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Napster now says its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue will be between $16.5 million and $17.5 million, compared to its previous estimate of $15 million and analysts’ average expectation of $14.6 million.

NAPSTER SEES UPSIDE OF DOWNLOADING

Share Price Jumps on Subscription Figures, Better Sales Than Expected
Napster Inc. (Nasdaq: NAPS) today said it had added a substantial number of subscribers and revised upward its revenue expectations for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended March 31, for the second time in a little over a month, triggering a 14% jump in its share price.

The company reported that it signed up 143,000 new subscribers during the quarter, representing a 53% increase and bringing the company’s total to over 410,000. Napster is in the middle of a $30 million marketing campaign to push its “Napster to Go” service, which allows subscribers to download tracks to portable players without buying them. The company credits the service and the campaign for driving the subscription increase.

Napster now says its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue will be between $16.5 million and $17.5 million, compared to its previous estimate of $15 million and analysts’ average expectation of $14.6 million. Napster had already revised its revenue outlook upward to $15 million from $14 million on March 3.

Shares in Napster gained 14% in early trading to over $7.00, after closing at $6.17 yesterday.

In other Napster news, the company’s U.K. division has made its first foray into television, inking a deal with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 for a series of 11 short programs on pop music artists, according to the Financial Times.

The series is set to launch next month, with the debut episode focusing on the band Garbage. Music from the shows is to be made available on the Napster service.

The move is thought to be a preliminary step toward Napster moving into music-video subscriptions, the paper says. Chairman/CEO Chris Gorog has previously said the company would move into video and possibly movie and game subscriptions as a way of building on its music-subscription platform.