Spotify Forces Napster To Review Subscription Strategy

Spotify’s recent hype as the most sought after music streaming service in the UK has eventually prompted rival Napster to rehaul its UK music offering, making it more affordable than its erstwhile subscription service.

In its latest attempt to grab the eyeballs of music enthusiasts, the music streaming company is halving its subscription prices for unlimited streaming of music tracks as well as chucking in some free music tracks to add to its appeal.

The company is trimming down its monthly subscription fee to £5 from its existing £10, along with adding 5 DRM free MP3 tracks to download.

This move would let Napster users have a significantly cheaper access to the company’s unlimited music streaming, as they were initially required to pay £15 a month for streaming and unlimited download of DRM-locked music tracks that wouldn’t play on an iPod.

The catalogue includes a whopping 8 million music tracks from all the big record labels and comprises tracks categorised in playlists and recommendations offered, coupled with radio stations.

However, the company has made it clear that its unlimited music streaming service won’t be available as a mobile app and offline listening unlike Spotify's.

Although the service will run its WAP sites for mobile devices to enable users to download music over the air, but then it won’t be offering "free" streaming service like Spotify.