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Technology Stocks : Napster, Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zax who wrote (1)	9/30/2003 11:39:25 AM
From: zax	Respond to of 44

Napster to Bring New Service Into the Living Room Tuesday, September 30, 2003 08:04 AM ET Unveils Customized Service Developed Exclusively for Microsoft's Media Center Edition 2004, Giving Music Fans Access to More Than Half-A-Million Songs Through Their Televisions NEW YORK, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Napster, a division of Roxio (Nasdaq: ROXI, news), today announced it will offer a customized version of the soon-to-be-introduced Napster 2.0 service for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PCs. Customers of Media Center PCs will be able to enjoy the full benefits of a specially-designed Napster 2.0 interface -- including individual a la carte downloads or a premium service, each offering more than 500,000 tracks -- created to give music fans access to the new Napster service through their televisions in the comfort of their living rooms. "Napster 2.0 will be the first online music service that allows consumers to enjoy their digital music wherever they want," said Chris Gorog, Chairman and CEO of Roxio. "Our partnership with Microsoft will enable music fans to take their digital music beyond the PC so they can access and enjoy Napster on their televisions or PCs, using just a remote control." "Napster 2.0 will offer consumers the freedom to enjoy over a half a million tracks any way they choose at the touch of a button on their remote control," said Joe Belfiore, general manager of the Windows eHome division, Microsoft Corp. "This partnership is the next step in Microsoft's commitment to providing consumers with the richest content and best digital entertainment experience on their Media Center PC." Napster 2.0 will be available by Christmas. The service will offer music fans access to more than 500,000 tracks of the world's greatest music from all five major record labels and hundreds of independent labels. Customers of Napster 2.0 will be able to purchase individual tracks or albums, which can be seamlessly transferred to portable devices and burned to CDs. In addition, consumers may upgrade to a premium version of the service that offers unlimited listening and downloading, radio and community features. About Napster Napster is the world's most recognized brand in online music. Napster has extensive content agreements with the five major record labels, as well as the top independents. The service will deliver access to one of the largest music catalogs, featuring artists from Eminem and Miles Davis to the Dixie Chicks and Bob Marley. Napster is a division of Roxio, Inc., (Nasdaq: ROXI, news), The Digital Media Company® and provider of the best selling digital media software in the world. Napster has offices in Los Angeles and New York. Safe Harbor Statement Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release, in particular matters related to Napster's relationship with Microsoft and with music content providers, the re-launch of Napster, and product development, are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties such as increased competition, failure to maintain key corporate relationships, product development failures, and undetected errors in the Napster software and service that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information on these and other factors are contained in Roxio's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on August 14, 2003, copies of which are available at the website maintained by the SEC at sec.gov . Roxio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release. Copyright (C) 2003 Roxio, Inc. All rights reserved. Roxio, the Roxio tagline and Napster are registered trademarks of Roxio, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners. For further information please contact: Seth Oster of Napster, +1-310-281-5027, seth.oster@napster.com; or Tiffany Cook, +1-425-638-7000, tiffanyc@wagged.com, for Microsoft Source: Napster Contact: Seth Oster of Napster, +1-310-281-5027, seth.oster@napster.com; or Tiffany Cook, +1-425-638-7000, tiffanyc@wagged.com, for Microsoft

To: zax who wrote (1)	10/6/2003 1:31:41 PM
From: zax	Respond to of 44

Newsweek sees gold rush in pay-to-play music The expected launch this week of Napster 2.0 is part of a "piling in" seen in the business of selling digital music downloads, says Newsweek magazine. The resuscitation of Napster, expected to take place formally on Thursday, will be backed by $20 million for marketing. But all those advertising dollars reportedly won't mention the prices to be charged. Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster parent Roxio (ROXI, news), said, "We don't want to over commercialize the brand." Highlighting pricing probably isn't a smart strategy, Newsweek suggests, because the product being sold, a digital download, is no different from one service or another, like RealNetworks' (RNWK, news) Rhapsody. Rather, selling becomes all about positioning and image. Watch for plenty of free trials, the article adds.

