The Napster people had quite a rocky start as a place where music fans could find each other and, using Napster’s amazing technology, trade their music over the Internet. No money ever changed hands. It was a bit like selling illegal bootleg CDs except that nobody made any income from it. In fact it was the free part of the model that angered the recording artists and record labels. Eventually Napster settled with the recording industry, with a huge financial settlement at Napster’s expense. They learned their lesson well enough to completely change their business model.
Napster, the same company that started as just a vehicle for peer-to-peer music exchanges, has transformed itself into the holder of the largest music catalog on the entire Internet–over seven million titles and still growing. It is still a terrific bargain, even though it is no longer free in the days when it was in hot water with the music industry. The site provides what is widely regarded as the greatest bargain for music fans with a three month introductory subscription, with renewals at the same low rates. I suspect you’ll renew, but the three months will give you a good taste of the service.
For the widely recommended three month plan you get five download credits per month plus bonus credits. You also get unlimited streaming audio, which, believe me is great! You can listen to entire albums or even the entire catalog of their various artists of your favorites. They have over a thousand pre-made mix lists, and those are interactive. They even have a streaming radio station.
The downloads you choose can be played on any MP3 compatible device, including a number of lesser know brands plus the extremely popular Ipod and Zune players. A lot of newer cell phones have built in MP3 players and sufficient memory to hold a number of your favorite selections, as well.
You have unrestricted rights to these recordings, so you can move them around to different devices that you own. You can even use your software to create your own CD.
There is a huge list of musical genres. If you are similar to me, you choose from a lot of different genres, but if your tastes are more specific, you will certainly find your favorite genre. The list is huge, but a few of the genres are jazz, pop, rock, Christian, children, comedy, country and the list goes on….
All of this is just $15 for the three months of delightful musical saturation at Napster.com. Where can you find that much pleasure at that price?