New owners Roxio has confirmed it will launch Napster 2.0 on October 29 as a paid-for service. With a trial service up and running first, it will be fully operational by November.
The relaunch follows the recent deal signed with Microsoft that will see the original song-swapping service, which once boasted 60m users, offer a customised version of its service for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PCs.
The deal means that music download fans will be able to take their digital music beyond the PC, so they can access Napster on their televisions or PCs using just a remote control.
The service will launch with half-a-million tracks from all five major record labels and hundreds of independent labels. Customers will be able to purchase individual tracks or albums, which can be transferred to portable devices and burned to CDs. In addition, consumers may upgrade to a premium version of the service that offers unlimited listening and downloading, radio and community features.
Chris Gorog, chairman and CEO of Roxio, said: "Napster 2.0 will offer consumers the freedom to enjoy more than half-a-million tracks any way they choose at the touch of a button on their remote control."
Napster was closed down two years ago after a fierce courtroom battle with music giants Warner Music, EMI and Universal Music, which took Napster to court for copyright infringement in a legal battle that began in 1999.
This time, Napster is launching into a sector where paid-for music downloads are an established and successful part of the market, which is something the music industry hopes spreads.
There is a lot to play for as research firm Jupiter forecasts online music sales to rise four-fold in the next five years to $3.3bn (拢1.98bn).
The market has witnessed the recent successes of Apple Computer's iTunes store and similar services such as MusicNet, Rhapsody and FullAudio. Unlicensed services, however, such as Kazaa continue to prosper, much to the chagrin of the music industry.
Roxio hopes that having paid out 拢2.9m for the Napster brand last year, it will make a big splash in the market as some of Napster's old users return. It has even hired Napster founder Shawn Fanning as Roxio consultant.
Gorog said: "The space has become crowded because there's a recognition that this is going to be a very substantial business. It validates Roxio's strategy to enter this business."
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