Napster sings praises of service revamp

Napster revamp includes personal 'Playlist of the Day'

Digital music giant Napster upgraded its service today with the launch of Napster 3.5 which adds a personal 'Playlist of the Day' and interactive tools to personalise content delivery.

The firm said that it has also enhanced the quality of the music in its catalogue to a bit rate of 192k.

"Napster 3.5 is a significant upgrade to our subscription service," said Chris Gorog, Napster's chairman and chief executive.

Navigation and usability advancements in the latest software are designed to improve the ability to search and browse for favourite tunes, according to Gorog.

The simplified interface aims to allow subscribers to more easily generate and display personalised song recommendations, while the new Playlist of the Day on the homepage can be refreshed with just one click of the mouse.

Napster has also added a revamped recommendation engine that uses proprietary algorithms to develop distinctive song and playlist suggestions based on a combination of individual listening habits, music libraries and professional musicologist recommendations.

Additional features include one-click access to the three most recent Napster radio stations to which the user listened, and the creation of a playlist within each member's library containing the last 200 tracks played.