Napster moves to proprietary encoding

Controversial peer-to-peer music sharing service Napster has chosen a proprietary technology to run its subscriber service slated for launch sometime this summer.

The announcement has sent pundits in to paroxysms of speculation that the service is about to junk its openness stance and move away from the MP3 file format.

The proprietary system, called AMP from Playmedia systems is only going to be used in Napster's subscription-based service and Napster hasn't said it is junking MP3 entirely. However, as long as its free service is shut down by a US district court injunction, the subscription service will be the only one being offered by Napster for the foreseeable future.

Forrester analyst Tim Grimsditch noted that the move could be a sign that Napster has misunderstood its own market.

He said: "Napster seems to have forgotten that at the moment its key users tend to listen to MP3 files on portable devices which don't operate all of the proprietary protocols, rather than PCs."

AMP is used on many platforms, including CDROMS, digital music jukeboxes and music playback booths in shops. This seems to suggest the company is moving clear of its vocal consumer following to a business-to-business market, which would be happier to pay for the service.