Napster says ‘Konichiwa’ to Japan
Napster Inc. has launched an e-commerce site that makes its digital music service available in Japan, the largest music market in the world outside of the United States, the company says.
The new Napster Japan service is a product of the company’s joint venture with Tower Records Japan. The launch of Napster Japan marks the introduction of the digital music subscription model to Japanese consumers, who until now have only been able to experience digital music by paying for each track and album individually, say executives at Napster, No. 100 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites.
Napster Japan features a music catalog of nearly two million tracks spanning all genres from both major and independent record labels, including a library of local Japanese content. Tower Records Japan’s extensive music resources and established reputation in the country have helped Napster Japan amass significant editorial content and enable personalized recommendations specifically tailored to the Japanese market.
The new service also features a variety of community features, interactivity, commercial-free radio stations, Napster playlists and other tools designed to enhance the digital music experience.
“Our joint venture with Tower Records Japan, Japan’s largest and most successful music retailer, has enabled us to deliver a product with a deep focus on local tastes and programming that also happens to offer the largest digital music catalog available in the market,” says Chris Gorog, Napster chairman and CEO.
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