WASHINGTON - In a sign of a shakeup in the online music scene, Napster is taking a new stab at free music, but with limits.
The news marks a shift for Napster, which started in 1999 as a renegade service that had as many as 70 million members using it for free downloads before it was shut down by the courts in 2001 for massive copyright violations.
Analysts say the move is a sign that Napster and others must find new strategies to compete with the market leader Apple Computer's iTunes in the new field of legal online music.
In launching a new ad-supported service, Napster "becomes the first legal digital music service to offer music fans free, on-demand listening to over two million major and independent-label tracks," according to a company statement Monday.