Napster Rolls Out MP3 Store

(FROM REUTERS) – Digital music company Napster launched its MP3 music store on Tuesday (May 20), a service aiming to take a bite out of Apple's iTunes store. Napster boasts that its 6 million-song store is the world's biggest, featuring music from all major music labels as well as thousands of indie labels. The MP3-format songs will be compatible with most digital media players and mobile phones, including Apple's iPod and iPhone, and sell for $0.99 or $9.99 for an album. Apple has recently started to lift its Digital Rights Management copy protection from some of its store's songs, but a vast majority of iTunes purchases can still only be played on an Apple device, such as an iPod. Napster will also continue to offer its already-established streaming music service, and an exec says the company still believes that an unlimited subscription model is the future of music retail. (Reuters)