Waiting to see if paid music download store Napster will follow current darling Spotify down the free-streaming route? Don’t hold you’re breath…
European head Thorsten Schliesche tells paidContent:UK such services are “pretty cool”, but: “They could run out of money before they monetize their business model.
“We have had some internal discussions around free services in the U.S., but we decided against it. There is no chance that we will offer a music streaming service. To offer ‘free’ services is (to be) not working.”
Once a thorn in the music industry’s side, encouraging people to share music files with each other for free, Napster has put on a suit and combed its hair. The company, which last week lost CEO Chris Gorog and president Brad Duea to resignations and is being realigned for stronger reporting directly to Best Buy HQ, is now firmly in the camp that says music needs to be paid for…
Napster offers two pricing tiers: £5 a month for five MP3s, and £10 for 12 MP3s. More than 50 percent of Napster’s subscribers in the UK take the higher tiered pricing plan, but it’s not saying how many total subscribers it actually has in the market.
More than one year on on from Best Buy’s purchase of Napster, there are very few signs, for example, of using BestBuy’s European investment in Carphone Warehouse as a distribution channel: “We are in talks with TalkTalk, but also a number of other ISPs. It would be great to get bundled with an ISP’s service,” Schliesche said. Neither is there much of an assault through the Carphone’s own-brand channel, either. Most stores have a small Napster concession selling prepaid cards, but not much else, he said.
Is Napster doing distribution deals with anyone? Yes–consumer electronics companies, along the lines of its recent deal with Dell to pre-load Napster onto laptops and offer 12 months of the service for free. “These laptops were sold in the UK and Germany and were extremely successful in the Christmas period. Expect to see more bundles like this in the market, especially considering Best Buy’s good relationships with manufacturers.”
Best Buy plans to open its online operation and retail stores in the UK this spring.

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