Napster boss eyes strong mobile future
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The majority of consumers have not yet  accepted the subscription model to rent rather than buy music  but this is likely to change over the next year, according to  the head of the online service Napster Inc. .
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Napster Creator Unleashes New File Sharing Service  Napster was a revolutionary product. It practically gave birth to the p2p industry on the Internet. It has lead to a stage that big corporations of the music industry are practically scared of losing a major chunk of their business from this phenomenon. And ...
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(InfoWorld) - Napster, the remade version of the popular Internet music sharing service, is in talks over a sale or possible strategic partnership, the company said Monday. The announcement comes as a steady stream of new competitors enter the market, includingÂ SanDisk with partner RealNetworks, andÂ Microsoft with its Zune MarketplaceÂ strategy. It also comes amid a sharp downturn in user figures for Napster, which has seen its user base erode to 512,000 users at the end of June, from 606,000 at the end of March. Napster said it has hired UBS Investment Bank to assist management in the "evaluation of strategic alternatives," in response to interest from a third party in potentially acquiring or establishing a venture with the company. Napster also said it remains in a strong position to continue building its own business, with or without such a deal, highlighting its cash position of $97 million. The announcement sent Napster's Nasdaq-listed stock up 12.4 percent in after-market trading, to $3.99. The company set no timetable for finalizing the evaluation, and said the talks may not result in any deals. Formed in 1999, Napster popularized peer-to-peer music sharing on the Internet, gaining notoriety when a recording industry lawsuit ultimately shut it down and set the precedent for further legal victories over similar online services. A few years after the legal defeat, RoxioÂ bought the rights to its name, and in late 2003Â re-launched itÂ as a legal music download store. Napster faced stiff competition from the moment of its rebirth, mainly from Apple ComputerÂ and its popular iPods, and the iTunes Music Store. Napster currently offers a free 512MB digital music player, or a 1GB one for $50 to users who sign up for its monthly service for three months. It also started an advertising-supported music service in May that allows users to listen more than two million songs at no charge, up to five times each. The company reported a net loss of $9.8 millionÂ in the three months ending June 30, on revenue of $28.1 million.
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In yet more file sharing news, NME is reporting that Napster founder Shawn Fanning is planning another legal music download service that will reportedly have an almost limitless amount of tracks.
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Shawn Fanning, once reviled by record labels as the creator of renegade song-swap service Napster, on Thursday launched a new service designed to turn the threat of still popular peer-to-peer services into an opportunity for music companies and artists.
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The company has formed an agreement with mobile developer and publisher Dwango Wireless to launch the service - Napster Mobile - across the US and Canada in 2005.
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Napster Inc, one of the largest digital music  retailers, said it will partner with Swedish telecom equipment  maker Ericsson and Chilean telecommunications company Entel PCS  to launch its mobile music service in Latin America for the  first time.
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Napster creator Shawn Fanning, who turned the music industry on its head with his file trading technology, has re-emerged with a new company that hopes to facilitate agreements between peer-to-peer services and the record companies, making it easier for
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NAPSTER creator SHAWN FANNING has revealed his plans for a new licensed file-sharing service with an almost unlimited selection of tracks.
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Music executives walked into this year's Midem conference beneath a giant banner promoting Napster, once the beleaguered industry's nemesis but now one of the services helping it turn a corner.
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The kid who sparked the digital music revolution says he&#39;s back to finish the job. As a 19-year-old college freshman, Shawn Fanning created Napster, the file-sharing software program
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SAN ANTONIO - AT&amp;T Inc. is making Napster Inc.'s entire music catalog of more than 5 million songs available for wireless download starting early next month.
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Thanks two a partnership with Dwango Wireless; the new Napster is prepared to enter the mobile technology realm. But this time, it&#39;s not for illegal mp3s.
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AT&T is making Napster Inc.âs entire music catalog of more than five million songs available for wireless download starting early next month.
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Napster, the remade version of the popular Internet music sharing service, is in talks over a sale or possible strategic partnership, the company said Monday.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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- Napster Inc , one of the largest  digital music retailers, said it will partner with Swedish  telecom equipment maker Ericsson   and  Chilean telecommunications company Entel PCS  to launch  its mobile music service in Latin America for the first time.
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Music download sewvice Napster will try to claim a piece of the growing market for mobile phone ringtones through a partnership with Dwango Wireless, which specializes in wireless content.