Napster is “retreating from its core business: Selling all-you-can-eat music subscriptions. A year ago the company spent $8.5 million on sales and marketing, and this quarter that number had shrunk to $5 million,” Peter Kafka reports for SIlicon Valley Insider.
“The results: six months ago the subscription music service had 830,000 subs, three months ago it had 770,000, and now it has 750,000,” Kafka reports.
“Napster is now pinning its hopes on the mobile industry… but [it’s] hard to see why Napster is going to be the company that will capitalize on it,” Kafka reports. “Napster has concluded that PC-based music subscriptions aren’t a growth business — the same conclusion that Yahoo! Music, RealNetworks and MTV have already come to.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Matthew” for the heads up.]
Business models that fly in the face of human nature are doomed to failure.
Napster – R.I.P
You people at MDN just love that word “Beleaguered” don’t you. Can’t you come up with some other descriptive words for you columns?
Napster still exists? I thought Judge Patel dealt them a death blow years ago.
-jcr
Leader, you must be a recent switcher.
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About a decade ago, Apple was struggling and just about every article penned about the company referred to it as “beleaguered.” Using it in reference to Apple’s flailing competitors today is MDN’s not-so-subtle way of saying “Ha-Ha!”
@ MR
I was just going to say that. I always love how it sounds.
@MR… Nope been a Mac user since ’94 and I work for Apple, so I’d say I’m pretty much a veteran. I realize that it’s a pun. It’s just old.
How about this…
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6480692069022896188&q=triumph+of+the+nerds&total=50&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1
Subscription music + FairUse4Wm + mirakagi= What the labels deserve.
I’ve been a MacUser since ’91 and I must say I’ve heard for years that the Mac was dying. I laughed.
I laughed as I fragged my friends while playing Unreal Tournament on my Mac and they were on PC. They accused my Mac of lagging.
I laughed when the iMac came out.
I laughed when the iPod came out.
I laugh as Apple is the 2nd fastest growing stock in this past decade.
They say they don’t care what I say. They say they don’t care what the industry mags/media is saying about Apple and its products these days. Apple is on the rise and they STILL say it sucks?
I’m the only one pursuing Apple certification at my job.
I’ll still be laughing when I’m still working and they are looking for employment.
HMV Unlimited’s PC music subscription service also shut down with plans to relaunch “some kind” of subscription service next year.
See http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/mulligan/
Bravo, Murasaki. You’re the stuff that Apple is made of, and I commend you for your courage and tenacity.
May your tribe increase!
Yep, Now Napster is down and Zucker and others are preaching the old ways. Cause , well, cause its all they know and if you make buggy whips long enough, someone must want to buy one.
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This is all Apple’s fault. If they hadn’t ruined the music business with their pay-per-download model, we’d still be ruining it with our promotion of pira- oh, wait. Never mind.
I actually feel sorry for Napster. They virtually started the MP3 revolution, got sued into oblivion by the labels, who then turned around and have now started offering free ad supported MP3 downloads. The labels just didn’t like someone else controlling the money flow.
@ Leader
The word “beleagured” has a special meaning to us Mac users, i’m sure you’ll agree.
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I never get tired of hearing/seeing it, especially used in the context of the current IT industry situation. But that’s just me…