NAPSTER PUTS SOMETHING
IN THE KITTY

Furthermore, the Roxio-owned service—comprised of the legendary outlaw Napster brand, elements of the major-label joint venture pressplay and Roxio’s own CD-burning and music-management software—says it expects to see some $20 million in music sales this year. Napster 2.0 launched in October of 2003.

"This important milestone is a testament to the quality of the Napster experience and the strength and continuity of our senior management team," burbled CEO Chris Gorog. "In this competitive market, Napster is defining itself as an immersive experience that enables members to legally explore and access the largest catalog of music available, experience the largest number of features and choose from 60 compatible digital music players, creating a very compelling offering for music fans."

Gorog then began murmuring "immersive" and "compelling" over and over, very softly.

Having scored deals with Pennsylvania State University and the University of Rochester to provide music for non-portable downloads on campus computers, Napster now hopes to broker further deals with educational institutions.

The company has also set up partnerships with Samsung (for a digital player to compete with the iPod) and Miller Brewing Company. The latter could come in especially handy in its dealings with college students. Kegger with the Kitty, anyone?

More than 26,000 retail locations now vend prepaid Napster download cards. In addition to selling a la carte downloads at 99 cents per track and $9.95 per album, the company offers a premium subscription service. Among its further offerings are a magazine, chart information, message boards and preprogrammed radio stations.