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iPhone 3G not instilling fear in Apple's music foes

LOS ANGELES--Apple's upgraded iPhone didn't inspire fear in at least two of the biggest subscription music sites--even before they learned that the device wouldn't let people download music via the new 3G network.

"I'm not trembling," Anu Kirk, Rhapsody's director of product management, said Monday at the iHollywood conference. "I'm sure they are going to sell a lot of second-generation iPhones. It's a fantastic product but they can't take over the United States with just one carrier."

Kirk was speaking on a panel discussing the mobile music category … Read more

Napster MP3 store: great selection, bad interface

Napster launched its Web-based MP3 download store yesterday, and it seems to be the latest digital music whipping boy, with negative reviews in several places.

Let me start with the positives. Napster claims the store has 6 million tracks, which is 50% larger than any other MP3 store out there. They do have a single download of "The Promise" by When in Rome, an obscure 1980s single my wife loves but that iTunes will only let you buy as part of the full Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack. I'm sorry, Apple, but I won't pay more than $0.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 728: Rock the Roku

Today in "we have actual tech news to report" tech news, Netflix's new box hits the price sweet spot, Napster is offering 6 million DRM-free MP3s (déjà-vu?), and Gizmodo! Confirms! The 3G! iPhone! Release! Date! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 728

Look out, Apple TV: The $100 Netflix Player has arrived http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9947582-1.html

6 million DRM-free MP3s now at Napster http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9945987-7.html

Breaking: iPhone 3G launch date confirmed http://gizmodo.com/391960/iphone-3g-launch-date-confirmed http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/20/ apple_wwdc_rumour_revival/

Microsoft … Read more

Where the opinions of Phil J. Ryan are not necessarily those of the 404

The legendary Phil Ryan makes his last appearance on The 404 as a CNET employee as we talk about the Netflix player, the 3G iPhone, and strange clouds above China right before the earthquake. It's an interesting show today, sorry if we came close to offending you! OK, we're not sorry. EPISODE 103 Download today's podcast

Now at Napster: 6 million DRM-free MP3s

Probably the biggest piece of digital music news to come out of CES 2008 was that Napster was planning to offer its complete catalog of more than 6 million tracks in the unprotected MP3 format.

On Tuesday, with the launch of version 4.5 of the software and store, that announcement becomes a reality. Although digital music stores such as eMusic, Amazon MP3, and even Napster itself already had MP3s on offer before this point, the collective catalogs of all three didn't even come near the volume of tracks you can find in the entire Napster library. All four … Read more

Report: EA buys Shawn Fanning's Rupture for $30 million

It seems that the founder of Napster--no, not Seth Green--may have finally cashed in big time on one of his creations.

According to TechCrunch, Napster founder Shawn Fanning has sold his gaming social-media start-up, Rupture, to Electronic Arts for $30 million.

TechCrunch's Erick Schonfeld reported Thursday afternoon that as part of the deal--which EA has not yet announced, "but is expected to do so soon," Fanning and Rupture co-founder Jon Baudanza will become EA employees.

For Fanning, this represents the big-time payday he's clearly been seeking for years. He never made much off of … Read more

U.K.'s O2 offers entire Napster catalog by phone

U.K. phone network O2 announced today that it has partnered exclusively with online music vendor Napster to provide a la carte, over-the-air music downloads to O2 customers, direct to their mobile phones. Napster's entire 5 million-track catalog will be available for download from this weekend and includes listings from every major record label.

While many O2 customers enjoy free handsets, those who spent the 269-pound premium (about $545) to buy the O2-exclusive iPhone will not be able to use this service, however. U.K. Apple devotees will have to wait for over-the-air music downloads.

Songs will be accessed … Read more

Of sparking iPods and brain-dead record label moments

On a day when we learn an iPod apparently threw off sparks in Japan, generating nervous memories of exploding Dell laptops, let's take time to report the obvious: The people who run the recording industry are very often not very bright.

Blender.com has published an entertaining list of the record industry's 20 biggest, dumbest, and stunningly dense moments. Topping that list, not surprisingly, is the industry's jihad against Napster. To refresh your memories: Shawn Fanning's dandy innovation allowed people to share millions of songs over the Internet. But there was a problem: They weren't … Read more

Subscription music's future, Part 2

Yesterday, I spoke about the history of the subscription music model, its roadblocks, and the major players committed to its success. In part 2 of this feature, I'm going to outline some areas of growth for subscription music, share some comments from Rob Williams of Rhapsody, and take a closer look at Microsoft's approach with their Zune Marketplace.

So far, we're seeing three music device trends that will shape digital music in coming months and years: digital audio on more device types (cell phones, MP3 players, UMPCs, in-car GPS, car stereos, home stereos, laptops, Squeezeboxes, boomboxes, Chumbys, … Read more