AOL has scrapped AOL Music Now and is calling Napster their exclusive supplier of subscription music for its AOL Music site. Over the next 60 days, AOL"s 350,000 paid accounts will be transferred over to Napster. Music Now customers have an "opt out" option, although most will probably go with the flow. AOL assures its customers that the same fee will be charged, the same login options will be saved and payment details will be kept safe during the transfer.
Napster and Music Now both offer subscription-based access to a library of millions of music tracks (songs are lost if the subscription is cancelled) and the option to purchase individual tracks (still available after subscription runs out). Both services use Microsoft"s Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) forcing users to use Windows Media Player on a PC, or a compatible digital music player. As part of its deal with Napster, AOL will promote the service with links from the AOL Music site. Napster said the deal will make it the second largest digital music service by revenue.