Napster To Go campaign will challenge Apple iTunes' lead
Client Centers Network
Napster To Go campaign will challenge Apple iTunes' lead
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Napster has revealed that it's planning an aggressive marketing
campaign again Apple's iPod as part of its plans for a full launch of
the Napster To Go portable subscription service later this quarter.
The service, which soft-launched in the US in November, is likely to
roll out in the UK in March. It's one of the first services enabled by
Microsoft's Janus technology, which for the first time allows music
files bought via subscription services to be transferred from a PC to a
portable device.
According to Napster CEO Chris Gorog, speaking to NMA at MidemNet this
week, his company is betting heavily that the monthly 'all you can eat'
subscription model will win the battle of the digital services, rather
than the download strategy currently pursued by Apple's iTunes, which
has around 70% of legal download sales.
"We're confident it will be the model the entire industry backs," said
Gorog. "It's exactly what consumers want to do. Napster To Go is very
similar to the P2P experience."
He believes the best way to market the new service is to emphasise its
advantages over iTunes. He's particularly keen to highlight iTunes'
iPod-only compatibility. "We're going to be communicating to people
that it's stupid to buy an iPod."
The campaign's thrust is said to be part of an educational initiative
supported by Microsoft and many key device manufacturers.
Gorog stopped short of revealing how much money is being put behind the
campaign, other than to say it would be "extensive".
Napster has recently raised $52m (?28m) and is said to have another
$130m (?62m) in the bank, some of which it could put behind a marketing
campaign.
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