Napster Hits Japan

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Napster Inc. said Tuesday that its digital music service is now available in Japan.


The Los Angeles-based company said it has entered into a joint venture with Tower Records Japan, the country’s leading music retailer, to provide the new Napster Japan service. It will compete with Apple Computer’s iTunes, which is already active in the country. Napster is a digital music subscription service versus the pay-per-track model of iTunes.


The music catalogue will feature more than 2 million tracks: Japanese songs as well as the largest collection of non-Japanese music available in the country.


The basic program will cost $10.99 a month for membership and will allow members to download an unlimited number of songs on up to three computers in a subscriber’s home.


There are 20 portable music-playing devices in the Japanese market that are compatible with the service, the company said.


Shares of Napster closed up 9 cents to $4.42 on Tuesday.

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