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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Two indications that subscription services are successful

MarketWatch:

Technology stocks largely rose in early trading Tuesday, with online music provider Napster Inc. scoring big gains after raising its fourth-quarter revenue forecast. Napster said it now expects to report revenue between $16.5 million and $17.5 million, up from analysts' estimates of $15 million. The company, which in February launched a subscription music service for portable music players, also said it now has more than 410,000 subscribers.

New York Times (free registration required):

Friday, XM Satellite Radio - the bigger of the two satellite radio companies - [announced] that it added more than 540,000 subscribers from January through March pushed the industry's customer total past five million after fewer than three and a half years of operation. Analysts call that remarkable growth for companies charging more than $100 annually for a product that has been free for 80 years.

Total subscribers at XM and its competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, will probably surpass eight million by the end of year, making satellite radio one of the fastest-growing technologies ever - faster, for example, than cellphones.

Interesting. That suggests that satellite radio will be $1 billion business by next year. So much for that "subscription music will never sell" talk, eh?

[ Posted at 5:23 PM | Permalink ]