Napster dresses up as Apple for price war

Napster has cut the prices of its songs by 20p to bring them into line with Apple' iTunes. The former bad boy of digital music will now match Apple's 79p for a single track.

Napster has also cut the cost of its albums, from £9.99 to £7.95 - also in line with iTunes pricing - with fees for buying songs in bulk through Napster's Track Packs also being trimmed.

The company said that the move was in response to brisk business at Christmas, although the timing - coinciding with Apple's announcement of the iPod Shuffle, which is designed to mop up even more of the digital music market - may not be a coincidence.

Napster has also announced the upcoming launch of its subscription service Napster To Go, scheduled to debut this quarter. For a set fee per month, subscribers can download and play as many songs as they like from the Napster catalogue - now racking up one millions tunes, the company says.

However, if a music fan lets their subscription lapse, all their Napster to Go tracks will disappear into the ether.

No pricing has yet been unveiled for the product but the equivalent offering in the US has a $15-a-month subscription.

The trend towards subscription-based services is one that looks to be getting stronger. As well as a significantly increased profit margin for the operators compared to a pay-per-track system, consumers may be warming to the idea.

According to recent research by analyst house JupiterResearch found that while 16 per cent of online adults in the US wanted a 99-cent single download, 17 per cent were interested in a subscription.