Napster 2.0 will be up and running from next week when Roxio will release a public test beta version of its online service.  Napster 2.0 despite its name will be rather unlike the original version that was shut down the music industry.  Napster 2 will offer a pay-per-download service similar to iTunes' service as well as a subscription service.  Unlike the original Napster, Napster 2 tracks will likely be encoded in the Windows Media Audio 9 series.  Roxio aims to tie it in with Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 and have already licensed its CD burning technology to Microsoft since the launch of Windows XP.

Roxio bought Napster and its name last November for $ 5 million and originally expected this service to be running by this Christmas.  They current own the Pressplay subscription-based music service which was originally launched by the major labels Universal and Sony.  They have not announced any pricing information so far for the new Napster service.

Napster will be reborn next week, when Roxio releases a public beta test version of the online music service. Roxio acquired Napster last November, essentially paying million for the name. It also owns the Pressplay subscription-based music service launched by major labels Universal and Sony, but later offloaded to Roxio. The new service, dubbed Napster 2.0, probably owes more to Apple's iTunes Music Service than the notorious music sharing software of old, long since shut down by the music industry's contributory copyright infringement lawsuit. Roxio's USP the Napster brand name, familiar to millions of music lovers and computer users. Samsung is launching a Napster-branded music player for the online service hoping that the new, legal offering will pull in the punters as well as the old, not-so-legal one did.

The re-launch of Napster seems rather late now as it has been assumed long dead with all the previous companies that tried taking over Napster and ran into serious trouble.  Let's see if Roxio can bring it on again, even if crippled with Windows Media Technology and download fees.  Apple's iTunes legal download service expects to launch a Windows based version by the end of the year.  Unlike most other legal download services, iTunes does not use the controversial Windows Media format, but do allow customers to transfer their purchased music to CD and iPod portable players.

Roxio have had reported profit loses in the 1st quarter of this year, but it expects this Napster service to be a bug success.  Unfortunately, Roxio had a lot coaster issues in its earlier CD-burning packages, but while it has tried improving improving its software with Easy CD/DVD creator 6, it has not been very popular with users who had experience with the previous issues.  Does anyone remember the reactions on this thread here? ;)

Source: The Register