Not all of you are old enough to remember how it felt to search for and then download individual songs for the first time ever back in 1999, but I’m here to testify on behalf of the “it was fucking sweet” side, as the shackles imposed on us by the RIAA and physical mediums were uniformly removed with the advent of a seemingly new P2P technology. Then the RIAA and a few others collectively peed their pants until punitive measures were taken, and the service lovingly remembered as Napster turned into a less-than-revolutionary paid service in 2003, owned by Roxio. Then Rhapsody bought Napster from Best Buy in 2011, and it was at that point that the zombie music service that nobody really used actually ceased to be a thing; Rhapsody just absorbed it all alien-like.
But Rhapsody knows when to give in to the unspoken demands of their loyal Canadian users, and last week they announced the immediate relaunching of Napster exclusively within the country, for reasons that undoubtedly have something to do with things that aren’t entirely clear — probably financial. The Canadian Napster boasts a catalog of 35 million songs (about on par with Spotify’s numbers), and monthly subscriptions — excluding their limited-time offer of C$1 for three months — are a measly C$9.99, which is certainly a competitive price point.
I’m not seeing much else in terms of noteworthy features, but I suppose the cost and song selection are what matter most. Here’s your chance to be ironically cool, Canucks!
