Sound Check: The New Napster

By Wilson Rothman

Napster, the original MP3 gangster, is back on a server near you, this time as a legal pay-per-download and subscription music service for Windows PCs. The official relaunch is Oct. 29, but a TIME test run shows that Napster 2.0 has got the rock to draw a crowd. The service will launch into stiff competition; this week Apple is expected to debut a Windows version of its highly successful (and until now Mac-only) iTunes Music Store.

With 99-c- song downloads, complete albums for $9.95 and no subscription required, Napster's pricing follows the iTunes model. Also Apple-like is Napster's integration with a portable audio player, Samsung's YP-910, a $399 jukebox that shares iPod's simplicity of use. This player is slightly larger, though unlike iPod it has a built-in MP3 recording function and an FM transmitter for wireless connection to radios.

But Napster has expanded on the iTunes design. For a $9.95 monthly membership fee, you can preview whole songs instead of just snippets, and compile endless playlists of songs without paying for individual tracks. (You will be charged if you want to burn songs onto a CD or move them to the YP-910.) Also for members: Napster's 40 interactive Net radio channels, which let you skip or repeat songs and even save memorable radio playlists for later.

Napster's variety of services is a lure, but inventory is what counts when selling music. Napster claims 500,000 songs to Apple's 200,000, but our spot check didn't show a big difference. In fact, we saw artists on the iTunes Music Store (the Eagles, Lucinda Williams, the White Stripes) that were absent from Napster's catalog, while the reverse was less pronounced (Nelly Furtado, Lennon/Ono and some titles by They Might Be Giants). You still can't download some heavies like Madonna, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles anywhere. At least, not legally. --By Wilson Rothman