To: zax who wrote (1)	10/9/2003 4:29:21 PM
From: zax	Respond to of 44

Napster Previews New Music Service Thursday, October 9, 2003 10:20 AM ET Printer-friendly version Online Music Pioneer Announces Commercial Launch Date of October 29th World's Largest Digital Music Collection, 99-Cent Downloads and Bold Vision for Digital Music Beyond the PC NEW YORK, Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Napster, a division of Roxio (Nasdaq: ROXI, news) today announced the much-awaited Napster 2.0 has begun beta testing and will be available to all music fans in the United States on October 29th. The new service will offer 99-cent downloads to anyone with a PC and the largest digital music library in the world with over 500,000 songs. Napster 2.0 will also feature a series of innovative partnerships that empower consumers to move their favorite music from the PC to digital audio devices, into the living room and their cars. Music fans can begin pre-registering for the service immediately at napster.com and get five free downloads when the service launches widely to consumers. "Napster invented online music and we are reinventing it with Napster 2.0," said Chris Gorog, Chairman and CEO of Roxio, Inc., Napster's parent company. "Napster 2.0 is unequivocally the most complete and comprehensive music service in the world." Napster 2.0 allows anyone with a PC to freely sample the world's largest and most diverse online collection of music from across all genres. An elegant user interface will allow people to quickly and easily search for and purchase music, discover artists, burn CDs and transfer music to portable devices for 99 cents per song or $9.95 per album. Music fans also have the option to upgrade to Napster's premium service for $9.95 per month, which offers unlimited listening and downloading, 40 commercial-free interactive radio stations and a collection of community features, including the ability to email tracks to friends and share play lists with other Napster users. True to Napster's commitment of an open environment, any visitor to the service can -- free of charge and with no obligation -- download the new Napster 2.0 service, watch music videos on-demand, listen to 30-second music clips, browse decades of Billboard charts, read Napster's new online magazine, "Fuzz," and take full advantage of the most robust music recommendation engine ever created. Napster 2.0 also allows users to import other music files from their hard drives into the service, enabling them to access all their music in one central location, and will provide members with customer support via both email and phone. Napster 2.0 will launch nationwide on October 29 with a major celebration at the House of Blues in Los Angeles featuring performances by some of the leading new artists in the nation. Hundreds of music lovers will receive tickets to the exclusive event through radio and fan site giveaways in the coming weeks. "I've used Napster 2.0 and it's really great," said Shawn Fanning, creator of the original Napster service and an advisor to Napster 2.0 on the user experience. "It has community features and tools for discovering new music that were important parts of the original Napster experience. It's fast, easy to use, and the sound quality surpasses that of the original. Digital music takes a big step forward today." Central to Napster's vision of allowing consumers to access their music anywhere is a series of partnerships with leading consumer electronics companies aimed at moving online music beyond the PC. Napster today unveiled the first product of its partnership with Samsung Electronics to develop a family of portable audio devices. The Samsung-Napster player has been designed to seamlessly integrate with Napster 2.0, resulting in an extremely easy-to-use experience. In addition to traditional portability, the device includes an FM transmitter that allows users to wirelessly play music through their car and home stereos. Adding further to Napster's distribution, Best Buy will be the first national retailer to carry the new Samsung-Napster player, beginning on October 19. Consumers who purchase the device at Best Buy will also gain exclusive access to the Napster 2.0 beta that debuts today. Adding further mobility and freedom to the Napster 2.0 experience are partnerships with Microsoft and Gateway that allow music fans to experience Napster from the comfort of their couch using a TV and a remote control. As previously announced, Napster will be the featured music service on Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004. Today Napster and Gateway are announcing that consumers who purchase Gateway's Media Center PC's any time this Fall will receive one month of the Napster 2.0 Media Center version, free of charge. In addition, Gateway later this year will be the only PC manufacturer to ship Napster pre-installed on every consumer desktop PC it sells, including 150 songs pre-loaded on the hard drives of these systems. "Mobility is the ultimate freedom for music lovers and is at the core of the Napster 2.0 experience," explained Napster President Mike Bebel. "These important strategic alliances allow us to ensure that Napster fans can enjoy their music on their terms. Only Napster delivers on the true vision of the celestial jukebox -- the music you want, when you want it, where you want it. It's the future of online music, and we're delighted to deliver it to our customers today." Napster also enjoys a long-standing relationship with Microsoft's Windows Media Player 9 Series, in which the Napster 2.0 service will be accessible to music fans through the Player's "Services" tab. Additionally, Napster users can utilize the Windows Media Player 9 Series to transfer songs to most of the top-selling portable devices sold in the marketplace today. About Napster Napster® is the world's most recognized brand in online music. Napster has extensive content agreements with the five major record labels, as well as hundreds of independents. Napster delivers access to the largest catalog of online music, with more than 500,000 tracks spanning all genres from Eminem to Miles Davis. Napster is a division of Roxio, Inc., (Nasdaq: ROXI, news), the Digital Media Company, provider of the best selling digital media software in the world. Napster has offices in Los Angeles and New York. Safe Harbor Statement Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release, in particular matters related to the development and launch of the online music distribution service and our relationships with content providers, artists, hardware manufacturers, and retail distributors, are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties including delays in development, reliance on third parties, general economic conditions in the US and abroad, and increased competition, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information on these and other factors are contained in Roxio's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on August 14, 2003, copies of which are available at the website maintained by the SEC at sec.gov. Roxio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release. Copyright (C) 2003 Roxio, Inc. All rights reserved. Napster is a registered trademark of Napster, LLC. in the U.S. and other countries. Roxio and the Roxio tagline are registered trademarks of Roxio, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners. For further information, please contact: Seth Oster, +1-310-281-5027, or cell, +1-213-926-2449, seth.oster@napster.com, or Dana Harris, +1-917-342-6940, or cell, +1-917-855-0831, dana.harris@napster.com, both of Napster; or Lauren Karp of Roxio, Inc., +1-408-367-4866, or cell, +1-415-533-4000, lauren.karp@roxio.com Source: Napster Contact: Seth Oster, +1-310-281-5027, or cell, +1-213-926-2449, seth.oster@napster.com, or Dana Harris, +1-917-342-6940, or cell, +1-917-855-0831, dana.harris@napster.com, both of Napster; or Lauren Karp of Roxio, Inc., +1-408-367-4866, or cell, +1-415-533-4000, lauren.karp@roxio.com

