Napster plays profit.(Wide Angle)(Brief Article)

Video Business, November, 2004 by Fritz, Ben

* A focus on subscriptions paid off for Napster in the quarter ended Sept. 30, as it reported 33% growth in online music revenue compared to the previous quarter. In its fiscal second quarter report, parent company Roxio said Napster brought in $9.3 million. Overall revenue growth for the division, which also includes some digital music player sales, was up 18%.

Net loss for the company, which also sells digital media software, was $15.3 million, up 30% from a year ago. Roxio plans to sell its software assets to competitor Sonic Solutions for $80 million by the end of its fiscal year, March 31. At that point, the company will change its name to Napster and focus solely on digital music.