Once upon a time, Napster was the biggest name in music. It was the first service that most people used to download music off the Internet, and was the linchpin of the RIAA’s war on the Internet. It has changed hands several times, and tried several different ways to turn legal, and thanks to Best Buy and a monthly subscription model, they’ve survived. However, in these lean times, a business has to grow. Entertainment outlets, especially subscription services, need to prove they’re worth the investment.
There are two ways a company can do this. They can add new features or lower prices. Napster has decided to do both. Not only do you get access to their streaming music for only $5 a month on their lowest-cost access tier, you also get 5 free MP3 downloads per month. That means for the cost of five downloads on iTunes or Amazon, you also get unlimited streaming music!
One of the problems I have with downloading music and not listening to/having any good radio stations is that I’ve gotten into a serious musical rut. I need some sort of targeted way to get new music into my brain and MP3 player, but I don’t know of any really good, free sampling services. Anyone have any recommendations?
