Rob P over at The Washington Post wrote an interesting analysis / review today of the new Napster To Go music downloading service. He said in part,
Math Is Done: Napster To Go Doesn't Add Up
By Rob Pegoraro
Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page F07
Whether you like Napster To Go, the online store's new music subscription service, depends on whether you think of it as all-you-can-eat or all-you-can-pay.
To me, several points about this new service tell me it won't last long.
First, the music you've paid to download stops working the moment you stop paying the required monthly subscription. Second, won't play on iPods.
And while there are other disadvantages (like the almost non - existence of compatible portable MP3 players), these will fade with time.
To be fair, there are some DRM restrictions also on the downloads from their (everyone's) chief competitor - Apple's iTunes.
And while I agree with Rob that the Napster offering 'Doesn't Add Up', I think his financial analysis is too lenient. Though you get a lot of music (unlimited downloads) for $15 per month, and it may take years for the equivalent cost of purchased CDs to hit a break-even point (see his article), why in the world would I risk purchasing music that I couldn't use after say one year, no matter what I paid? I wouldn't and maybe there's a different, and unstated, use model being encouraged here.
As Rob said, you're not really buying music from Napster, you're renting it. So rent all you want, then purchase a CD of what you want to keep! Unless of course, CDs start to disappear (see
this article on WashPost front page, same issue, same day!)
With a scenario like this I'd be inclined to turn my Napster subscription on and off every other month. Bottom line is the Napster ads just don't make much sense to me; nor does their service. I think their only hope is in offering music that iTunes does not, then I'll go to
CD Baby to purchase 'the real thing.'
Sunday, February 13, 2005
- Posted by William A. Riski - 10:32:35 PM - comment []
