Napster Japan hopes to outmanoeuvre iTunes by offering the all-you-can-download monthly subscription service. ITunes now offers about two million songs in Japan but runs only on an a la carte service at 150 yen a song. While only about 10 per cent of the offerings will be by Japanese artists, Napster Japan Chief Executive Hiroyuki Fushitani said he expects the number of Japanese songs to increase as Napster wins over fans. The third service is an a la carte service charging 150 yen ($1.27) per Western song and 200 yen ($1.70) for Japanese songs.īetween the basic and to-go plans, Napster Japan will go online with a total of 1.9 million songs, nearly double the one million songs offered by iTunes when it was launched in Japan in August 2005. The Napster to Go service costs 1,980 yen ($16.82) a month for unlimited downloads to three computers and three portable devices, such as MP3 players or mobile phones. The basic plan carries a monthly price of 1,280 yen (US$10.87) and allows unlimited downloads to as many as three personal computers. Napster is offering three different download options. The remainder is held by an investment group. Napster Japan is a joint-venture between Napster and Tower Records Japan, with Los Angeles-based Napster owning 31.5 per cent and Tower Records Japan holding 53.5 per cent. But the company is betting that its unlimited download subscription service and plans for downloading onto mobile phones will help it make up lost ground. Napster Japan hits the market six months behind schedule because Napster wanted to conduct further market research and firm up a local alliance with Tower Records, which will tout Napster in its stores. in head-to-head competition with Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod and its online music store iTunes, which opened in Japan last year and became an instant hit with the country’s tech-savvy younger set. The Japanese service puts U.S.-based Napster Inc. “As the second-largest music market in the world, Japan presents a very large economic opportunity for Napster,” Brad Duea, the company’s president, said during a pre-launch news conference in Tokyo. Tuesday, offering more than 1.5 million Japanese and foreign tunes. The service was to go live online at 10 p.m. TOKYO (AP) – Internet music download company Napster launched a Japanese service Tuesday aimed at tapping the growing demand for music-to-go and catching up with Apple’s iTunes in one of the world’s biggest music markets. This article was published (6022 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
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