Napster, the renegade file-sharing network turned legal download service, is considering putting itself up for sale. And Ars Technica has marked the occasion with a look at the company’s cloudy future—a topic that may be of considerable interest to Napster’s collegiate clientele.
Napster shook off executive turnover and layoffs to become the second-most-popular site for music downloads early in 2004. (Apple’s iTunes held down the No. 1 spot.) But the company’s fortunes seem to have faded: Napster isn’t turning a profit, and it now has less than one-third the subscribers of Rhapsody, RealNetworks’ warring music service.
There’s still hope for the company—“the Napster brand still resonates with some consumers,” Ars Technica points out—but Napster’s ability to convince colleges that it’s in for the long haul certainly bears watching. —Brock Read
