Napster Making A Comeback?

Napster users can now get five song downloads and have access to unlimited streaming for just $5 U.S. ($5.78 Canadian) a month.

Napster has overhauled its price for the streaming service, which used to cost $12.95, in what some are calling a blatant attempt to compete with Apple's iTunes.

Napster users are now able to access an unlimited amount of streaming and full song previews for five bucks a month, while iTunes only offers 30-second previews.

"It's a killer offer we believe stands up nicely across any competitive lens you put it through," Napster chief executive Chris Gorog told The Associated Press.

iTunes increased the price of some of its songs when it introduced a new tiered pricing system last month. Songs now cost up to $1.29 each to download. Napster has also introduced a new tiered pricing plan, under which users will be able to download songs for between 69 cents and $1.29.

Napster users who previously paid $12.95 a month for the company's streaming service will be automatically switched over to the new plan.

Napster users who used to pay $14.95 a month to download an unlimited number of songs to play on whatever device they chose will be allowed to choose whether they want to stick with their current plan or switch to the new monthly five-dollar plan.

Napster will also launch a marketing campaign in more than 1,000 U.S. Best Buy stores. Users will be able to buy pre-paid cards for the new monthly service at Best Buy, which acquired Napster last October for about $122 million. Cards will cost between five dollars and $60.

Napster became notorious earlier this decade as a peer-to-peer file-sharing service that allowed users to swap MP3 files for free. It became the centre of a copyright debate when Metallica sued Napster for copyright infringement in 2000 after their song "I Disappear" leaked on to the service.

The U.S. District Court ordered Napster to monitor activities on its network to block access to copyrighted material, but it couldn't, so it shut down in 2001 and declared bankruptcy in 2002. Roxio bought the company's assets that same year and Napster relaunched as a legal, paid subscription service in 2003.