New Napster Set for Beta Launch

Napster will make its comeback official on October 9 at a star-studded gala in New York City. After reaching its apex with nearly 60 million active users, Napster was reigned in by widely publicized legal turmoil and subsequent court rulings.

The music sharing software found a home with Roxio last year, for a price of $9 million. Roxio plans to re-launch Napster as a legit music subscription service that will appease the recording industry, and perhaps turn a profit.

A beta version of Napster 2.0 will be the first sampling of what Roxio has dreamed up for a product that previously achieved cult status and nearly universal brand awareness.

Napster is set to debut with a catalog of over 500,000 tracks - surpassing similar services to date including Apple's iTunes Music Store, RealNetwork's Rhapsody, MusicNet and other competing vendors.

Apple has found success in its iTunes Music Store, which recently surpassed 30 million downloads. A Windows version is expected to arrive shortly, augmenting Apple's customer base with millions of eager PC users.

Roxio has indicated that songs will be available as singles, or through a subscription that offers unlimited access to the entire collection along with premium content. Napster 2.0 is set to be in final form by the holidays, in time to fulfill Roxio's commitment to serve up tunes for Microsoft's Media Center 2004 PCs.

"Napster 2.0 will be the first online music service that allows consumers to enjoy their digital music wherever they want," said Roxio CEO Chris Gorog. "Our partnership with Microsoft will enable music fans to take their digital music beyond the PC so they can access and enjoy Napster on their televisions or PCs, using just a remote control."

Roxio is confident that the ostensible popularity associated with the Napster moniker, in combination with what the company claims is a "superior service," will translate into market share.

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