Napster has announced a web-based version of its music subscription service, a departure from the client download the company currently offers. Through the new service, users will be able to access their music from anywhere, including portable devices.
Napster’s model is to allow you listen to unlimited music for a monthly fee ($10-15), but then pay for downloads if you would like to move the music to an mp3 player or the like. Personally, I’m a fan of this model since I spend most of the day in front of a computer where I can stream music, but the portable iTunes is many magnitudes more popular. For its part, Napster does claim to have 770,000 subscribers.
Meanwhile, the music industry lead by Universal is looking to build its own iTunes competitor, while Amazon’s MP3 store is offering DRM-free downloads at 99 cents a pop.