To: zax who wrote (1)	11/6/2003 5:11:03 PM
From: zax	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 44

Napster and Penn State Announce Free Music Deal By REUTERS Published: November 6, 2003 LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - In a move aimed at stemming widescale online piracy on college campuses, Penn State University on Thursday reached a deal to offer thousands of students free access to the Napster music service. Penn State President Graham Spanier said in a statement the school will offer students free access to digital music and limited downloading from Napster's newly relaunched music service at no cost. Students can also buy permanent downloads that can be burned to CDs or transferred to portable devices for 99 cents each, the company said. Napster, the song-swap pioneer that revolutionized online music and turned the music industry upside down, was bought last year by Roxio Inc. in a bankruptcy auction. A new legal version of the service was officially relaunched late last month which offers individual songs for 99 cents each, albums for $9.95 or unlimited monthly subscriptions for $9.95. "There will be no additional costs to students for this service," Spanier said, adding that the program will be funded as part of the information technology fee that Penn State already has in place. How much Penn State, which has about 83,000 students on several campuses, paid was not immediately known. A number of universities are expected to launch pilot studies similar to this with various digital music providers in the coming months, Napster and Penn State said. The deal is significant in that the song-swap revolution had its roots on university campuses, where Napster first took hold in 1999 and turned the record industry on its ear. Penn State was one of several universities which banned the use of Napster on university computer networks in the midst of the record industry's legal battle that eventually shut down the service. "This will be the first step in a new, legal approach designed to meet student interest in getting extensive digital access to music," Spanier said. Penn State said it had already set up student focus groups who have been testing the service. In the spring, it will provide access to Napster for about 18,000 Penn State students and plans to make Napster available to all eligible students, as well as faculty and staff, next fall. At its peak, Napster attracted over 60 million users before it was idled by copyright infringement litigation in 2001. Several similar unauthorized services, like Kazaa and Morpheus, have sprung up in its absence. The music industry has blamed such file-sharing services for its sharp decline in music sales over the past three sales.

