No longer for Free.99
Napster feels like invaded the industry ages ago, but their legacy and the changes they brought are still felt rippling through what we all know as normal even in this age.
The music program allowed users to download songs for free and became the first and most notorious peer-to-peer service to ever exist. Downloading music runs so rampant nowadays, it’s no longer revolutionary. It’s the standard. But in those days, they were getting crucified in the media, enduring a long court process that they eventually lost and were getting spit on by some of music’s biggest names. It was just too ahead of its time and turned shit upside down.
They sort of made it out of the storm, getting picked up and bought out by names like Best Buy and Rhapsody after almost going extinct.
Now they’re returning to scene in Canada as a subscription based model like Apple Music and Spotify, with a catalog of 35 million songs (with offline playback) for your online streaming needs. Canadians will have to dish out $9.99 a month to get their accounts going and can access the service through the web, iOS, Android, and Chromecast platforms.
Does Napster stand a chance up North?
OS REWIND: Napster: The Culture of Free [Documentary]
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