Napster Sets up Shop in Japan

Napster Inc. said on Tuesday it launched an online song distribution site in Japan, challenging Apple Computer Inc. and popular music phones.

Napster Japan, a joint venture between America's Napster and Tower Records Japan Inc., will introduce a service that lets members listen to and download an unlimited number of songs from its database of 1.5 million selections for 1,980 yen ($16.80) a month. Users will also be able to transfer music to compatible music players."It would have been very difficult for us to enter this market without a local partner," Napster President Brad Duea told reporters in Tokyo. "Japan is a very unique market." Napster's challenge in Japan, along with other online music sites like Apple's iTunes music store, is to expand in a market where more people download music directly onto mobile phones than to personal computers.

KDDI Corp., the country's No. 2 phone company, leads the market for wireless music download. Napster users need to connect a special audio player to a PC to transfer files. Compatible players include some models made by Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. About 90 percent of Napster Japan's lineup is music from outside Japan, and it aims to expand the number of local songs, said Hiroyuki Fushitani, president of Napster Japan and Tower Records.

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Napster Japan targets 1 million subscribers in three years. The site also lets consumers buy songs without subscribing. The companies expect about 1 million individual downloads a month by around March. Apple's iTunes has been available in Japan for more than a year and has about 2 million songs available for local users. "Japanese consumers are trend setters, and that's especially true in consumer electronics and mobile phones," Duea said.