Napster To Go Service for Portable Devices

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117675,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117675,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Napster is previewing its forthcoming Napster To Go service. This service leverages new Windows Media 10 technologies to enable Napster subscribers to download music to portable devices, a technology called Janus. Music remains protected, and if a user's subscription ends, the music won't play any more. It's tunes to rent."</i><br /><br />I find it strange that they're "previewing" this feature, because I used it more than a month ago. When I first connected the Portable Media Center that Microsoft had loaned me, I <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/napstertogooption.gif">saw this pop-up window</a> inside the WMP10 client. I clicked yes, and was able to transfer my subscription-based songs to the player. I've done the same thing with my Dell Axim X50, and it worked like a charm. The one thing I'm not sure about is how long the songs will last on a portable device that doesn't connect back to the host machine and the Internet - would they time out after seven days? A month?

[Felix Torres]

The one thing I'm not sure about is how long the songs will last on a portable device that doesn't connect back to the host machine and the Internet - would they time out after seven days? A month?

What kind of a subscription do you have?
Per month or pre-paid per year?

The way I heard it, MS DRM songs carry their licensing with them on a per-song basis. That is so the player can discriminate between purchased songs and subscription music.
So, I would guess that each song carries a flag detailing what kind of license it bears and the expiration date, if it has one.
On a beta-test, I would expect all songs to carry an expiration date of 30 days past the target release date of Napster-to-go.

Would be interesting to see if they provide a grace period after the expiration date.

This kind of tech could open the doors for some interesting promotional tools *if* the studios had the guile for it.
I can see a studio releasing quarterly DVDs with limited-playback versions of their new and upcoming releases to build up business for lesser-known acts. Just plug it into your PC and d/l the contents to a player. After that, you can pass on the disk to someone else or try it again on a different PC...
Another form of viral marketing.
Things could get interesting in 05...

[ale_ers]

I find this very interesting. At first I hated the idea of renting songs, but now I think that this may be the future of digital media. After all, if you like the song you can always buy it for 99 cents, but in the meantime you can just 'try it out' and fill up your player with tons of new music.

The only thing that bothers me is that it is only compatible with the new devices. I was hoping a firmware upgrade would work on my jogging partner, my Rio Cali. Looks like I will have to wait until I get the new iRiver PMC-120 (when ever it comes out).

[ale_ers]

[i]"The one thing I'm not sure about is how long the songs will last on a portable device that doesn't connect back to the host machine and the Internet - would they time out after seven days? A month?

I found this info: Napster To Go subscribers must plug their devices into Napster monthly to relicense their tracks.

[Jason Dunn]

What kind of a subscription do you have?
Per month or pre-paid per year?

I pay $9.95 CND per month for the basic subscription, then it's an exra $5 to get the content onto portable devices. $15 is a bit much IMO - I hope they'll make the To Go option part of their regular subscription soon.

[Jason Dunn]

I found this info: Napster To Go subscribers must plug their devices into Napster monthly to relicense their tracks.

Seems like a reasonable amount of time.