Napster has unveiled new price plans in the States offering a combination of "the freedom of MP3s with the discovery benefits of a high-quality streaming music service ".

Now priced from $5 per month, Napster users get five unrestricted MP3 downloads, and unlimited access to Napster's on-demand music streaming service that boasts a 7-million strong catalogue.

"There's no need to settle for 30-second clips to decide if you want to buy a song", said Chris Gorog, CEO of Napster. "For five bucks now you can have access to our entire music catalog and get five MP3s to add to your permanent collection".

The service includes access to over 60 ad-free radio stations, more than 1400 playlists and personalised recommendation tools.

The new Napster offering is now available for US residents at www.napster.com.

In the UK, Napster currently offers 79p per track downloads, an "unlimited" service for £9.99 a month and its Napster "To Go" service for £14.95 a month.

We've asked if and when the new pricing structures will be offered here, and are waiting to hear back - we will update this post when we know more.

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• Via - Engadget

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