Over a decade ago, Napster was considered to be the best new way for people to get their hands on music files. The digital music revolution had started and Napster was there to satisfy you’re thirst. Unfortunately, the Napster file sharing service was illegal and was soon shut down the record labels. A few years passed and Napster reemerged as a legitimate music subscription service. The new owners of the company thought they would be able to capitalize on the brand power of Napster and be able to compete with iTunes. As most mp3 players rose and fell against the iPod, so did many subscription music services against iTunes. Napster still lives on today, but it’s a far cry from where the company wants it to be. This week, Napster announced that they will be lowering their subscription pricing to $5 a month, from $12.95, but their customers will still need to shell out $14.95 for a premium account that will allow them to carry their music with them on their portable device (as long as it’s not an iPod).
Maybe Napster needs to rethink things a bit. Yes, lowering your price may be a good way to keep a few subscribers and gain a handful more. But these days, people want to take their music with them at all times. I think the cat with the evil green eyes though set its sights on the little green Android. Developing a new Android specific app and subscription service would allow Napster to reach new customers who might be willing to pay for a great music service. I’m not saying that success is guaranteed, but I’m sure that a lot of people are looking for other music options on their Android phone other than imeem and LastFM.
