Nearly a year after software maker Roxio Inc. scooped up the Napster brand from the ashes of the pioneer file-swapping service, a revamped online music store bearing the familiar brand name was debuting Thursday in limited release.
The company shelved its former online music service, pressplay, and was beginning to move subscribers to a beta, or working version, of Napster 2.0.
The service will launch with more than a half-million songs from all the major music labels and offer both individual song and album downloads as well as a subscription service. Pressplay, which went off-line Tuesday, only offered access to songs for a monthly fee.
Napster 2.0 users can expect prices to be in line with what other services charge, which is about $1 per song and about $10 for full albums or monthly subscription.
Napster returns