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The Imaginative - Napster - Now Presents Fresh Products

If you are over eighteen and have been downloading music for awhile, chances are the first site you visited was Napster. There is a good reason you probably used Napster early on; they were the only game in town for quite some time. More than half of a million songs were downloaded daily from Napster � when it was at its height of popularity. Music industry execs began to fight Napster�s release of music; claiming that it had been pirated. Eventually, the music industry won the battle � but not the war. Napster was �down� for a short time but has since come back and is once again a successful source for music downloads.

Part of Napster�s success is due to the leadership of their CEO and Chairman, Chris Gorog. Gorog, known for innovate thinking and a perpetually positive attitude, is leading Napster to launch MP3 downloads. They will join other sites that offer these types of downloads � like RealAudio, MP3.com, LiquidAudio and Internet Underground Music. In addition, they will face smaller competition from recording artists who offer MP3 downloads of their music directly from their websites. Some music industry experts feel Napster may have missed the MP3 boat � offering too little too late. It is not wise to count Napster out, though; they have proven to be extremely resilient; constantly changing and adapting over the years to stay current with market demands.

The majority of the big record labels are being dragged kicking and screaming into releasing MP3 music for download. They may not be able to continue to resist much longer, however, because CD sales have declined drastically in recent years. This lost revenue, depending upon whom you ask, may result in the millions or billions of dollars. Another factor that may compel record labels to release MP3 music is the incredible success of Apple iPods and the iTunes online music store. Much of this generation of music lovers has never visited a retail music store; they get every bit of their music from downloads on the internet. If the music industry does not want to lose even more money, they might have to let up on the stranglehold they have placed on MP3 music files.

Even now, the majority of big record labels continue to refrain from allowing music to be downloaded as MP3 files. They are more inclined to do so if the sites can guarantee adequate protection and proper technology. They may be forced to begin releasing more MP3 files due to the drastic decrease that has been seen in recent years in CD sales. Large numbers of people (especially those aged 16-25) never go to a music store anymore; they download their music from the internet. The technology is so widespread and easy to use; they see no reason to trek to the local mall to buy music. The final straw for the music industry to induce them to release MP3 files may well be the overwhelming success that Apple iTunes and iPod experience. Apple does not produce the only MP3 player, but the iPod outsells every other MP3 players many times over.

Robert Enderle feels �Napster might have a better chance by choosing their competition carefully�. Enderle stated if Napster focused on competing with Amazon they would have a much greater chance of being successful. Amazon is a particularly good target for Napster because they are not well known as a music download site � they are perhaps best know for selling books and many other things.

Ever the optimist, Chris Gorog recently said he was happy with Napster�s progress and felt ready to compete with the �giants� like Apple on amore level playing field.

By: Isaiah Henry

Isaiah is an expert in the free music downloads industry. Visit Any Music Downloads for comprehensive reviews on such music services like Napster.

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