Last week Napster announced a record increase in their subscriber base for the fourth quarter of last year. I was part of that increase. For three months, I paid $15 monthly for the company’s all-you-can-download Napster To Go service.
At the end of March, I canceled Napster To Go. Although I still believe the business model is sound, the implementation is too flawed to tolerate. Tracks I had downloaded to a portable player wouldn’t play, even though they were properly licensed. At one point the software stopped acknowledging my right to download music at all, and it took an hour on the phone with Napster support to get things sorted out. Mike Torres had the same problem several months ago, and came to the same conclusion.
The problem, of course, is digital rights management. As long as Microsoft and Apple and other big-media companies insist on treating their customers like criminals, this will be the result. I absolutely refuse to pay 99 cents for a music track that doesn’t give me full digital rights over the content, and even the limited form of DRM in Napster To Go doesn’t work.
Next stop: eMusic.
Ed Bott 
I agree. The only music I “purchase” only is thanks to those free Pepsi iTunes caps.
Both services appear to have a great idea…the problem is DRM and how it restricts legiminate use as simple as being able to choose what media player on what platform you would like to use.
eMusic is great. I subscribed to them until I got rid of my credit card and discovered tons of great bands and music I had no idea existed. Once I get a credit card again I’ll get a new subscription.
Between the RIAA and DRM, could even an evil genius imagine something so simultaneously useless and hostile to consumers? Ah yes, that’s the whole point, isn’t it.
“As long as Microsoft and Apple and other big-media companies insist on treating their customers like criminals, this will be the result. I absolutely refuse to pay 99 cents for a music track that doesn’t give me full digital rights over the content, and even the limited form of DRM in Napster To Go doesn’t work.”
Okay first of all it’s not Microsoft or Apple’s fault for developing DRM. And it’s not these companies that are treating customers like criminals. It’s the RIAA that is treating their customers like criminals. People need to understand this. It’s really the RIAA and the Movie industry driving the development of DRM. The RIAA would perfer not to sell anything on the net, we’re lucky Apple is pushing them in a direction that the consumers wants. It’s because of the first version of Naptser that the RIAA is forcing these DRM’s apon us. God, why can’t people understand this!
“At the end of March, I canceled Napster To Go. Although I still believe the business model is sound, the implementation is too flawed to tolerate. Tracks I had downloaded to a portable player wouldn’t play, even though they were properly licensed.”
How is a business model sound when you just proved the model being seriously flawed? With Napsters model, who cares if your music is properly licensed, you canceled your subscription – which in turn denies you of listening to music RENTED! How can anybody think that model is sound!?
“I absolutely refuse to pay 99 cents for a music track that doesn’t give me full digital rights over the content”
What is wrong with this person!? You get MORE freedom with Apple’s DRM then Napster’s/Microsoft. With Apple you can burn your tracks to CD and or convert the song to MP3. True you can only burn a playlist 10 times, but do you really need ten copies of songs? If so, your burning copies for your friends which is illegal.
Ed has no clue what he’s writing about.