Napster Music On-Demand Service integration with Sonos - FAQ

What is this announcement all about? Sonos and Napster have just made it a whole lot easier to enjoy access to music around your home. Now, instead of having to own and manage your own digital music library, you can choose, for a small monthly fee, to subscribe to a library of over 5,000,000 tracks and play them as much as you like, when you like and where you like. You may never buy another CD again!

Imagine being able to choose your own personal music library from the largest music store you have ever seen and, for less then the price of one new CD per month, access it at the click of a button.

How does it work? It's simplicity itself. Step1: Subscribe to Napster. Step2: Enter your Napster account details into your Sonos System (found in "set up music services"). Step 3: Browse and search the Napster music libaray from your Sonos Controller or Desktop Controller. Step 4: Add your favourite music to your own personal library or simply hit "play".

What is Napster? Napster is an online Music Store that can give you unlimited access to over 5,000,000 tracks! This includes every song that has been in the UK charts over the past 45 years. You will also have access to Napster’s own commercial and DJ Free Radio Stations. Napster covers all music genres including Classical Music.

Napster has an intuitive desktop application that will help manage your music and intelligently suggest other music you might like based upon what you are currently searching and your previous downloads.

Will I be downloading songs to my computer or playing them live via the internet? You have the choice of both with a Napster Subscription. You can either download files to your files to your computer in a "WMA Plays for Sure" (WMA = Windows Media Player) format or ‘stream’ music live from the internet via a broadband connection. Napster is truly integrated with Sonos allowing you to search through their massive library directly from your Sonos controller.

Is it compatible with Mac? Yes and No. Napster uses Microsoft technology which requires Windows Media Player for Napster’s Desktop software for downloading. This means the music will not play on the Macintosh itself. But because Sonos has got its own built in player it will play the Napster music as an online stream. You just won’t be able to downlaod and play tracks on your Mac.

How do I join? The only way subscribe to Napster is directly with Napster Themselves. Visit their website at www.napster.co.uk to pay monthly by credit card. Once you have set up your account adding your account details to your Sonos system is quickly and easily done via your Sonos Desktop Controller.

Is it like the iTunes Music Store? It’s actually more flexible because it allows you to stream in real time as well as downloading them. In our opinion, this makes it better value for money.

Does my PC need to be switched on? No, you will be able to search directly from your Sonos Controller by Artist Name, Album Name or Track Name. Unlike the old Sonos Search you will be able to enter more than just the first letter of a name to quickly refine your search. You can also browse your own favourites, new releases, Napster’s own Radio Stations and more. You will, however, need an active broadband connection, of course!

Can I save the music to my portable MP3 player or iPod? Yes and No. Napster is Microsoft based. With a "Napster to Go" subscription, you can download your tracks to many different portable devices. However, iPod does not permit you to play WMA format tracks and so you will not be able to download tracks for your iPod.

Why does Napster use WMA and not Apple format? Apple do not currently licence other manufacturers or music stores to play their proprietary music format "AAC". This may change in the future. It is necessary to use a format that allows for copyright protection and therefore the other alternative available is Microsoft WMA.

Can I listen to more than one Napster song simultaneously? Yes, Your Napster Account will let you play as many tracks tracks simultaneously as your Sonos system permits - that's 32. Yes, thirty-two! A single Napster account will work on more than one Sonos household.

What is the sound quality like? The music Napster uses is in the Windows Media Player format and is encoded at 128 kbps. This means that the music is compressed. However for the sheer choice, value and ease of use it is a good compromise! If you aren’t a fan of compressed music you can use Napster to listen to entire albums before deciding to buy the conventional CD.

Isn’t Napster illegal? Some years ago Napster was an illegal music sharing site. Napster re-launched itself and is now 100% legal. Artists will be receiving their due royalties for each song that you stream or download.

Can I get ‘Napster Light’? Sonos requires the full Napster membership, Napster Light will not work with your Sonos. The Napster Subscription for £9.95 per month (£8.95 if purchased for 6 months) is the equivalent of 12 tracks a month on the Napster Light service.

What happens if I cancel my Napster subscription? If you cancel your subscription any music that you may have downloaded becomes unplayable. Your music streaming privileges will also cease. Your Napster agreement will allow you to burn downloaded music onto a CD whilst your subscription is still active.

How much is a Napster Subscription? At the time of writing, a Napster unlimited subscription is £9.95 per month (£8.95 if purchased for 6 months) - Please check Napster's web site for current prices as this data is subject to change.