The company, forever remembered for sparking the mp3 piracy era that has blighted record labels, is now targeting rival streaming services, such as Last.fm or Pandora, with its mp3/stream combo offer. Napster is now offering on-demand streaming and five mp3s a month for $5 (£3.22).
Not a bad deal, until Spotify shores up stateside, offering free streaming in exchange for short ad breaks, which has proven to be immensely popular across Europe and boasts 1m members in the UK alone.
Daniel Ek, Spotify founder, said the company plans to roll out its service in the US by the end of the year, or the beginning of next year, after it arranges proper licensing agreements. The company is also said to be developing an iPhone application.
Napster's new pricing puts it in the same league Microsoft's Zune Pass, which charges its subscribers $15 (£9.67)a month to keep 10 songs.
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