* MUSICMATCH: MusicMatch recently launched a paid-download service to complement its RadioMX subscription (and free) online listening environments, that was clearly and substantially inferior to both Pressply 2.0 and Rhapsody. It's no surprise, then that Napster dominates MusicMatch on almost every point. MusicMatch's area of strength is music discovery, which it pounds home with the Artist Match and Artist ON DEMAND portions of the Plus and Platinum subscription tiers. Napster uses member sharing as the prime music discovery tool, supplemented by editorial recommendations and an in-client magazine. Napster arguably discovers music better than MusicMatch, but that call is a matter of style and preference. MusicMatch values a relatively passive experience, and presents diminished interactive tools as a result. With pricing at the same level, Napster's state-of-the-art client and irresistible control of the music make it the clear choice for users who have come to play.

UPSHOT:

Pressplay was good. Napster is beautiful, fun, musical, addictive. In the context of inadequacy — all these hybrid services are too expensive and force the user through hoops to end up with an MP3 file — Napster has issued a powerful beta launch that seems perfectly ready for prime time. Will it succedd where Pressplay didn't, based on brand clout? Unlikely. Disregard the (likely seeded) message boards. Nobody will believe that this Napster bears the slightest relationship to the unique values of file-sharing. If the stand-alone a-la-carte service (scheduled for launch October 29) gains traction, well and good for Napster. Until proven wrong, I continue to maintain that per-unit online selling, absent of monthly-paid interactivity, is a regressive model that's bad for consumers in the long run. Track prices must come way down, or the server-based listening experience must become portable, for these two polarized worldviews to meet and catalyze the market. In the meantime, those who appreciate the value of music-as-service should give Napster 2.0 a long look.