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NEWS: XM Satellite Radio & Napster Partner to Launch 'XM + Napster' Integrated Music'


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Jul 27, 2005, 07:14



LOS ANGELES and WASHINGTON, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Napster (NASDAQ:NAPS) , the biggest brand in digital music, and XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR) , the nation's leading satellite radio company, today announced a long-term, strategic partnership that will take the digital music experience to new heights with the integration of their satellite radio and online music services for listening online and on a variety of MP3 players.


The collaboration will debut with the launch of "XM + Napster," the first online service to provide a single interface for accessing, purchasing, and managing music from XM and Napster. "XM + Napster" will be the exclusive, integrated service for digital music subscriptions and downloading for XM's 4.4 million-plus subscribers. XM subscribers will be able to dive deeper into the catalog of artists they enjoy and discover new music via "XM + Napster."


The co-branded "XM + Napster" service will be marketed by XM and Napster, and launched in the fourth quarter of 2005 in conjunction with the availability of new XM/MP3 players with XM's Connect and Play technology, which will give XM subscribers the ability to listen to XM's 150-plus channels of live programming on the player, in the car or at home, store songs in the player's memory, and mark the songs they like for future reference or online purchase.


When the XM/MP3 player is connected to a PC, the "XM + Napster" service will match the marked XM song titles with Napster's massive music catalog; available songs can be purchased individually for on-demand listening and transferred to the player for a completely portable experience. The "XM + Napster" service will also enable XM subscribers to manage their entire digital music collection in one location, giving them the freedom to create playlists that contain music from a variety of sources.


In addition, the "XM + Napster" service will allow XM subscribers who listen to XM Radio Online, the Internet radio service that offers more than 70 XM music channels, to listen to music they hear on XM and purchase music for transfer to a variety of compatible MP3 players.


"XM + Napster" lets XM subscribers enjoy unparalleled flexibility. XM Satellite Radio allows subscribers to discover new music and rediscover favorites, and the "XM + Napster" service gives them access to Napster's massive catalog for on-demand listening. XM subscribers can pay a monthly subscription fee for unlimited Napster tracks or they can purchase individual songs.


"The combination of the 'XM + Napster' service with new XM/MP3 players will provide XM subscribers with the ultimate 360-degree music experience," said Hugh Panero, XM president and CEO. "Today, XM subscribers can effortlessly discover and listen to any kind of music, and soon they will be able to effortlessly access, purchase, and manage their music with 'XM + Napster' and the new XM/MP3 players."


"Napster is excited to work with XM to create a cutting-edge product that merges the best of online and satellite music into one great, integrated experience," said Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and CEO. "'XM + Napster' will be nirvana for passionate music fans."


 

 

One of my favorite things about XM is discovering new music, and I certainly have purchased downloads of some. This seems like a perfect relationship.

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That's interesting. I noticed this presumed gotchya, though: "... available songs can be purchased individually for on-demand listening and transferred to the player... "

 

Napster by itself is already something like $15 a month -- three times what the competing (and some say w/better selection) Yahoo Music Unlimited and its sister service Music Match On Demand charge. (YMU offers 'player portability' for on demand selections similar to Napster; MMOD offers much higher fi 160 KBPS WMAs [Not sure what the bitrate on YMU offerings is.] ) Both YMU and MMOD are $5 a month when paid a year in advance. (One year of YMU or MMOD costs the same as 4 months at Napster, IOW.)

 

[i believe Napster is still $15 a month. I tried to find out just now, but like a lot of other hairball online companies, they try to hide the actual price until after you've installed their software and signed up for the 'free' trial.]

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