Napster Introducing Pre-Paid Cards
from the will-people-buy-it? dept
Just about every news site seems to be running the story this morning about how Napster is now introducing a "pre-paid" card that would let people buy music from the site without a credit card. Some of the other music download stores are planning to offer similar services in the near future. They're playing this up as a way for kids without credit cards to get hooked on buying downloadable music - though, I'm sure many are just sticking with file sharing systems. The press reports also talk about how this can be used as a "gift", which may introduce new people to the music download stores. It sounds nice, but I'm not sure how many people are really going to bother. The nice thing about music sharing and music download stores are that you can find what you're looking for on a whim and download it. I'm not sure how many people are willing to go out to a store, buy a card, and then come back home and use the card to buy music. It seems to make the process an even bigger hassle than it already is. Also, those who buy the card may not realize that the songs they think they've "bought" come with all sorts of copy protection, and may feel ripped off once they realize they're only buying a license to use the song in a very limited way.
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The ipod and itunes is still the most appealing if it weren't for the fact that they've very quietly and effectively managed to introduce their closed system as a free & open one (Even though it'll play mp3, AAC songs [what you purchase] can ONLY be played on an ipod...). That and they [ipods] are overpriced.
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