Stupid idea
Like many people here, I agree that paying $15/month is a stupid idea, especially since you don't "own" anything afterwards. If you decide that you want to keep a song(s) you like, guess what? You have to pay $1 for each of them, just like with iTunes. If you really "do the math," you end up paying more with Napster.
Scenario 1:
I subscribe for a month @ $15 and download 20 albums to my MP3 player. I decide I really like 5 of the albums and want to keep them. For the sake of argument, let's assume each album has a total of 10 songs. So that's 10 songs x 5 albums = 50 songs (x $1 each to keep), or $50. $50 plus the $15/month subscription fee equals $65 for 50 songs versus $50 via iTunes.
Scenario 2:
I subscirbe for 12 months at $15/month. After a year, I decide I don't want to "keep" anything and cancel my subscription. What am I left with? Nothing and I'm out $180.
This idea, however, may catch on with kids who are constantly listening to something different or who are trying to discover new artists though, especially since the money's not coming out of their own pockets (daddy?). If the money was coming out of their own pockets and they felt it, then they'd soon realize that this isn't such a great deal.
At first, I thought you'd be able to just download the music to your MP3 player, cancel you subscription, and just leave them there forever, but that's not the case. According to CEO Chris Gorog,
"Janus allows you to take an encrypted download from your PC hard drive and move it to your portable device with an electronic license, then that has to be renewed every 30 days." So basically, if you don't renew your license the songs expire and you lose EVERYTHING. I'm sure someone will figure out a way to hack the songs and remove the expiration or something, but how many average users out there are going to know how to do this or bother.
While this idea may not flop, I can't see it catching on. I can't speak for others, but I like the idea of owning something. I hate renting things because you have nothing in the end.
According to the
Wired news article, "At the end of 2004, Napster had 270,000 subscribers."