Napster iPhone app lives. Locked behind closed doors due to streaming costs.
I’m sure many of you remember the early days of P2P and file sharing. Yes, back to a time when rampant file sharing went unnoticed by the public media. For even a few years back, the internet was still a sort of “wild frontier”. Everything was great until Napster was axed by big media only to return a few yeas later with fees attached in order to sustain a longer, more legal lifestyle. With streaming services and mobile internet usage exploding, accessing Napster services on the go seems like a win win — labels and musicians still get exposure and income while consumers get to listen to whatever whenever. Wish no more because Napster is coming to the iPhone.
According to Napster GM & VP, Thorsten Schliesche, the Napster iPhone app is “good to go”. Though, Apple hasn’t approved it yet…essentially because they haven’t sent it to them. Why? Mr. Schliesche has said that the app will “remain behind closed doors until the labels drive down streaming costs”. An example he used to illustrate the still overpriced prices for streaming music was the £9.95 premium Spotify for iPhone carries.
While it is definitely good for consumers that such a large figure at Napster is siding with consumers in the push for lower prices in regards to media content, a little bit of me is left with a feeling of hopelessness as we all know how much big media loves money and wringing it from consumers. Any optimists/pessimists care to comment?
