Napster Refocuses on Web, Drops Software

Napster announced today that it plans to relaunch its Web-based platform, which allows subscribers access to their music from anywhere, shifting the focus of the service away from its standalone software.

Most subscribers currently use Napster's desktop application to access the music database. The Web-based model will allow users more freedom to stream their tracks anywhere they are connected to the Internet.

Like Rhapsody, Napster subscribers pay $10 to $15 USD a month for unlimited access to its library, rather than offer the "see, try, buy" model of iTunes. The addition of a Web-based service -- which Napster has actually had available before -- seems to be a more forward-looking move for the company than a recursion.

Christopher Allen, Chief Operating Officer at Napster, said, "With this new platform, Napster can easily be integrated into consumer electronics devices or integrated into other Web sites such as social networking sites."

Some would argue that social networking sites are the zeitgeist of the Internet in the 2000's, but Allen's mention of consumer electronics alludes to Web-enabled devices whose time has yet to come.