For many, the name Napster still evokes memories of the carefree early days of music downloading, when songs were free and illegal, but nobody seemed to mind. Those days, of course, didn't last long, with the service being effectively shut down by pressure from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was later re-launched as a legal download service, but never quite regained the sort of attention it had in its previous life.

Now, the site is being re-launched yet again as an MP3 download store designed to directly take on the competition from Amazon and Apple.

Apple's iTunes is, of course, the reigning leader in the music download space. Lately, though, online music buyers have been rebelling against the restrictive copy protection that Apple still forces on many of its tracks, and the proprietary format that only really works on Apple's iPods isn't helping, either. Apple last year launched a DRM-free store last year -- DRM- or copyright-free means that the tracks can be played on any MP3 player -- but the majority of the iTunes offerings still have copy restrictions. Similarly, Amazon launched its amazonmp3 service last year, featuring songs in the industry-standard MP3 format and no copy protection.

Now, Napter is also offering MP3 downloads free of copy protection, with most tracks priced at $.99, or $9.95 per album, which is slightly higher than Amazon's offerings. Even so, Amazon can't compare to Napster's six million copyright-free tracks available for download right away, which makes it the world's largest MP3 store. The two services will surely keep competing, which is good news for consumers, and it remains to be seen what iTunes will do to keep up. [Source: AOL News]

Amazon recently moved into the number two online music retailer spot without much fanfare. Amazon's online MP3 store opened merely six months ago, and it appears to be gaining on the number one retailer -- Apple's iTunes Store, which commands 80% of online digital music sales.

The trends towards moving away from music burdened with digital rights management (DRM) software created new opportunities for Amazon. Why has DRM-free music -- which lets people play purchased tunes on any digital player or computer -- become such an important area of growth in the online music business? As Amazon's director of digital music, Pete Baltaxe, explained to USA Today: "Songs sold without DRM, at high quality, with album art, that's the best way to get people to buy music instead of stealing it," whereas DRM is a way to punish people who are buying...."

While Apple worked with record label EMI to sell DRM-free music in early 2007, the iTunes giant didn't have much luck getting other major labels immediately signed on. Instead of working with Apple -- currently offering 2 million DRM-free songs -- Warner, Sony/BMG and Universal decided to offer parts of their catalogs DRM-free on Amazon. Amazon's DRM-free library totals around 4.5 million, and is well-positioned to compete with iTunes.

Hopefully, the competition between the two retailers will result in better pricing and accessibility to music for consumers.

From USA Today

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• Amazon's Music Store Going Global This Year
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Wal-Mart is the latest store to jump into the DRM-free music sales game, offering the same digital-rights-management-free tracks from EMI and Universal that are sold through the iTunes Plus, Yahoo! Music Unlimited, and other online music stores. (DRM is a system of adding a small amount of data to an audio file, which puts draconian limitations on copying, burning, and playback of the material -- essentially this means you can't play your purchased music on more than one kind of portable player.)

The giant retailer's latest move means that, say, tracks by Norah Jones, Keith Urban, Barrio Fino, Amy Winehouse (pictured), or Bon Jovi, among other EMI and Universal acts, will be playable on everything from iPods, iPhones and BlackBerrys to Zunes, Windows Mobile Smart Phones, and most music cell phones.

What's more, these tunes will only cost $ .94 cents a track (or $9.22 per album), a full 35 cents less than the $1.29 iTunes is charging for its DRM-free tunes. The difference is Wal-Mart's tunes will be in the MP3 format, which plays on pretty much every audio player in existence, while Apple's iTunes Plus tracks are in the AAC format, which is of slightly higher audio quality (but plays on a smaller number of players).

In what is definitely a sign of the music industry's desperation, these easy-to-copy-and-pirate tunes are being virtually given away. The idea is this -- people who are nice law-abiding citizens or who just don't feel like dealing with the Wild West of illegal-file-sharing sites will flock to these attractively-priced, unshackled tracks.

For a full explanation on how DRM-free tunes work and where you can find and purchase these tunes, check out USA Today's newsy primer on the subject.

Related Links:

• One Million DRM-Free Tracks from EMI
• iTunes-Plus Released
• Direct-to-Phone Music Downloads on AT&T Wireless

There are basically two business models when it comes to online music sales: Charge a set fee to download a track or album to own, or charge a monthly fee and let subscribers stream or download "rented" tracks as much music as they want. Upstart CD trading site Lala.com has just completed a bit of a rebirth and is now offering both models, but is also offering unlimited streaming of the entire Warner catalog for free, as well as unlimited streaming of any album currently on your computer from any other Web-connected computer.

Founded by .com millionaire Bill Nguyen, Lala.com started as a place where you could trade CDs with other users for $1 a pop. If you had something you didn't want anymore, you just posted it online and shipped it to someone who answered your posting (you'd then receive a CD you wanted in return from that same person). It is now clear that CD trading was just the beginning for Nguyen.

Late last year, the site purchased popular underground Internet music station WOXY.com, and listeners were told they'd soon be able to create and run their own personal Internet radio stations. That's effectively the idea with the re-released Lala.com, which offers a free downloadable browser plug-in that scans your computer for music and automatically uploads your collection. You can then listen to your library virtually anywhere you have an Internet connection. You can even create playlists and re-download your tracks to your iPod

Also, playlists are not limited to tracks you own. You can browse through the entire Warner catalog, pick an album, and add any track you like to your streaming playlist. If you want to download something you don't own and want to take on the go, you just pay $.99 for a DRM-free, something iTunes charges a $.30 premium for.

One of the coolest features is the ability to download any of the tracks you own directly to your iPod, as well as purchase any track and download it directly to your iPod. Sounds good on paper, but we're wondering what happens when you fill up your iPod with your lala.com-purchased tunes and want to move them somewhere else temporarily. Do you just delete your songs and download them right to your iPod again next time you want to listen to them? Or are they lost forever? We haven't been able to figure that out, but will have an answer for you shortly, we hope.

iPod downloads aside, Lala.com has become a great place for music lovers who want access to their tunes from anywhere, much like the old MP3.com was back before it was hit by a million lawsuits. Will Lala.com suffer a similar fate? Time will tell, but music lovers will have a blast here in the meantime..

From 'USA Today' and The Wall Street Journal Online

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• Verizon Gives Away Prince's New Single
  
• iTunes Plus Released