October 29, 2003 12:19 PM
yay!!! :D you're too good to me ;)
Posted by: lilly at October 29, 2003 7:14 PM
I installed the service last night. I'm really impressed with it. If I am going to buy anything new it will be from here.
Too bad you can search for everything like you could on the old napster. They had a good list of games....(Light bulb) they should make a P2P site where you can buy games online. Wait...(pop!) that wouldn't work because people don't buy as games as much as they buy music.
Anyway! The new Napster is nice. It's much better than paying 17.99 for a new CD and 9.99 is just a little cheaper than some used CDs.
-Dave
Posted by: Dave at October 30, 2003 6:52 AM
Napster has MORE songs than iTunes? I could not find a single thing I wanted with Napster, but maybe because their "hundreds of independent labels" are the hundreds of the ones I listen to. Or the way to find things sucks, as you have mentioned.
Posted by: Ben at October 30, 2003 7:41 AM
Has anyone noticed the general lack of ability to purchase "album's" that are fairly current?
Also, for a laugh, check out R.E.M.'s Latest "In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003". Compare the tracks with the listing on Amazon's site. You can't purchase the album and why would you, it's not even close to what is supposed to be on the album.
I'm not very impressed with Napster 2.0 at all. Sure it's got glitz, however, I'm not spending 99 cents a song and $9.95 an album for a store that looks pretty.
They claim to have 500,000 songs, I would like to know what songs they have, because I haven't found a big difference between iTunes and Napster. In fact, I find iTunes to have a better selection.
Posted by: Dave at November 4, 2003 3:18 PM
I am not the biggest R.E.M. Fan but all of the music stores are an evolving product. I am actually impressed at the newer music that they have.
Posted by: Jake at November 4, 2003 4:24 PM
I don't live and breath R.E.M., however, if I wanted that album, I wouldn't be able to get it. Mind you, iTunes didn't have it until 11/4, but they are not trying to sneak something else off as the album when it's not.
Actually, I'm impressed by some of the older stuff that is available. I would expect the newer music to be available since that is what is going to sell more.
Posted by: Dave at November 5, 2003 1:18 PM
"My theory is that this is just another elaborate way to make you bend over. 1 dollar a song??? it clearly does not cost this much to produce and not only that but their argument of "supporting the artists" is full of crap as whell since they get less than 14 percent of the profit."
So many albums today have one or two good tracks the rest just filler. Purchasing individual songs is a great way to weed out the mediocrity, you no longer have to shell out 18 dollars for a 15 songs album just to hear the one or two good tracks.
Posted by: Tom at December 10, 2003 6:56 AM
Right I look forward to the day that the artist can sell their own music online with out having to be screwed by the RIAA.
I agree that giving consumers choice is a good thing.
Posted by: Jake at December 10, 2003 10:13 AM