To: zax who wrote (1)	3/2/2004 5:45:17 PM
From: zax	Respond to of 44

The Nine Lives of Napster The online music provider is struggling in its attempt to challenge Apple. Yet, this cat could still land on its feet Another year, another heap of trouble for online-music pioneer Napster -- or so it seems. When the law closed in on the renegade music file-sharer a few years ago, Bertelsmann snapped up the brand, figuring it could turn the infamous kitty logo into a cash cow. No such luck. Then came Roxio (ROXI ). Last October, soon after buying the Napster brand name out of bankruptcy, the PC software maker unveiled a legit, for-pay online music site called Napster 2.0. Roxio CEO Christopher Gorog felt it could be every bit as influential as the infamous file-swapping site of old, largely because he felt the Napster name would quickly put Roxio on a par with digital music superstar Apple (AAPL ). So far, it hasn't worked out that way. Napster remains a distant second in market share to Apple's (AAPL ) popular iTunes service. And management upheaval at Roxio has raised fears about Napster's future once again. Just days after the launch, respected Universal Music executive Lawrence Kenswil resigned his seat on Roxio's board. Since then, a stream of executives -- including Roxio Chief Financial Officer Elliot Carpenter and Napster division President Mike Bebel -- have left as well. All this has spooked investors, who have driven Roxio's shares from $10.50 at the time of the launch to around $3.80 as of Feb. 26. "I'm not willing to say Napster is toast, but there's certainly a lot of smoke," says Gartner G2 analyst Mike McGuire. GOODBYE, KITTY? But hold on. The cat in the Napster logo hasn't run out of lives just yet. It sells far fewer songs at its online store than Apple, which sells roughly 75% of the 3 million songs that are sold online each week. But Gorog points out that based on the latest weekly data from Neilsen SoundScan, Napster's share equals all other rivals combined, including services from Wal-Mart (WMT ), MusicMatch, and Best Buy (BBY ). He says the data show that Napster 2.0 is holding its No. 2 position against Apple in this music-download business. Napster could start to increase market share in the more profitable business of selling monthly subscriptions, where customers can listen to -- but not own -- as many songs as they want each month for $9.95. While Napster is far behind RealNetworks' (RNWK ) Rhapsody service, AOL's (TWX ) MusicNet, and others, it's taking the lead again in the old Napster's stomping ground: college campuses. In part to wean their students off illegal file-sharing sites, Penn State University and the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music intend to offer free Napster subscriptions to thousands of students in coming months. These are just pilot programs, and Roxio granted big discounts that will keep profits negligible at best, say insiders. But the hope is that the students will become paying customers for years to come. "Smart," says Kenswill. LIP SERVICE. As for talk of internal chaos, there may be less there than meets the eye. Insiders say the main reason for Kenswil's departure was that Universal did not want a seat on Roxio's board, for fear other music services would be concerned it was playing favorites. Other recent executive departees left because Gorog consolidated music operations that had been spread between Los Angeles, New York, and Silicon Valley into the L.A. area, to be closer to the record labels, he says. And former CFO Carpenter had planned on leaving for personal reasons for months. "It's a tempest in a teapot," insists Gorog, who says layoffs cut less than 10% of the staff. Some insiders worry that Gorog, who used to head Universal's splashy theme parks, wasted the company's opportunity to make an initial big splash of its own with the acquisition of the legendary name. Rather than invest in a huge advertising push like Apple, Gorog figured word-of-mouth and press clips would do the trick. Roxio's few ads have been mostly whimsical spots built around the widely recognized cat-with-headphones logo, rather than efforts to tout the service's many features. "He didn't listen to people who know [the music business] better than he does," says one insider. CUSTOM BLEND. Analysts agree that the merits of the service may be getting short-shrift, with all the focus on the brand. Consider that while Apple offers only an online store for buying songs outright, and Rhapsody focuses primarily on subscriptions, Napster weaves both ways of getting music into one package. That means you can buy your favorite songs -- or get access to a far larger portfolio for rent. Subscribers can also see what others are listening to, which can lead to new discoveries. Says Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff: "The Napster service is extremely well designed. They've built something that's really terrific, but they have to get people to use it." And fast. With heavyweights such as Sony (SNE ) and Microsoft (MSFT ) planning to launch services in coming months, Roxio will be under more pressure than ever to hold its market share. Gorog insists the Napster service is "precisely on plan" to reach its profitability goals. LAST CHANCE? "We've created a hell of a defensible position. I couldn't be more pleased," he says. Depending how the deals with colleges work out, Gorog says the music business will grow to anywhere from $20 million to $40 million in sales in 2004. Problem is, Roxio doesn't expect profits any time soon, and the competition is only going to get tougher. Worse, Roxio's core business of selling CD-copying software to PC makers is hurting, as well. In the quarter ended Dec. 31, Roxio lost $25 million on revenues of $18.8 million, with software revenues contributing to that loss. Roxio predicts that the PC software business should turn profitable this quarter, based on a new product release. That leaves Gorog with little room for error as he pursues his grand music ambitions. Cats may indeed have nine lives, but ultimately, Roxio -- or somebody else -- will have figure out how to leverage Napster's valuable brand and innovative services into a business model that turns a profit.

To: zax who wrote (1)	3/15/2004 1:53:17 PM
From: zax	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 44

Roxio Surges on Outlook By TSC Staff 3/15/2004 10:13 AM EST Roxio (ROXI:Nasdaq) shot higher Monday after the company raised revenue guidance, citing strength in its CD-software and Napster online music segment. Roxio expects Napster revenue to be $5.5 million in the quarter, while revenue in its software segment should be $26 million. Analysts surveyed by Thomson One Analytics had been forecasting combined revenue of $30.5 million. The shares rocketed up 93 cents, or 22%, to $5.21. "Roxio's improving financial results reflect a very strong debut for Easy Media Creator 7, which has garnered outstanding reviews and is currently the top selling digital media software in the nation," the company said in a release. Napster, the former peer-to-peer network that gained fame in the late 1990s as a conduit for music piracy, was reborn in October 2003 as a pay-per-download site operated by Roxio, which covets the content for its CD-burning programs. The company claims it is now the most popular Windows-only music download site on the Web, although it trails Apple's (AAPL:Nasdaq) iTunes site, which Monday said it has sold more than 50 million song downloads at about $1 each.